Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai has paid tribute to Nintendo’s former president Satoru Iwata, who passed away 10 years ago today, aged 55.
Iwata’s death on July 11, 2015, following a long battle with bile duct cancer, sent shockwaves around the video game industry, and prompted a tidal wave of tributes from fellow developers and fans.
A beloved figure within Nintendo and amongst its many followers, Iwata served as the company’s president from 2002 until his death, following decades of work as a programmer. It was this background and love of playing video games which afforded Iwata a deep knowledge and understanding of Nintendo’s projects, as Iwata rose through the ranks to became the company’s leader and figurehead.
“Today was the release date of the GameCube’s Kirby Air Ride,” Sakurai wrote on X / Twitter this morning. “At the same time, it is also the anniversary of Iwata-san’s passing [in] 2015.
“10 years have passed since then…” he continued. “Iwata-san and I were about 10 years apart in age and when we joined the company, and soon I’ll be catching up to his age, won’t I?”
Iwata began his career at HAL Laboratory, the game developer behind early NES hits such as Golf and Balloon Fight, and it was there he later became a colleague and friend of Sakurai, after interviewing the young developer for his role.
Later moving to work internally at Nintendo, Iwata was hand-picked by previous company president Hiroshi Yamauchi to serve as his successor, and went on to lead the company through its enormously profitable DS and Wii generations. Then, during the tougher 3DS and Wii U eras, Iwata memorably halved his own salary twice over successive years. At the end of his life, Iwata was working on the concept for Nintendo Switch — though passed before seeing its success.
Today’s date has not gone unnoticed by Nintendo fans, who have begun sharing their many memories of Iwata, and of the day Nintendo announced it had lost its president. 10 years on, the memories of Iwata’s Nintendo Direct appearances, appreciation for his Iwata Asks interviews, and leadership of a company many hold synonymous with their childhood, remains clear.
“I was 15 years old when Iwata passed away,” wrote one fan, Racoon, on video game fan forum ResetEra. “I remember very vividly waking up to the news, running to my sister’s door to awaken her to it as well. Like so many of my age bracket I was a very ardent believer in, and defender of, Satoru Iwata as president. Reading about Iwata’s triumphs in computer programming made me interested in the field and led me to study computer science in university. I believe that this too was true of many people my age. I was devastated by Iwata’s death that summer, and it has stuck with me throughout the past decade as well.”
“It may seem silly since I never even met him, but Iwata is someone I genuinely respected and admired,” added another fan, Zashga. “The way he rose through the ranks as a programmer, a fixer for troubled projects, and ultimately the leader who took Nintendo from their seemingly inevitable decline to a new golden age is such an anomalous and inspiring story. RIP to a true legend.”
For a lengthier tribute to Iwata from Sakurai, the latter’s video remembering various anecdotes of their time together is well worth a watch. You might have heard the story about how Iwata’s programming made it possible for Pokémon Gold and Silver to also feature the entire map of Pokémon Red and Blue, but did you know Iwata also came up with the “Bros” part of “Super Smash Bros.”, to make it clear the fights were friendly rivalries?
“Mr Iwata was truly the person who understood me best,” Sakurai concludes, in his tribute video. “He was full of virtue, relentlessly hardworking, committed to service, and a man who changed the game industry.”
Image credit: Bob Riha, Jr./Nintendo via Getty Images
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
