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The 7th Guest
Dec 17, 2003

This is a bit of a stunner: Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo of Japan, passed away today at the age of 55 after a lengthy battle with bile duct cancer.



Iwata has been president of Nintendo for over 13 years, overseeing the Gamecube, Nintendo DS, Wii, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U systems. He also produced a ton of games, programmed Earthbound, and was the face of the company in every Nintendo Direct, with his goofy mannerisms and Captain Kirk-esque english prose. He had to bow out of the last two E3s due to health concerns, and now it is clear that his health was much worse than previously thought. Amazingly he was still able to take investors' Q&As just last week. Just an incredible loss not just for the company but for the industry as well.

RIP banana man



The 7th Guest fucked around with this message at 01:24 on Jul 13, 2015

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Optimus Subprime
Mar 26, 2005

Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas?

Here's a video of him on GameCenter CX.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63mG4k-VIyY
RIP Iwata.

Endorph
Jul 22, 2009
ty for kanto, iwata-san

Stairmaster
Jun 8, 2012

I don't understand.

a.lo
Sep 12, 2009

No more Directs with Iwata :(

Zedsdeadbaby
Jun 14, 2008

You have been called out, in the ways of old.
Legitimately shocking news. I had no idea he was so ill.

Kewpuh
Oct 22, 2003

when i dip you dip we dip
it is a dark day for gaming

Top Hats Monthly
Jun 22, 2011


People are people so why should it be, that you and I should get along so awfully blink blink recall STOP IT YOU POSH LITTLE SHIT
That was unexpected to say the least. drat.

turboraton
Aug 28, 2011
Iwata-san :(

Ciaphas
Nov 20, 2005

> BEWARE, COWARD :ovr:


Kewpuh posted:

it is a dark day for gaming

basically gently caress cancer yet again :arghfist::smith:

NoMoneyDown
Jan 27, 2009

I've got the advantage. You've got nothing.
I simply must pay my respects to this man. Such a huge part of what made Nintendo Directs great, and he had such a great mind for the legacy of not just Nintendo, but gaming in general.

His loss will truly be felt by everyone who has ever hit their head on a box of bricks, or opened a treasure to find a rare item, or phoned home to cure their Homesick.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Iwata.

Shimrra Jamaane
Aug 10, 2007

Obscure to all except those well-versed in Yuuzhan Vong lore.
I guess that's why he hasn't been making many public appearances lately.

Almost Smart
Sep 14, 2001

so your telling me you wasn't drunk or fucked up in anyway. when you had sex with me and that monkey

Anime Curator posted:

No more Directs with Iwata :(

Not unless you have a Ougi Luigi Board!





This is really sad news though. He always struck me as a pretty nice guy, and he was still so young.

Jueg01
Jan 26, 2015
I genuinely felt this one. I imagine a good number of people haven't met him in person (myself included) but those Nintendo Directs certainly put a personal face on the company.

Al-Saqr
Nov 11, 2007

Holy poo poo what a huge blow to the industry, this guy was a cool innovator, a good president and an excellent marketer and presenter of his company, he will be remembered for quite a while for his contributions to the world at large.

It's really sad, he died at least two decades too early, a good man gone too soon.


RIP Iwata, here's hoping you go DIRECTLY to heaven.

PaletteSwappedNinja
Jun 3, 2008

One Nation, Under God.
Iwata was a direct influence of a lot of Nintendo's games, too - the code he wrote for Balloon Fight was used as a direct reference for Super Mario Bros. underwater physics, he saved Earthbound by rewriting the entire game in a year, he ported the Pokemon battle logic to N64 in 11 days and he wasn't even on the team, he compressed Pokemon Gold/Silver so much that they were able to fit a second region on the cart, he wrote the original prototype for Super Smash Bros. and was the one who got approval for every single character, and his first act as president was to assign himself to the Melee team for the final crunch to make sure the game was out during the launch window.

Funky Valentine
Feb 26, 2014

Dojyaa~an

He was apparently a programming genius, considering he managed to compress Johto in Pokemon GSC so well that there was room for a whole other region.

May God understand, Iwata-dono.

Kashuno
Oct 9, 2012

Where the hell is my SWORD?
Grimey Drawer
I think this is going to be the celebrity death that hurts the most for a while. Nintendo has been a big part of my life since I was a little kid playing NES, and he's made so many wonderful games possible over the years. While his decisions weren't always the best, Iwata made sure everyone knew gaming didn't always have to be about the best graphics or dark stories, but could be just amazing with colorful graphics and silly gameplay. It really felt like he always had "gaming should be fun" at the forefront of his policies, something we don't always see these days. He ran the company well, and was a great man with a great personality and passion for gaming. Rest easy, Satoru Iwata.

Damn Dirty Ape
Jan 23, 2015

I love you Dr. Zaius



Holy poo poo this is depressing.

Detective No. 27
Jun 7, 2006

:negative:

Endorph
Jul 22, 2009

Funky Valentine posted:

He was apparently a programming genius, considering he managed to compress Johto in Pokemon GSC so well that there was room for a whole other region.

May God understand, Iwata-dono.
he also programmed pokemon stadium by himself in like a week

Mr. Baps
Apr 16, 2008

Yo ho?

Yikes, I had no idea he was even sick. This is a huge loss for Nintendo, if not the industry as a whole. He always seemed like such a cool dude too. Gone too soon :(

Commander Keenan
Dec 5, 2012

Not Boba Fett
Twitter's blowing up. This one got me.

Skaw
Aug 5, 2004
It won't be the same seeing Reggie trying to banter with someone else over Nintendo video games coming out. :(

SomeMathGuy
Oct 4, 2014

The people were ASTONISHED at his doctrine.

Commander Keenan posted:

Twitter's blowing up. This one got me.

Welp, now I'm crying. Thanks?

pick-e
Aug 10, 2014
Only 55? I knew about the cancer but drat... that ain't right. :(

.TakaM
Oct 30, 2007

Video game developers and industry vets are the only kind of celebrities I follow and I feel sad to know Iwata died... Gonna be a dark day in video games when Miyamoto dies too, assuming it's a troll news story or whatever at first also makes it a little sadder

Well, thank you Mr. Iwata for all your work on some of my favourite video games

Davinci
Feb 21, 2013
Calling this a bummer doesn't even begin to describe it. I'm a bit worried about what's going to happen to Nintendo now since it really felt like he was the only one keeping it from going the way of other Japanese companies. Hopefully Miyamoto or someone else with a lot of pull will appoint someone worthy of the mantle.

Lonely Rolling Star
Mar 20, 2009

Better than a crowbar.
Please fly your mushroom flags at half mast today in remembrance.

Al-Saqr
Nov 11, 2007

Commander Keenan posted:

Twitter's blowing up. This one got me.

holy gently caress this one got me.

Empress Brosephine
Mar 31, 2012

by Jeffrey of YOSPOS
iwata go back in time 1 hour and not read this news rip

Rookersh
Aug 19, 2010
I think Alex from Giantbomb had this right when he said this was really our first "celebrity giant" death.

This industry is young, small, and still growing. And Iwata has been their since it's inception, pushing hard to make it something anybody and everybody could get into.

And now he isn't there anymore. And that's a really hard thing to think about and grasp.

You may not like Nintendo or it's games, but you have to at least respect what they've done in the industry. And a lot of that was Iwata. This is a massive loss.

chumbler
Mar 28, 2010

Commander Keenan posted:

Twitter's blowing up. This one got me.

Sure is rainy in my apartment today.

I didn't know any of that about his programming skill, that's ridiculously impressive. At least we still have muppet Iwata. I hope Reggie can get through this.

Endorph
Jul 22, 2009

Rookersh posted:

I think Alex from Giantbomb had this right when he said this was really our first "celebrity giant" death.

This industry is young, small, and still growing. And Iwata has been their since it's inception, pushing hard to make it something anybody and everybody could get into.

And now he isn't there anymore. And that's a really hard thing to think about and grasp.
Eh, I think Gunpei Yokoi would also qualify. He died before internet reactions could really be a thing, but he was absolutely as important as Iwata.

Internet Kraken
Apr 24, 2010

slightly amused
He was only 55? For some reason I thought he was way older than that. At least he accomplished a hell of a lot with his life pushing this industry forward.

Real hurthling!
Sep 11, 2001




Endorph posted:

Eh, I think Gunpei Yokoi would also qualify.

but that was a hit for not keeping quiet after saddling him with the vb failure.

The 7th Guest
Dec 17, 2003

Davinci posted:

Calling this a bummer doesn't even begin to describe it. I'm a bit worried about what's going to happen to Nintendo now since it really felt like he was the only one keeping it from going the way of other Japanese companies. Hopefully Miyamoto or someone else with a lot of pull will appoint someone worthy of the mantle.
He was also the president of Nintendo of America too, so they have to find two successors. It's safe to say this is going to dramatically change their future.

Almost Smart
Sep 14, 2001

so your telling me you wasn't drunk or fucked up in anyway. when you had sex with me and that monkey

Rookersh posted:

I think Alex from Giantbomb had this right when he said this was really our first "celebrity giant" death.

It's not a competition, but Gunpei Yokoi's death was pretty tragic and unexpected too.

Crabtree
Oct 17, 2012

ARRRGH! Get that wallet out!
Everybody: Lowtax in a Pickle!
Pickle! Pickle! Pickle! Pickle!

Dinosaur Gum

Endorph posted:

he also programmed pokemon stadium by himself in like a week

I'm seriously wondering how worse off Nintendo is without him now. Not just as a face, but as a company as well.

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seiferguy
Jun 9, 2005

FLAWED
INTUITION



Toilet Rascal
Goddamn. This is terrible.

What is bile duct growth and how can it kill you?

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