Satoru Iwata: official comments from Shigeru Miyamoto, Satoru Shibata, Reggie Fils-Aimé, Genyo Takeda

Update

We added Genyo Takeda’s (Senior Managing Director) memorial address from Satoru Iwata’s funerals. You will find it below.

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Shigeru Miyamoto

In a statement, Shigeru Miyamoto explained that he was not only surprised but overcome by sadness. However, he vowed to maintain the game development stance that he and Satoru Iwata established together. He will keep on working with developers in order to create the kind of development results Satoru Iwata would have appreciated.

Here’s the statement in full, from IGN:

“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.”

Satoru Shibata

Satoru Shibata (president of Nintendo of Europe) had trouble finding the right words in order to talk about the sadness he felt (or most likely still feels) at the time.

He described Satoru Iwata as a strong leader, a unique figure of the video game industry, but also a central piece of Nintendo’s history. For Satoru Shibata, Satoru Iwata was a true visionary, who always challenged people to push forward. Just like Shigeru Miyamoto, he vowed to keep his legacy’s alive.

Here’s the statement in full:

“It is difficult to put into words the sadness we feel at this time. Mr. Iwata was a strong leader, a unique figure in the gaming industry and an important part of  Nintendo’s history. He was a visionary in every sense of the word and we will miss him dearly.

 

“Just as Mr. Iwata challenged us to always push forward, we will ensure his legacy lives on through our ongoing work to always surprise and delight our fans. At this time our thoughts are with his family.”

Reggie Fils-Aimé

For Reggie Fils-Aimé, it’s only in a few years that people will truly appreciate Satoru Iwata’s impact on both Nintendo and the video game industry. He described him as a strong leader, known for his intelligence, creativity, curiosity and sense of humor. He was also a great friend and mentor, who always challenged people to push forward. Just like Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Shibata, he vowed to keep’s Satoru Iwata’s legacy alive.

Here’s the statement in full:

“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.”

Source: Benzinga

Genyo Takeda

As we gather here today for a joint funeral with Nintendo Co., Ltd. and Mr. Iwata’s family, I would like to share my heartfelt condolences. President Iwata, allow me to call you Iwata-san, just as I always used to.

 

Iwata-san, you left us far too soon. Having just chaired our shareholders’ meeting the other day on June 26, the news of your sudden death has left all the employees overcome with a deep sorrow. The late Yamauchi-san passed the baton to you in naming you the president of Nintendo in 2002, and the two Senior Managing Directors of the company, Shigeru Miyamoto and I, have been assisting and working alongside you. Being rather short-tempered myself, the thing that I am most deeply struck by is that you were a true leader in every sense of the word, overflowing with compassion for people. You always maintained a two-way dialogue, even with the next generation of employees, or with much younger members of the development and marketing teams, or with employees outside of Japan whose different customs and cultures can make communication challenging — sometimes even admitting your own mistakes to them. You demonstrated this through your belief that people could eventually come to understand one another, and your strong conviction that the best way for us to grow is through patient communication, even if it took several times, a dozen times or even seemingly endless discussion.

 

You succeeded in planting the seed in employees’ hearts that, in order to solve an issue, there is a fundamental cycle whereby you make a hypothesis, execute the plan, see the result and then make adjustments, and by which you have caringly nurtured these seeds to sprout and mature into plants.

 

Until now, our successors and the younger generation would take a few first steps and then look back at you for guidance because they could not tell if they had chosen the right path. Today they cannot ask for your guidance anymore.

 

However, I am sure that they have already made the firm determination that they will continue on their own, making the hypothesis, executing the plan, seeing the results and reflecting on the results to improve and adjust by themselves.

 

In the face of your unbelievable passing it will surely take some time before we can emerge from this deep sorrow. Please know, however, that the seeds you have planted, and the plants that have sprouted will put forth small flowers as they bring smiles to the faces of people around the world, blossom into a grand flower bigger than even you, our leader, Iwata-san. Together with Miyamoto and others of our generation, we swear in our hearts that we will continue our efforts so that, someday, we can report and present to you the blossoming of these flowers. May you continuously watch over and guide us managers, our employees and your family.

 

On behalf of all of us, I would like to offer my heartfelt condolences and sincerest prayer. May you rest in peace, Iwata-san.

Source: Polygon