Nintendo execs were mostly silent yesterday after the unexpected news of Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata's death. Today some of his longtime friends and colleagues issued short statements on the loss.
From Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto:
“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.”
From Nintendo of Europe president Satoru Shibata:
“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.”
From Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimes:
"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.“
Miyamoto and Nintendo exec Genyo Takeda will run the company for the time being until a new CEO is chosen.
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I'm seriously just so sad about this. One of my first memory of playing video games is Kirby's Dream Land for the Gameboy. That would not have existed without Iwata. So much of my childhood is thanks to him. He's leaving behind an amazing legacy.