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[LakeOf9]

11th July 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of Satoru Iwata's passing; a man who cemented himself as not only an exceptional leader during times of both success and failure, but a figurehead that would steal the hearts of countless fans around the world.

It's difficult to really say anything that hasn't already been expressed at some point in the last decade, but we think it's clear that Iwata's presence continues to be felt in both Nintendo circles and the gaming industry at large. Indeed, with the recent news of extensive layoffs from Xbox and Microsoft and the turmoil at studios across the world over the last couple of years, many have recounted the words spoken by Iwata during a shareholder Q&A session in 2013:

"If we reduce the number of employees for better short-term financial results, however, employee morale will decrease, and I sincerely doubt employees who fear that they may be laid off will be able to develop software titles that could impress people around the world."

SOURCE

In a world where Microsoft has laid off thousands, on top of Sony, EA, Ubisoft, Embracer, Epic, Unity, Take Two, Riot, and so many others, are laying off employees indiscriminately over and over again, I think Iwata's wisdom really does stand out. I think the reason Nintendo has such a unique knack for being able to deliver on quality products over and over (and come back from the brink of death on the back of those) is because of their ability to retain the talent that makes those quality products – rather than treating them as disposable resources that can be replaced when necessary, Nintendo places a huge value on institutional knowledge.

 

[Robb]

Yeah, they're obviously sitting on tons upon tons of know-how. I was just skimming thorough the DK Bananza developer interview and they mention how they went to Miyamoto and others for guidance. Must be amazing to be able to discuss and develop your project alongside the original creator(s) of all people.

Nintendo having a 98.8% employee retention rate is freaking insane.

 

[Zacfoldor]

Legend.

Robb Saw a Rare documentary about DK Country. Miyamoto visited Rare, played the game, and gave them advice on how to improve it and they were fucking SHOCKED by how simple and good the advice was. I don't remember what it was but I think I watched the doc on youtube.

 

[Robb]

Legend.

Robb Saw a Rare documentary about DK Country. Miyamoto visited Rare, played the game, and gave them advice on how to improve it and they were fucking SHOCKED by how simple and good the advice was. I don't remember what it was but I think I watched the doc on youtube.

I remember reading how he also went to RETRO Studios during the development of Metroid Prime (1) and suggested Samus could have perception altering abilities which gave birth to the entire visor-switching mechanic(s).

 

[Rentahamster]

Life isn't fair when it's Iwata of all people that has to kick the bucket early. He was a generous leader with a vision, and the gaming landscape would be a more positive place today if he were still around.

 

[Memati187]

Unfortunately even nintendo is left with morons at the helm right now. But this quote is the exact opposite of what's going on with xbox division. Not exclusively them only, but everyone knows how fucked up the situation is over there right now.

 

[Hookshot]

He saved a few quid by having Sakurai (of Smash bros fame) drive him to the airport.

 

[Walter Matthau]

This was the last E3 digital event before Iwata passed away:



Although I don't think he appears physically anywhere in the video, the way Nintendo projected itself to public was very different at the time. It was a more familial atmosphere and fun which I think Iwata and Reggie played a big part in.

Iwata was a young at heart programmer wearing the suit of a CEO. Someone who actually related to the employees that worked for the company and the audience who enjoyed the games it made.

 

[Mozza]

Unfortunately even nintendo is left with morons at the helm right now. But this quote is the exact opposite of what's going on with xbox division. Not exclusively them only, but everyone knows how fucked up the situation is over there right now.

Yes..... morons who produced a cionsole that has sold over 152 million thus far. And a follow up console that sold 5 million in just 24 days...........Yes total morons lol.

 

[LakeOf9]

Unfortunately even nintendo is left with morons at the helm right now. But this quote is the exact opposite of what's going on with xbox division. Not exclusively them only, but everyone knows how fucked up the situation is over there right now.

I feel like comparing the health of Nintendo as a business, or by extension, comparing the capability of Nintendo leadership, to the health or leadership of almost any other business in the industry, is a fool's errand, given how vast a chasm there is

 

[BennyBlanco]

GOAT video game exec in my opinion. Guy always seemed so genuine.

 

[L*][*N*K]

Whenever someone talks about business and we have a discussion or something like that I usually end up giving them this video to show them how some people did manage to build an empire but not with ruthlessness but with vision and passion


No one was like him.

 

[nkarafo]

He was the only CEO of a major company that i couldn't dislike (other than Gaben). Reggie was fun too. That duo made corporate suits look cool and relatable (and a bit cringe sometimes, why not) for a short time period. He was not Kotick, that's for sure.

Of course, Iwata was the one who had to go early. Because we can't have nice things, ever.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

Hot take, but I wasn't a fan of the Iwata years. In my opinion he was not a good President/CEO. I loved the man, and nothing will take away from all the great things he did - in his work, and as a person. However the Wii, Wii-U, DS, and 3DS are among the weakest libraries in Nintendo's history (not counting BC), the majority of their financial success was due to their blue ocean strategy of wooing casuals and non-gamers. Nintendo struggled with their brand identity and adapting to long term industry trends. I know it's not fair to attribute all of this to Iwata, many of Nintendo's problems were far deeper rooted, and he did make great progress on relations with third parties and eventually relented with their plans for online connectivity.

At the same time, he needs to be celebrated as a brilliant engineer. From fitting Kanto into Pokemon GSC is nothing short of a miracle, a defining moment in his career. Also the infamous 3DS pay cut and ambassador program showed his integrity as a leader

 

[MSduderino]

He's the GOAT CEO IMO. Avoided layoffs and halfed his own salary to show solidarity with the rest of the company. Never got to see the success of the Switch, but surely help set it up for what was to come.

 

[Spukc]

Unfortunately even nintendo is left with morons at the helm right now. But this quote is the exact opposite of what's going on with xbox division. Not exclusively them only, but everyone knows how fucked up the situation is over there right now.

I know right?
The switch was a fucking flop
The wii u was so good

Nintendo is fucking doomed

 

[LakeOf9]

Hot take, but I wasn't a fan of the Iwata years. In my opinion he was not a good President/CEO. I loved the man, and nothing will take away from all the great things he did - in his work, and as a person. However the Wii, Wii-U, DS, and 3DS are among the weakest libraries in Nintendo's history (not counting BC), the majority of their financial success was due to their blue ocean strategy of wooing casuals and non-gamers. Nintendo struggled with their brand identity and adapting to long term industry trends. I know it's not fair to attribute all of this to Iwata, many of Nintendo's problems were far deeper rooted, and he did make great progress on relations with third parties and eventually relented with their plans for online connectivity.

At the same time, he needs to be celebrated as a brilliant engineer. From fitting Kanto into Pokemon GSC is nothing short of a miracle, a defining moment in his career. Also the infamous 3DS pay cut and ambassador program showed his integrity as a leader

It is important to remember that, whatever issues were with the Wii/DS lines and eras in the execution of the blue ocean strategy, and being able to balance expanded appeal with appeal to their core audience, Iwata appears to have understood how to address them. The Switch concept was allegedly his, and at least for the launch 2-3 years, Nintendo followed a plan Iwata had laid down for the Switch to the T

So even as a leader, it is probably you may have finally enjoyed Nintendo's output under him; unfortunately he just passed before he could preside over the immense success he set Nintendo up for with the Switch.

 

[Hudo]

If you know that your biggest asset that your company has is institutional knowledge, then firing and hiring people all the time is the worst thing you can do. And that's why many games by big-ass publishers are broken and/or shit. How can you improve upon a game and team-internal processes when people are always getting replaced? It's impossible when you are also on a deadline. It gets even worse when there are no people left to teach that institutional knowledge to new hires. Nintendo have understood this (at least that's how it looks like from the outside). Miyamoto et al. have talked about how they make sure that the "next generation" know what Nintendo is about. Now let's have a look at EA or Microsoft or many other companies...

It's a general problem, not only exclusive to video games.

 

[Thief1987]

Taking words of some suit at face value. Gaming "journalism" never fail to impress

 

[LavitzSlambert]

It is important to remember that, whatever issues were with the Wii/DS lines and eras in the execution of the blue ocean strategy, and being able to balance expanded appeal with appeal to their core audience, Iwata appears to have understood how to address them. The Switch concept was allegedly his, and at least for the launch 2-3 years, Nintendo followed a plan Iwata had laid down for the Switch to the T

So even as a leader, it is probably you may have finally enjoyed Nintendo's output under him; unfortunately he just passed before he could preside over the immense success he set Nintendo up for with the Switch.

No disagreement here, the Switch in concept and debut was him and it's the best device Nintendo ever created. All the credit goes where it's due, it's such a shame he did not live to see its launch success.

 

[VGA-Games]

"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"

Satoru Iwata

 

[Sanepar]

Yeah but many on this forum think mass layoffs will be good for the industry.

 

[Walliwallipaloo]

Taking words of some suit at face value. Gaming "journalism" never fail to impress

He wasn't "some suit." He was a programmer-turned-CEO with a right-minded business model, and well-respected by anyone with a functioning frontal lobe. I don't even like Nintendo, but I appreciate Satoru Iwata.

Have some decency.

 

[Dacvak]

Damn, I can't believe it's already been 10 years. Iwata was one of the greatest people in this industry, and the void he left is still felt to this day.

I really regret never being able to meet him. He died way too young.

I hope he's playing the Switch 3 with a custom mobile 5090 in heaven right now.

 

[Ainem Enamas]

Glad the Holy Trinity chose him for that time period - goodness was shown in front of gamers

 

[KINGMOKU]

Taking words of some suit at face value. Gaming "journalism" never fail to impress

You do know that humans actually wear those suits, right?

Zero decorum.

 

[FoxMcChief]

I name all my video game characters Raziel Iwata.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

I understand the timing of this with everything going on. On the other hand, the thought of bringing up a deceased person's words in the context of publishing an article that is sure to bring traffic to your site, whether harmless or not, should give one some pause.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Taking words of some suit at face value. Gaming "journalism" never fail to impress

Cringe, dude. Super cringe.

 

[Instant_Classic]

Iwata is a legend.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

No disagreement here, the Switch in concept and debut was him and it's the best device Nintendo ever created. All the credit goes where it's due, it's such a shame he did not live to see its launch success.

He was of course involved in it from its concept in late 2014/early 2015, but the production of the system took another a couple years after he was gone. Certainly the core concept of merging the handheld and console lines was signed off on and supported by him as something to reach for in the future. He talked about wanting to do that in Investor Meetings in 2014.