Satoru Iwata
Industry Leader
Class of 2016 Inductee
Satoru Iwata was a Japanese businessman, video game programmer and producer.
Beginning in 2002, he was the fourth president of Nintendo, as well as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Nintendo of America from 2013 until his death in 2015.
Iwata was a major contributor in broadening the appeal of video games by focusing on novel and entertaining games rather than top-of-the-line hardware.
Throughout his life, Iwata was known for unconventional ideas and changing the medium of gaming. He was seen as the embodiment of Nintendo: playful, quirky, humorous, and fun.
While attending university, Iwata worked for HAL Laboratory as a part-time programmer in 1980.
He joined the company in a full-time capacity after graduating in 1982, becoming its fifth employee and only programmer.
In 2000, Iwata joined Nintendo as the head of its corporate planning division and took a seat on the board of directors. Over the next two years, he sought to reduce the cost and length of game development while preserving quality.
When Hiroshi Yamauchi, the company’s president since 1949, retired on May 24, 2002, Iwata succeeded as Nintendo’s fourth president with Yamauchi’s blessing.
Wikipedia Link:
534 credits on 496 games on Mobygames:
Accolades:
Iwata was posthumously and unanimously granted the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2015 Golden Joystick Awards for his influence across the gaming industry.
Iwata was also posthumously granted the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2016 DICE Awards.
