Unlike many of the big name individuals in the Japanese games industry, Satoru Iwata was unique. With an absence of ego, he was almost universally liked. While that maybe common for fans to revere a figure such as this, within the industry that is remarkably rare.
This is because self-appointed industry luminaries tend to be obnoxious and deeply insecure egomaniacs behind closed doors. Those that are unfortunate enough to work with these types of people rarely have anything good to say about them.
Yet Iwata was that rare kind of individual that never let any of that go to his head and by all accounts was a warm and lucid fellow, someone it seems that treated his colleagues and staff with a great deal of care as well as respect.
From within the Japanese industry I was stunned at the overwhelming outpouring of affection towards Iwata from all manner of sources. Many senior individuals at various Japanese companies all took to social media and booted up various games he’d been instrumental in making, as a sign of respect as well as a means of dealing with the grief.
After talking with a few people it was clear that he truly came from a proper development background too as amongst other things he single-handedly wrote the physics based code for Balloon Fight, as he apparently had a knack at capturing the feeling of momentum. Something that would go onto define the game’s unique charm and functionality.
There are a slew of other selfless stories when it comes to Iwata’s contribution in game development, such as saving Super Smash Bros. from delay to allowing the original Pokémon to contain a whole new world despite the limitations of the GameBoy. Each of these emphasized the fact he knew that the code he wrote took a back seat to making the game work. Again that’s a rare attitude in game development especially amongst coders, who often suffer from a bit of a god complex.
In a recent column over at Famitsu, former and fellow HAL Laboratory alumni Masahiro Sakurai also talked on attending Iwata’s funeral.
“Inside there was the still body of Mr. Iwata. He was probably dressed in traditional white funeral garb, his glasses removed, and his nose stuffed with cotton. And today, his body was going to be burned and reduced to nothing. Mr. Iwata would no longer exist in this world...many people, especially those close to him, spoke of how the realization that they would never be able to see Mr. Iwata again just hadn’t sunk in. I feel the same way.”
"In a previous column, I wrote that when someone passes on, for those around them, it’s simply as though a character has been removed from their story, but for the deceased, the entire world has gone away. However, even for other people, Mr. Iwata’s presence was too great to simply call him a character in the story of life.”
“Mr. Iwata’s world is gone, leaving a massive impression on those around him. Yet, even so, our world continues.”
“I will not mourn or fall into depression. I will continue to do my work as best as I can. All I can offer is that I complete that which I have to do."
It’s clear that Iwata’s passing has left a large hole in the collective hearts of many people in the Japanese games industry. Responsible for bringing about some of the biggest successes for
I only hope in time that people in the industry learn from his example, not only as a developer and businessman but also clearly as a very grounded and thoroughly decent human being.
Farewell Satoru Iwata, you will be very much missed.
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