DS Hardware

There have been recent reports that Satoru Okada, a prominent figure within Nintendo, has retired from the company. Nintendo has now confirmed to us that he has indeed left the company, but that he did so way back in January 2010 — it was certainly a quiet departure.

While Okada-san may not be immediately recognisable for many, he held a hugely influential and important role within the company. He worked closely with Gunpei Yokoi on the original Game Boy, credited as the Director of that development; when Yokoi-san left in the mid'-'90s Nintendo established The Research & Engineering Department to head up development of portable systems. Satoru Okada was the general manager of that department.

Okada-san therefore oversaw development of Nintendo's portable systems, credited as Director on the projects; a vital role considering the continued and reliable success that the company has enjoyed in the portable space. He led the development of the original Game Boy series and served as producer for the Game Boy Advance iteration, but most importantly drove forward the design and production of the Nintendo DS. When you consider how vitally important handheld system sales are to Nintendo's ongoing financial stability, and particularly the phenomenal impact of the DS family of systems, it's clear that Okada-san is due a lot of credit.

The news that he actually departed in early 2010 is perhaps not a surprise, as the 3DS project was led by Kazunori Koshiishi, with the well-known figure Hideki Konno also heavily involved. Okada-san has not been credited with involvement on any portable hardware since the DSi XL in 2009; also of interest, The Research & Engineering Department that he led was eventually merged into the Nintendo Integrated Research & Development department during the company's restructuring in early 2013.

Beyond hardware, Okada-san was involved in some game development in the 8-bit era, in particular, directing classics such as Metroid and Super Mario Land.

Satoru Okada should always be remembered for his important work in leading the teams that brought us many of Nintendo's most iconic portable systems, even if his departure was ultimately rather low-key.