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Satoru Iwata

Japanese video game programmer and businessman (1959-2015)

Satoru Iwata (December 6, 1959 – July 11, 2015) was the fourth president of Nintendo Co., Ltd. His predecessor was Hiroshi Yamauchi. Iwata had been in his position from 2002 until his death in 2015.

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.
Nintendo is applying the benefits of advanced technology, but we're using it to make our machines more power-efficient, quieter and faster to start.
Even if we come from different sides of the world, speak different languages. Even if we eat too many chips, or rice balls. Even if we have different tastes in games. Every one of us, here today, is identical, in the most important way. Each one of us has the heart of a gamer.
And my name is Iwata. I'm about making games and I'm about playing games. Last night, I played Super Smash Bros. That's my game.

Quotes

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  • Although many believe that technology automatically enables more realistic expression, I believe that is just not correct.
  • Our competitors are always saying that Nintendo is just for children. To counter that, what we really need to do is explain to customers and potential customers [that we do not just make games for kids].
  • Please understand, I am not saying that technology is unimportant. I understand that technology is important. But if we are just focusing on technology and investing in an IT manufacturing plant to come up with higher performance processing [chips], we will not succeed.
  • Of course, we are applying advances in technology. But when you use those advances just to boost the processing power, the trade-off is that you increase power consumption, make the machine more expensive and make developing games more expensive. When I look at the balance of that trade-off -- what you gain and what you lose -- I don't think it's good. Nintendo is applying the benefits of advanced technology, but we're using it to make our machines more power-efficient, quieter and faster to start. And we're making a brand-new user interface. I think that way of thinking is the biggest difference.
  • Talking about the definition of the niche, or niche market, I really have the completely opposite opinion. The people the other companies are targeting are very limited to those who are high-tech oriented, and core game players. They cannot expand beyond that population. We are trying to capture the widest possible audience all around the world. In other words, we are trying to capture the people who are even beyond the gaming population. So for that kind of company, we don't think the term 'niche' is appropriate.
  • I've never once been embarrassed that children have supported Nintendo. I'm proud of it. That's because children judge products based on instinct. Everyone wants to appeal to people's instincts, but it's not easy. That doesn't mean we're making products just for children. We believe that there's interactive entertainment that people in their 60s, 70s and 80s can enjoy, so we're doing various things.
  • 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.
  • Even if we come from different sides of the world, speak different languages. Even if we eat too many chips, or rice balls. Even if we have different tastes in games. Every one of us, here today, is identical, in the most important way. Each one of us has the heart of a gamer.
  • There is a vast amount of energy which disappears inside organisations, or is expended going in directions which don't end up leading anywhere. If all that energy is properly directed, it can add up to a huge amount of power that can be used to produce visible results. That's why I think that over the last three years, as the level of awareness shared by the staff has increased, each individual's understanding has also developed. I believe this has meant that the total amount of energy in the company has increased more than it would have by simply increasing the number of staff. That is to say, the overall potential within the company has become more fully realised.
  • I don't think it's reasonable to make someone pay for a game and then make them prepare a network connection and charge a monthly fee
    • Reuters interview [1]

E³ 2005

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  • And my name is Iwata. I'm about making games and I'm about playing games. Last night, I played Super Smash Bros. That's my game. I kicked some... you know what and I took his name. His name was Reggie. As Nintendo president, I'm also all about asking questions. So Reggie, I have a question for you: Who's your daddy?
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