We here at Operation Rainfall are still reeling from the death of Satoru Iwata. He was a man who gave countless to all of us, and it’s genuinely impossible to overstate his contributions to gaming. However, for all our sorrow, we did not know the man personally, and the words of his friends and co-workers will always have more weight.
Shigeru Miyamoto released a relatively brief statement on his feelings
I am surprised at this sudden news and overcome with sadness. The entire development team at Nintendo will remain committed to our development policy which Mr. Iwata and we have been constructing together and to yield the development results which Mr. Iwata would appreciate.
Reggie Fils-Aime took the moment to speak assuredly that Nintendo would continue on a trend true to the spirit of Iwata’s desires.
Mr. Iwata is gone, but it will be years before his impact on both Nintendo and the full video game industry will be fully appreciated. He was a strong leader for our company, and his attributes were clear to most everyone: Intelligence, creativity, curiosity and sense of humor. But for those of us fortunate enough to work closely with him, what will be remembered most were his mentorship and, especially, his friendship. He was a wonderful man. He always challenged us to push forward…to try the new…to upset paradigms—and most of all, to engage, excite and endear our fans. That work will continue uninterrupted.
Finally, Shigesato Itoi, probably best know for creating the Mother/EarthBound series gave what is probably the most personal of the three releases.
No matter the farewell, I think the most appropriate thing to say is, ‘We’ll meet again.’ We are friends so we’ll see each other again. There is nothing strange about saying it. Yeah, we’ll meet again. Even if you didn’t have the chance to put into words how sudden it was going to be, how far you’d be traveling, or how you went much earlier than expected, I know you went wearing your best. You always put yourself second to others no matter what, helping anyone who needed it whenever they needed it. You were that kind of friend. Although you may have been a little selfish for the first time ever by taking this journey.
The truth is, though, that I still don’t believe any of it. I feel like I am going to receive a message from you inviting me out to eat at any moment. I wouldn’t mind if you were to ask me like always if I had some free time. If you did, I’d ask you as well. Still, “we’ll meet again.” It would be great to hear from you whenever and wherever; I’ll being calling to you too. I’ll call if I have something to discuss or I want to tell you a great new idea I’ve had. We’ll meet again. Then again, you’re here with me now.
With a giant gone, Nintendo has a huge shoes to fill–those of a man who dedicated himself to making some of the best and most memorable games of all time. None of my words will reflect the loss more succinctly than those of these men, and I wish both them and Iwata’s family nothing but the best.
