Satoru Iwata

Satoru Iwata loved video games.

He even built his own games in school.

He worked for a company called Nintendo. He became their leader in 2002. He helped make new tools like the Wii.

He wanted everyone to play games. He did not just focus on fancy pictures. He wanted games to be fun for all people.

He also helped make the Pokémon games. He worked hard to help them reach new lands. He was a very famous leader.

Sadly, he became very sick. He died in 2015. People all over the world missed him.

Satoru Iwata was a famous video game maker. He was born in Japan in 1959.

He loved computers from a young age. In 1978, he bought a Commodore PET computer. He even took it apart to see how it worked.

Iwata worked at a company called HAL Laboratory. He helped them make many games. He worked on the Kirby series and Pokémon. Later, he joined Nintendo. He became the president of Nintendo in 2002.

Iwata wanted games to be for everyone. He did not just focus on the best graphics. He wanted games to be new and fun. Under his lead, Nintendo made the Wii and the Nintendo DS. These tools helped the company succeed.

Iwata was a kind leader. He talked to many workers at Nintendo. He even cut his own pay to help the company. In 2015, he died from a sickness in his bile duct. People all over the world felt sad. They left gifts to remember him.

Satoru Iwata was a famous Japanese businessman and video game programmer.

He was born in Sapporo on December 6, 1959. Iwata loved computers from a very young age. In 1974, he bought a programmable calculator with his own savings. Later, in 1978, he bought a Commodore PET computer. He even took the machine apart to study it.

This helped him understand how hardware and software work together.

Iwata started his career at a company called HAL Laboratory. He joined them in 1980 as a part-time programmer. He worked hard to help the company grow. In 1993, he became the president of HAL Laboratory. At that time, the company was in debt. Iwata worked to bring financial stability to the group. He used his skills to help with many famous games. He worked on the Kirby series and the Pokémon series. He even helped make the Super Smash Bros. games.

In 2000, Iwata joined Nintendo to lead their corporate planning. He became the fourth president of Nintendo in May 2002.

He was the first president not related to the Yamauchi family. Iwata wanted to make video games for everyone. He did not just focus on the best graphics. Instead, he wanted to make games that were new and fun. This was part of a plan to reach many different types of people.

Under his leadership, Nintendo saw great success with new tools. He helped develop the Nintendo DS and the Wii console. These products helped the company make a lot of money. By 2009, Nintendo reached record profits. However, things became harder later on. The Nintendo 3DS and Wii U were not as profitable. Sales fell by two thirds between 2009 and 2012. To help the company, Iwata chose to cut his own salary in 2011 and 2014.

Iwata was a very kind leader who loved his fans. He spoke to employees and shared videos called Nintendo Direct. He became the public face of the company. In June 2014, doctors found a tumor in his bile duct. He had it removed and returned to work in October. Sadly, the problem came back in 2015. Iwata died on July 11, 2015, at the age of 55.

Fans all over the world left memorials to honor him.

Satoru Iwata was a highly influential Japanese businessman and video game programmer.

He served as the fourth president of Nintendo starting in May 2002. He also acted as the chief executive officer (CEO) for Nintendo of America from 2013 until his death. Iwata is remembered for changing how companies think about video games. Instead of just focusing on the most powerful hardware, he focused on novel and entertaining software. This approach helped expand the gaming audience to include many different types of people.

Iwata's journey began with a deep curiosity about how machines work. Born in Sapporo, Japan, on December 6, 1959, he showed leadership in school as a student council president. His interest in technology started in middle school with a demo computer. In 1974, he used savings from a dish-washing job to buy an HP-65 programmable calculator. By 1978, he purchased a Commodore PET computer.

He even dismantled the machine to study its inner workings. This machine used a MOS 6502 central processing unit. This was the same type of processor used in the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

While studying computer science at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Iwata began his professional career. He worked as an unpaid intern at Commodore Japan to learn about hardware engineering. In 1980, he joined HAL Laboratory as a part-time programmer. He eventually became the company's fifth employee and its only programmer. In 1983, he helped establish a relationship between HAL and Nintendo. This allowed HAL to produce games for the NES. His first commercial game for the NES was a port of the arcade game Joust.

Iwata was a skilled programmer who could solve difficult technical problems. When developers refused to make NES Open Tournament Golf, Iwata stepped up to the challenge. He had to invent his own data compression method to fit 18 courses onto a single cartridge. He also contributed to many famous titles, including the Kirby series and EarthBound. He even assisted with the Pokémon series. He created compression tools for the graphics in Pokémon Gold and Silver. He also helped port the battle system for Pokémon Stadium on the Nintendo 64 in just one week.

In 1993, HAL Laboratory faced a major financial crisis and near-bankruptcy. Nintendo's president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, insisted that Iwata become the president of HAL. Iwata worked hard to learn management skills by reading books and seeking advice. Within six years, he successfully stabilized the company's finances and cleared a ¥1.5 billion debt. This success led him to join Nintendo's corporate planning division in 2000. When Yamauchi retired in 2002, Iwata became Nintendo's president. He was the first leader of the company not related to the Yamauchi family.

As president, Iwata implemented a "blue ocean" business strategy. This meant creating new markets by making games that appealed to everyone, not just hardcore gamers. This strategy led to the development of the Nintendo DS and the Wii console. These products brought Nintendo massive financial success. By 2009, the company reached record profits. Barron's even listed Iwata among the top 30 CEOs in the world. However, the company faced challenges later. Between 2009 and 2012, net sales fell by two thirds. The Nintendo 3DS and Wii U were not as profitable as previous systems. During this difficult time, Iwata voluntarily halved his own salary in 2011 and again in 2014.

Iwata was also known for his unique connection to the gaming community. He used social media and videos like Nintendo Direct to speak directly to fans. He also hosted a series called Iwata Asks to share more about game development.

In 2015, he finally moved Nintendo into the mobile game market through a partnership with DeNA. Sadly, Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015, at age 55. He died from complications related to a tumor in his bile duct. Fans around the world created memorials to honor his massive impact on the industry.

He was posthumously honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Golden Joystick and D.I.C.E. Awards.