Satoru Iwata

Born: 6 Dec 1959 Died: 11 Jul 2015

Iwata was born in 1959 in the Hokkaido Prefecture of Japan. He studied and graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Technology University, where he majored in Computer Science.

Shortly after graduating, Iwata joined HAL Laboratory, Inc., and in 1983, began coordinating the software production and development of Nintendo titles, such as the Kirby series. By 1993, he had become president of the company.

In 2000, Iwata moved to Nintendo as the head of the Corporate Planning Division, where he was responsible for Nintendo's global corporate planning.

In 2002, he was named president of Nintendo Co., Ltd.

In a move announced as supporting the company's unified global strategy, Iwata took control of Nintendo of America in Spring 2013 and assumed the roles of general manager of Corporate Analysis and Administration, and of the General Affairs Division.

Just a year later, in the Summer of 2014, it was announced that following a medical examination, a growth had been discovered in Iawata's bile duct. The growth had been removed prior to the announcement, and although it would be some time before he could return to his regular work.

Despite the up-beat tone of the announcement, Iawata's presence continued to be missing from public engagements. After missing Nintendo's 2014 AGM and that year's E3 announcements due to his surgery, he was again absent from the company's June 2015 E3 announcement due, it was claimed, to business requiring his focus in Japan.

Sadly, within weeks, it was clear this was not true. On 11 July 2015, Satoru Iwata died as a result of the cancerous bile duct growth. The gaming world was shaken by the news, taking to social media to express their shock, sadness, honour and gratitude for the man that had put Nintendo back on course with the massively successful DS and Wii consoles, delivering an unfathomable amount of fun to the world.

Software Highlights from Credited Titles

Satoru Iwata's first video game work that SPOnG is aware of is the 2004 title, "F-Zero: GP Legend" (GBA) as Executive Producer. Of the titles listing Satoru within the credits , "F-Zero: GP Legend" (GBA) has been a best selling title.

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