A few days ago, Michael Pachter created an uproar when he flippantly referred to Satoru Iwata, the late President of Nintendo, who passed away because of a bile duct tumor last year, as ‘the late and not so great Satoru Iwata.’ Considering how well loved Mr. Iwata was – indeed, his death brought the entire gaming and tech industry together in a moment of solidarity and remembrance of the man for his contributions to the medium – that remark did not go down well.

So when GamingBolt sat down with Pachter to have a chat, he decided to formally apologize for his remark about Mr. Iwata, on the record.

‘I want to take an opportunity to formally and vocally apologize for being crass and unfeeling when I said that Mr Iwata is late but not so great,” Pachter said candidly and unctuously. ‘I think that that was rude, and uncalled for. I did not feel he was a very good businessperson- he was clearly a wonderful, kind man, with a ton of talent, and he shepherded a great company during his tenure there.’

It is very good on him to recognize that he misspoke, and to so publicly and openly apologize for it. Mr. Iwata was certainly a great man, and his contributions to the world of gaming, and to the world of business and management in the gaming industry, are manifold, unlikely to be matched by anyone else. Michael Pachter’s original statement may have been in extremely poor taste, but it’s good to see that he recognizes that he misspoke, and was willing to apologize so readily for it.

Earlier this year, the President of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, passed away. It was a devastating loss for the gaming community, and it is not something that we have actually gotten over yet. Mr. Iwata was a titan of the gaming industry, and his influence on the medium will probably continue to be felt for years to come (indeed, his vision for the future of gaming, Nintendo’s next system, the NX, is due next year).

At The Game Awards tonight, Geoff Keighley honored the memory of Mr. Iwata, and all that he accomplished. Reggie Fils-Aime of Nintendo of America took the stage to give a moving speech about Mr. Iwata’s achievements, recounting his incredible daring and courage- who else would have had the gumption to sign off on systems like the DS or Wii, which flew in the face of conventional wisdom?

Mr. Iwata was a titanic force in the industry, and what he achieved will remain unsurpassed for years to come. It is great to see his legacy being recognized. May he rest in peace.

The passing of Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata still continues to be felt throughout the games industry, as the man who redefined the reach and meaning of video games as a medium has his absence felt. Writing in his weekly column, Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai, who was a long time collaborator and friend of Iwata’s – the two worked together on loads of games, including the creation of Kirby, and yes, Super Smash Bros. – discussed Iwata’s virtues.

“Our positions and locations changed throughout our long association,” Sakurai said. “He was the best superior I ever had and a man who understood me better than anyone.

The full eulogy read:

He was a man of virtue. Where a normal person would get annoyed or angry, he would never show such emotions and would instead analyze, organize, and offer ideas. He was someone who could bow his head and apologize for things that weren’t his fault. I often worried about his stress levels, but he always talked with a smile.

He had a brilliant mind. Even when people would talk at length or without focus he was able to quickly say, “so, what you’re trying to say is…” and quickly summarize their point. He was able to see to the heart of people and things and was a master of simplifying them so that anyone could understand their point. He could immediately make a call on changes to improve. I have no doubt that many people were saved by this quality.

He was a man of effort. Even though he didn’t start out in the managing field, he read numerous management books, he would ask for advice from the necessary people that he would take to heart, and managed to become the president of Nintendo. What he gained from his years as a programmer allowed him to take many long-term projects to successful fruition.

He was open and generous. Things like his Iwata Asks, and Nintendo Direct weren’t things that necessarily required the president of Nintendo to stand at the front and do. There was always the risk of frivolous criticism. And yet, by being the spokesperson, I believe he showed the importance of properly conveying a message to his audience.

He was empathetic. After he became the president of Nintendo, he would write emails to all employees to communicate and as hard as it was, took a stance to try to treat everyone as equals. He would often ask third parties to see how people were doing. As an individual, he had no self-righteous qualities.

It really does sound as though Mr. Iwata touched all those who knew him in his lifetime, and it does remain a tragedy that he passed as soon as he did. May he rest in peace.

[Thanks Kotaku, for the translation]

It’s been a couple of weeks since the passing of Nintendo’s legendary president Satoru Iwata, and we are still no closer to knowing exactly who his official successor will be. For a while, there was a rumour that Nintendo’s pioneering game developer Shigeru Miyamoto, who is currently jointly presiding over the company while the search for an official successor continues, will be taking over the company. Now, it seems, that will not be the case.

People close to the matter say that this is unlikely to happen, owing to a combination of various factors. “Although it would be a romantic dream to have the company led by the father of Mario, I think Takeda-san has more corporate experience and really understands hardware; it was he who argued for a new interface for the Wii rather than just a faster Gamecube with better graphics,” said Nick Parker of Parker Consulting.

Dr. Serkan Toto, a mobile games industry analyst, is of the same opinion. “Iwata-san was apparently a very capable programmer and turned out to be a great leader overall. Nintendo is the most iconic game maker in the world that (at least in Japan) attracts the top talent in gaming; [it] might have people like him in the work force who could follow in Iwata’s foot steps.”

“Takeda, who helped Punch-Out and StarTropics, was one of the main developers on the Wii, and has a similar trajectory in the company as Iwata. Takeda is likely a lead candidate for the job. Nintendo also has a number of executives on its board of directors who also could step up into the spot.”said Mike Schramm of Electronic Entertainment Design and Research.

As of right now, we still don’t know who the successor is slated to be, and given that the company itself is still in a state of mourning, actually expecting them to make an announcement is just a bit insensitive. Nonetheless, for people invested in the future of the company, it is an important question that merits an answer sometime soon. We’ll keep you posted.

[Thanks GamesIndustry]

When Satoru Iwata passed away last week, the gaming world stopped for a rare moment and joined hands– a visionary and monumental pioneer of the gaming industry was no longer with us, and it was time to pay him respects, regardless of one’s allegiances towards certain games or companies.

That sentiment was demonstrated in very real form this week, as during Iwata’s funeral, thousand of people showed up to pay respects. Two days of funeral services were held (as is common in Japan); The Wall Street Journal reports that more than 2,600 people visited his coffin the first day, and 1,500 came the next day. People who showed up did not include just fans- they included, according to Eurogamer, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, former Sonic Team head Yuji Naka, Q-Games founder Dylan Cuthbert, multimedia artist Baiyon, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, and producer Bill Trinen.

Fans showed up with their 3DSs, the successor to the very first system Iwata launched- the Nintendo DS. The DS line has since gone on to become the highest selling portable game device line of all time, with 210 million units sold worldwide across the Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS.

Speaking in his eulogy, senior managing director Genyo Takeda, who is currently stewarding the company alongside Shigeru Miyamoto until a proper successor for Satoru Iwata is found, Takeda promised that Nintendo would continue to complete the work that Iwata began, and that the seeds Iwata planted would someday grow into flowers “that will make people around the world smile.”

They already are. And not many individuals can claim that.

[via Gamespot]

When Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata passed away earlier this week, there was an outpouring of grief and mourning for one of the most influential figures in gaming history ever, the likes of which had, until then, never been seen before. However, there was one dissenting voice in all of this, one man who still couldn’t help but throw a jab in at Iwata- Michael Pachter.

Pachter’s original tweets for Mr. Iwata’s passing included criticism of how the latter ran Nintendo- Michael Pachter has always been an outspoken critic of how Nintendo has been run for the last few years. Even when he was registering his condolences for Iwata’s passing, he couldn’t help but sneak that in.

However, outraged fans, and possibly his own self realization about how inappropriate his remarks were, caused him to change his wording and his stance very soon. His final tweet on the subject read, “Nintendo had an amazing run financially and creatively under Satoru Iwata’s leadership. He will be missed by the games industry.”

Speaking to fans, Pachter admitted that he had been wrong with his initial wording, and that he should have been more respectful.

Whereas I don’t expect everyone to be someone’s fan, even someone as great as Iwata (and Mr. Pachter is certainly entitled to his opinion), there is a time and place for everything- and I am glad to see Mr. Pachter eventually came around to seeing things that way.

Following the announcement of the death of Nintendo’s President and CEO Satoru Iwata last night, there has been a massive outpouring of grief and mourning from the gaming community– players and industry professionals alike. Iwata was truly a man who exemplified what Nintendo is, and everything that it stands for the the extent that it can be said, without hyperbole, that Iwata was Nintendo, and Nintendo Iwata.

Which makes the question about who is to lead Nintendo now so scary- these are turbulent times for Nintendo, and a strong leader with a cohesive vision is needed, someone like Iwata, who also understands the intangibles of Nintendo, rather than just looking at business problems. The trouble is, not many such people exist.

One candidate is Shigeru Miyamoto, the inimitable developer at Nintendo, who was the driving force behind so many of the company’s franchises, from Mario and Zelda, to F-Zero and Star Fox. The Wall Street Journal reports that Miyamoto may be next in line to lead Nintendo (he is already jointly presiding over the company in the interim, until a successor is properly announced).

Miyamoto, of course, has not commented on any such rumors and speculation- it would be too soon. That said, he did comment on the passing of his friend and colleague, Satoru Iwata.

“I am surprised at this sudden news and overcome with sadness,” Mr. Miyamoto said in a statement issued through the company on Monday. “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.”

It tells us a lot about just how strong and effective a leader Iwata was, that even after his death, the company is committed to largely following the roadmap he set for them.

Rest in peace, Mr. Iwata. There will be no one like you again.

Yesterday, the gaming industry lost a legend– Nintendo CEO and President Satoru Iwata, the man who himself is responsible for delivering countless games to players from his earlier programming days, games such as Earthbound, Balloon Fight, Kirby, Smash Bros., and Pokemon, the man who was responsible for Nintendo’s memorable comeback and most successful period ever, with the Wii and Nintendo DS, and the man who, even when the company hit rough times with the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, refused steadfastly to compromise on the principles that he thought Nintendo stood for.

Satoru Iwata was one of the most important people the gaming medium has ever seen, inspiring and impacting millions of lives around the world, whether they be game players, or game developers. Today, in an unusual moment of solidarity, all of the game industry came together to celebrate Iwata’s life, and honor him and his achievements.

Shuhei Yoshida, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios president

“I always admired his personal, easy to understand commentary on games in development in his Nintendo Direct. He was an inspiration as a leader of one of the most influential companies in the game industry, who used to make games himself and has always been a gamer. I had a couple of times I had conversations with him at some international industry events, he was always friendly and nice to talk with. I was dreaming someday to have an open exchange of Tweets or to be on a same panel session with him to talk about industry and games we play. I even tweeted when I was leaving for E3 this year with #iwatter as I saw he started tweeting Nintendo E3 news with the hashtag. I have always respected Nintendo’s games, how they are super accessible and polished for everyone to play and enjoy, and I understand Iwata-san was one of the key individuals to have kept that high quality standard across all Nintendo titles. I just wish he will rest in peace. Thank you for all your work for the better game industry.”

Jack Tretton, former president, Sony Computer Entertainment America

“Iwata-san will be sorely missed. Thanks to his vision and leadership, millions of gamers around the world have been entertained and inspired. His contributions will never be forgotten.”

Phil Spencer, head of Xbox at Microsoft

“Honestly I wasn’t a huge Nintendo gamer growing up.  I grew up on Atari 2600 and PC games.  When I entered the ‘industry’ and learned what it meant to build games, grow franchises and really become part of the industry is when I learned what why Nintendo was special.  Iwata-san has been President of Nintendo really for as long as we’ve been in the Xbox business.  I think it was GDC 2005 when he stated ‘On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer.’  It’s a quote I think about daily as I make decision for Xbox.  Nintendo has defined excellence, longevity and self-confidence in their own vision.  In the times I’ve met Iwata-san I always took away someone who believed in the ‘why’ behind the games and platforms they built.  I think this was born out of the fact that he was a gamer at heart.”

Randy Pitchford, Gearbox Software president

“I never met anyone in our industry who knew him who did not admire and respect Iwata. I believe our industry has suffered a great loss with his passing. The wisest among us will long try to remember and embody his character.”

David Perry, chief executive, Gaikai (Sony Computer Entertainment)

It’s sad to see key players like Iwata and Ralph Baer passing away, it reminds us of how young and fragile our industry really is. I really enjoyed him, especially his love for the Brain Age games.

Rami Ismail, Vlambeer chief executive of business and development

“I vaguely remember playing Balloon Fight with my dad when I was a kid too young to understand how it worked. I kind of remember not getting Earthbound as one of the games on a weird 25-in-1 cartridge that my dad had somehow procured in Egypt after he mistakingly bought a Polystation instead of a Playstation. I remember playing Super Smash Brothers for the first time with my friends, and picking Kirby as my main in that game for the rest of my life (it’s still the only Amiibo I own). I vividly remember discussing whether Brain Age should be considered a game as a young and naive designer at game design university. As an independent developer myself now, I was recently admiring the way Iwata dealt with Nintendo as a company and as a community leader, both when things were going well and when things were going poorly.

“Iwata’s work has been with my all of my life, and it’s odd to realize that someone that has always subtly been in the background radiation of your life is no longer there.

“I am currently watching how our team chat at Vlambeer, my Twitter, my Facebook — every social media I use, is overflowing with the love of an industry, an art-form and its players. I guess Iwata’s quote on being a developer, a corporate president and a gamer was exactly right.”

Osamu Asada, creator of 1001 Spikes

“I was both shocked and confused when I heard the news of Mr. Iwata’s passing.

“I have always been a fan of games, but never expected to be developing them. Ironically, it was on this very day, I was going to visit Nintendo’s Kyoto headquarters to present my game. But even before drawing lines of developer — not developer, as a gamer, I will miss Mr. Iwata’s contributions to the game industry as a whole.”

Tyrone Rodriguez, founder at Nicalis

“Mr. Iwata’s death feels very personal and makes me sad.

“From the outside, he was very much ‘Nintendo,’ within the company he was a driving force for positive change. Mr. Iwata was a model president and game developer — both in character and business.

“My thoughts go out to his immediate family, to his staff at Nintendo and wish them well during this time.”

John Ricciardi, creative director and co-founder of 8-4 Ltd.

“I was fortunate enough to meet Iwata a few times back in my media days before he was the president of Nintendo, and he was always the nicest, most down-to-earth guy. You could tell he loved and understood games on a deeper level, and that always stuck with me over the years.

“Just knowing that the guy who was in charge of the company was down in the trenches for many of their crowning achievements over the past three decades made you feel like no matter what happened, things were going to turn out OK for Nintendo. He was a gamer and a developer first, and he used those passions to try and make his company and the industry in general a better place for it.”

Brenda Romero, design director at Romero Games

“Iwata’s passing is so surprising and sad. Few people have had such an effect on shape of our industry, and the impact of his work will be felt for generations. A true legend. I only just found out about his passing, and I still can’t believe it.”

John Romero, Brainquake chief game designer

“Incredibly sad news that Iwata passed away so suddenly. His legacy was great and he will be remembered fondly by many people whose lives he touched with his pure love for gamers.”

Matias Myllyrinne, former Remedy CEO

“He was an industry Titan that impacted the lives of millions by broadening the appeal of video games. He brought joy to millions of homes around the world.

“I remember before the DS came out that I could not see its success. After all — ‘who wants two screens?’. Boy was I wrong! I and many others could not see as far as Iwata had planned. He had a vision and perseverance to see it through. Often against conventional wisdom.

“A leader of his caliber was not only a blessing to the company he led – but to the industry as a whole.”

Jenova Chen, president and creative director at thatgamecompany

“Iwata san is one of the few giants in the game industry who not only believe we needed to make games more appealing to non-gamers, but also the one who have shown us how it could be done. He will be missed by those who love video games to heart and those who want to spread their love to others.”

Meggan Scavio, general manager of the Game Developers Conference

“When Satoru Iwata stepped onto the GDC keynote stage in 2006 and told the audience he had the heart of a gamer, every single person hearing his words knew he was sincere. And when it came time to invite someone to keynote our 25th anniversary, he was honestly our only choice. He not only had the heart of a gamer, he had the heart of a developer. He was and remains an inspiration to us all.”

Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard

“It’s a very sad day. Mr. Iwata was a great visionary championing products like the Wii and the Nintendo DS. He changed entertainment forever. I consider myself lucky to have called him a good friend for over two decades. All of us at Activision Blizzard send his wife and children and the entire Nintendo family our most sincere condolences.”

Peter Molyneux, founder and creative director at 22Cans

“Satoru Iwata, was a true visionary, his influence on the games industry is beyond question. Without him we may never have seen Earthbound or experienced the Pokemon games in the ways we appreciate today. Under his guidance Nintendo produced arguably the most disruptive systems we have ever seen, the Wii and DS proved being brave and forward thinking can lead to great success. He was and will remain one of the corner stones that make this industry so amazing. He will be sorely missed.”

Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America’s President and COO

“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.”

Jade Raymond, group general manager and vice president at Electronic Arts

“Iwata will be sorely missed. I have long admired his work and unique perspective on the industry.

“With games like Kirby and Brain Age, he has helped prove that everyone is a gamer at heart, they just need games that speak to them.

“In honour of Iwata’s life work and accomplishments, I hope we keep his vision for a more inclusive and light hearted industry alive.”

The industry has come together amazingly- the Twitter account of every major gaming company (and even some non gaming ones, such as Facebook, Amazon, and Skype) has posted its condolences for the passing of Satoru Iwata, and fans from around the world, used to Iwata and his inimitable style that shone through in Nintendo Direct, have created fan works, such as videos and art, all to show their respect for the man who made Nintendo, Nintendo.

Rest in peace, Satoru Iwata. Rest assured in the knowledge that yours was truly a vision that stood out, and one that will be honored.

[Thanks, Polygon]

Nintendo has revealed that president Satoru Iwata recently passed away.

The company issued a small statement: “Nintendo Co., Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth.”

Iwata had faced these issues before, namely at last year’s E3 when he was forced to skip the conference and undergo surgery for removing bile duct growth. He later claimed that he was recovering well afterwards though it seems the issue didn’t go away completely.

Having joined the company in the 1980s as a programmer for HAL Laboratory, Iwata was a part of numerous projects including Kirby, Earthbound, Pokemon and more, before lending his expertise towards games like Zelda, Animal Crossing and more. Iwata became president of Nintendo in 2002 and has been the face of the company for its Nintendo Direct presentations and gaming efforts ever since.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to Iwata’s family and friends. The gaming industry has lost a true legend and we hope he rests in peace.

Nintendo chief executive Satoru Iwata has talked a bit more about its upcoming NX platform, which will assist Nintendo in delivering its first ever mobile games to the industry. In a translation to the company’s latest earnings report, Iwata reiterated that the NX would not be a replacement for the Wii U or 3DS.

“Though I cannot confirm when it will be launched or any other details of the system, since I have confirmed that it will be ‘a dedicated video game platform with a brand new concept,’ it should mean that we do not intend it to become a simple ‘replacement’ for Nintendo 3DS or Wii U.”

The situation with handhelds and consoles has become “rather different, especially between Japan and overseas” and the NX, billed as a “brand new concept” will look to be “accepted as many people around the world as possible”.

“Since we are always thinking about how to create a new platform that will be accepted by as many people around the world as possible, we would like to offer to them ‘a dedicated video game platform with a brand new concept’ by taking into consideration various factors, including the playing environments that differ by country. This is all that I can confirm today.”

Nintendo has revealed that the NX will not be showcased at this year’s E3 and more details on the platform will be revealed in 2016.