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Written by Dustin Murphy
With eyes filled with tears, we here at Blast Away the Game Review have learned that Satoru Iwata has passed away at the Age of 55 due to a Bile Duct Growth. In an official press statement released by Nintendo we have received a confirmation of this news. Many of you may remember that Iwata did not attend E3 last year on the referral of his doctors in order not to travel, which was to help alleviate a growth that was found in his bile duct. Last year he also noted to his colleagues that he knew his illness would be hard to treat, and may not be treatable.
It pains us knowing that the last Nintendo Direct we saw with Iwata was his last, but many should remember him for his hilarious antics, his costumes, his warm smile, but also his programming he had done at the HAL Laboratory, and thus lead him to his helping create Kirby and the Super Smash Bros. franchises before his ascendance to the top job of CEO of Nintendo in 2002.
Thanks to his hard work, Iwata was able to introduce the world to Nintendo’s largest and most profound successes to date, the Nintendo DS and Wii lines of consoles, which would take on the video game market in the decade following. Many unfamiliar with Iwata are new to learn that he was not related to the founding Yamauchi family, but he carried traditions of being approachable as a person, that he loved to interact with his fans, but he would also take on the commonly hosted Nintendo Direct video as well as Nintendo Tree House in the following years.
Iwata was the first president of Nintendo not related to its founding Yamauchi family. He cultivated an approachable personality through company Q&As (called “Iwata Asks”) and appearances such as the latter-day Nintendo Direct video series, in which he spoke directly to the millions of video gamers spanning several generations who loved his company’s games.
R.I.P Mr. Iwata, you will be greatly missed by fans around the world. We know we miss you already. All we can do now? Is let you take your final bow.
We have reached out to Nintendo for a full statement regarding his passing and the future of Nintendo. We’ll keep you updated.
About the Writer:
Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter @GamingAnomaly, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.