It’s rare that I’d idolize the CEO of any corporation. I think it’s usually unwise and dangerous to do so. We cherish all sorts of media, to the point where we establish deep connections with the creators themselves. The link can often become so powerful that we see inventors as friends or even family members.

While the adoration comes from a place of innocence, it often evolves into worship and we forget that we don’t know figureheads on a personal level. To most businessmen, delivering a product is strictly about making a profit. I’d argue this wasn’t the case for Satoru Iwata. A person’s actions speak volumes about their character and in this article, I wanted to share some deeds of the legendary president that made him more than a typical CEO.

1. Pushing Legacy Content

When the Wii was revealed at E3 2005, the concept of the Virtual Console excited me the most. The idea that you’d be able to play software from the NES, SNES, and N64 all on one platform was revolutionary at the time. Mr. Iwata took it a step further and even included systems from third parties. Combine this feature with the Wii’s ability to natively play Gamecube games, and you had access to a truckload of software from past to present. It made the console perfect not only for veterans trying to relive memories but also for players looking to forge new ones.

2. Never Forgetting His Roots

My problem with most executives is that they often have little to no ties with what they promote. While it isn’t necessary for anyone working in the industry to be a pro at playing games, I do believe that attachment to your line of work goes a long way. Satoru Iwata had this in spades. Even after moving through company ranks, he still held on to his identity as a programmer and gamer. During his tenure as president of HAL Laboratory, he personally assisted with the development of Pokemon Gold and Silver.

By observing source code, he ported the battle logic over from Pokemon Red and Blue in a single week. Mr. Iwata also wrote the compression/decompression algorithm for Gold, Silver, and Crystal. While many believe his algorithm minimized internal memory, an in-depth Reddit post reveals that its purpose was to increase speed, due to the original algorithm running too slow. Still, it’s an impressive feat, but Mr. Iwata’s contributions don’t stop with the Pokemon series.

Alongside Masahiro Sakurai, Satoru Iwata spent spare weekends creating the prototype of the original Super Smash Bros(“Ask Iwata” 105). He’d even go on to become a crucial part of the development process of Super Smash Bros. Melee. In an interview with 4Gamer, Mr. Iwata reveals that while serving as Nintendo’s General Manager of Corporate Planning, he’d review code and fix bugs in his free time, helping the game release on schedule.

3. Maintaining A Strong Presence

_{^{The very first episode of Iwata Asks was featured on the Nintendo Channel. Here Iwata himself interviews Shigeru Miyamoto about the then-upcoming Nintendo 3DS. Video provided by YouTube user NintenDaanNC.}}

Before Mr. Iwata took the reigns as president of Nintendo, I could not name a single CEO of any company. This fault was not my own, as most executives maintain a hands-off approach, calling the shots behind closed doors. However Satoru Iwata made his presence known, and it’s evident that he wanted fans to know who he was.

Back in the days of the Wii, he created an app known as the Nintendo Channel, which not only brought consumers game trailers, commercials, and downloadable demos, but also featured info videos, and developer interviews. The interviews were done by Mr. Iwata himself, asking in-depth questions about upcoming products. Looking back the Nintendo Channel was a precursor to the now-popular Nintendo Directs, as both served as avenues for Nintendo to deliver information directly to its fan base.

4. Caring About Employees

Everyone acknowledges Mr. Iwata’s success with the Nintendo Wii. It’s also pretty well known that its follow-up the WiiU did not perform nearly as well. I’m not going into detail about its flaws, but they were significant enough for Nintendo to slash the console’s sales forecast by more than fifty percent. In these situations, most executives solely blame everyone underneath them, but Mr. Iwata took responsibility for the system’s shortcomings.

Instead of laying off his workforce, he took a fifty percent pay cut for five months in order to make up for the company’s losses. Though this action is common practice amongst executives in Japan, it still shows how much Mr. Iwata cared about his employees. Even during his time as president of HAL Laboratory, Mr. Iwata would interview every single one of his employees to figure out how he could improve the work environment(“Ask Iwata” 13).

5. Promoting Healthy Online Interactions

Admittedly, I owe Mr. Iwata an apology regarding this subject. To say I wasn’t a fan of how Nintendo handled their online service would be an understatement. I constantly complained about the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection back in 2005. I hated friend codes and the fact that the service didn’t have the communication features that Sony and Microsoft were offering. After purchasing my PlayStation 3 in 2011, I grew to understand Nintendo’s reasons for how they structure their service.

In an interview for Famitsu, Mr. Iwata reveals that the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was developed around the concepts of “Simple, Safe, and Free”. He concluded that these three aspects were essential in tearing down the four barriers he believed were preventing online multiplayer from becoming mainstream. These were “difficult setup procedures, the psychological barrier preventing newcomers from joining in games, the unpleasantness of receiving abuse from other players, and the cost barrier”.

While all were valid observations, the third problem is still relevant as it was seventeen years ago, probably even more so. Even today, industry leaders are hesitant to address the darker aspects of online multiplayer. Mr. Iwata wasn’t one of them. Despite the criticism, he didn’t budge on his stance on how he believed online gaming should be.

6. Striving to Make Gaming An Art Form

The final and most important reason I miss Mr. Iwata is that he strove to make video games a unifying and respected art form. I didn’t see it at the time, but the Wii truly used video games to bring together the masses. No other system ever succeeded in bringing my parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts into my gaming sessions.

Mr. Iwata’s goal with the Wii was to successfully reach every demographic. Objectives like this often translate to making a single game that appeals to everyone, but I believe this wasn’t his philosophy. What he proved was that within all of the software, there’s at least one experience for every person, and the Wii was a testament to this. For every Wii Sports, there was a Twilight Princess, and for every Wii Music, there was a No More Heroes. Somewhere in every catalog is a game that appeals to you.

A Different Nintendo

Ever since Satoru Iwata passed, Nintendo hasn’t felt the same to me. That’s not to say that things aren’t going well at the company. The Switch is easily one of the best-selling consoles ever created, but it’s hard for me not to notice Mr. Iwata’s absence. I miss his quirkiness, his smile, and his excitement to bring news directly to the fans.

Every time I watch a new Nintendo Direct, I can’t help but wish that he would magically pop up. While the events still bring hype, they feel more scripted and corporate. With Mr. Iwata, things felt a lot more personal, and I’ll always miss his involvement in Nintendo’s products. I want to end with a sincere thank you to the beloved former president of Nintendo, the man with the mind of a game developer and the heart of a gamer. Thank you for everything, Mr. Iwata.

---

Sources:

Iwata, Satoru, and Sam Bett. Ask Iwata: Words of Wisdom from Satoru Iwata, Nintendo’s Legendary CEO. VIZ Media, LLC, 2021.

Whitworth, Spencer. “Pokémon: How Satoru Iwata Saved an Endangered Franchise.” Collider, 15 June 2022, collider.com/pokemon-games-satoru-iwata-influence/.

“Dive into Anything.” Reddit, http://www.reddit.com/r/pokemon/comments/hwhs8n/til_while_it_is_true_that_iwata_did_write_a_new/. Accessed 17 June 2023.

Brian. “Iwata on His ‘Super Programmer’ Days, Helped Get Smash Bros.. Melee out on Time.” Nintendo Everything, 28 Dec. 2014, nintendoeverything.com/iwata-on-his-super-programmer-days-helped-get-smash-bros-melee-out-on-time/.

Karmali, Luke. “Nintendo Cuts Wii U Sales Forecast from 9 Million to 2.8 Million.” IGN, 17 Jan. 2014, http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/01/17/nintendo-cuts-wii-u-sales-forecast-from-9-million-to-28-million.

Famitsu Reports, famitsu.blogspot.com/2006/03/zen-of-wi-fi.html. Accessed 17 June 2023.