Satoru Iwata's funeral took place on 17th July in Kyoto, bringing a respectful farewell to the former Nintendo President. Iwata-san's final resting place in Kyoto has been visited by around 3000 people in the last few days who sought to pay their respects.
The funeral itself was attended by a number of leading figures from Nintendo and beyond. Attendees included Eiji Aonuma, Shigeru Miyamoto, Reggie Fils-Aime, Bill Trinen, Hideki Kamiya and a number of other prominent names in the games industry.
It's being reported by The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, that Genyo Takeda shared some key words on continuing and fulfilling Satoru Iwata's vision, as quoted below.
Delivering a eulogy Friday, Mr. Takeda said that he and Mr. Miyamoto would strive to complete the work that Mr. Iwata started. Mr. Takeda said the seeds that Mr. Iwata planted would one day grow into flowers "that will make people around the world smile."
Takeda-san and Shigeru Miyamoto are currently both Representative Directors of Nintendo and therefore, in the interim, are leading the company.
Nintendo of America, meanwhile, shared its own messages after the funeral had taken place.
Rest in peace, Iwata-san.
[source blogs.wsj.com, via eurogamer.net]
Comments 37
It's truly amazing to see the gaming community come together like this.
I've been so impressed with the reaction to the sad news of his passing, the response has been really wonderful and touching. I've been surprised at my own reaction to his death, and really taken aback by the outpouring of grief and the tributes paid to Iwata-San, I think Nintendo themselves have too. Rest In Peace Sir, and again, #ThankYouIwata...
Hearing that Kamiya was there just makes me want to reread that Iwata Asks again.
It seems like he's laid plans and his spirit will guide Nintendo for a bit longer. I hope they take the example of his warmth, passion and love of games and continue it.
@kensredemption it really is. As big as the industry is so dollar wise it still seems like a small community.
DID SOMEONE LEAVE THEIR AMIIBO THERE!?!?!??!?!
A Mario amiibo with bananas!
I'm now sad that I couldn't come to the funeral.......
IGN has a very nice tribute to him with personal stories and extensive coverage of his career on their Nintendo Podcast. Leaned a lot that I never knew about him.
It's kind of ironic how, Miiverse came into being under him, and now he's honored by the same thing born of his tenure with what I've seen on Miiverse. I'll make sure I get in a few rounds of Earthbound Beginnings this weekend in honor of him.
@Boidoh don't get any funny ideas
The fact that whole gaming community came together and paid respects to Iwata made me smile; it was truly touching and it also showed what a great man he was.
That Silver Mario (bless whoever put that there) better not be stolen, I swear.
I love the huge bunch of bananas as tribute!!!
cries rolling on the floor NOO iwata come back
Again, thank you for everything Mr. Iwata. R.I.P.
Well shall see...
@MJKOP : You've echoed my thoughts friend. Rest well Iwata.
What is the name of the cemetery in Kyoto? I'd like to look it up.
It's great to see all these tributes. Regardless of what decisions he made or whether people agreed with him, it always seemed like he was always doing what he can to make people happy. Hopefully his ideals will remain in the company.
@Boidoh I stopped by and nabbed it.... jk.
I wish the gaming community hadn't been so harsh right before his death. I hope die died knowing how much people care.
@JaxonH I know his last reported twitter message to the public was that Nintendo would try and do better in the future. But yeah in a way it's sad that he had to appeal to a large group of Nintendo customers crying and whining about this E3.
@BinaryFragger Haha. Now that you mention it, the fans are usually worse than the person or thing they're fanning over.
@DarthNocturnal I don't think they ever specified September. The debut is "fall". That could go into November for all we know.
I told a fellow gamer about the news today (he didn't know because his mother had just died) he's a massive play station fan boy. But he was clearly shaken at the news.
@BinaryFragger Spot on. They know it's simply just business and most of what they say (if negative) is not to be taken personally, but the fans on the other hand...
@Boxmonkey wow... kick a man when he's down!!! biggest d*** move ever!
@BinaryFragger Some very interesting articles there. The Sony and Microsoft employees having drinks together doesn't surprise me, and only strengthens my theory that they also had meetings before their consoles released, hence their consoles being practically identical. But that's a different story entirely!
"The seeds that Mr. Iwata planted would one day grow into flowers "that will make people around the world smile."" I'm sure they will...I'm sure they will . Anyways, the way that people have reacted is rather nice. Just everyone showing how much they cared and giving their condolences, be it a video, fanart, or in one case, a hack of Balloon Fight that turned the Balloon Fighter into Iwata! It just goes to show how much of an impact Iwata's had on everyone. And that impact he made is going to be remembered for a long time.
@BinaryFragger I know. Why the Hell can't the fanboys just get along!?
I love that fan art of Mr. Iwata resting in peace surrounded by Nintendo Characters. It truly brought a tear to my eyes. Everyone has just been great. If I ever get to Kyoto I would love to visit his buriel site and leave an Amiibo or just a flower. I hope they make an Amiibo of him to immortalize him. It would be the only Amiibo I own. May peace be with all of you and Mr. Iwata.
@BinaryFragger To me it could be a learning experience for all. In the Scheme of things every system is great. Everyone will make you smile.
@BinaryFragger
They may be really passionate about what they do, but at the end of the day its still just a job. Unfortunately a lot of fanboys don't seem to understand that.
Whats really sickening, is some people are actually using Iwata's passing as ammo for their petty squabbling. It takes a special kind of person to sink that low.
Bananas? Donkey Kong was here.
Ladies and gentlemen - Mr. Genyo Takeda.
It would have been amazing if a Dededoll had made its way there, but I guess there isn't an overwhelming amount of Japanese Brawl in the Family fans.
Due to me having a 3ds and a PS vita fanboyism as been really pointless also it was pointless even before that.Fanboyism needs to end it is tearing the gaming community apart.I also need to say rest in peace Iwata.
@Zombie_Barioth Amen to that.
But will it make ME smile?
Here's the full speech:
As we gather here today for a joint funeral with Nintendo Co., Ltd. and Mr. Iwata’s family, I would like to share my heartfelt condolences. President Iwata, allow me to call you Iwata-san, just as I always used to.
Iwata-san, you left us far too soon. Having just chaired our shareholders’ meeting the other day on June 26, the news of your sudden death has left all the employees overcome with a deep sorrow. The late Yamauchi-san passed the baton to you in naming you the president of Nintendo in 2002, and the two Senior Managing Directors of the company, Shigeru Miyamoto and I, have been assisting and working alongside you. Being rather short-tempered myself, the thing that I am most deeply struck by is that you were a true leader in every sense of the word, overflowing with compassion for people.
You always maintained a two-way dialogue, even with the next generation of employees, or with much younger members of the development and marketing teams, or with employees outside of Japan whose different customs and cultures can make communication challenging — sometimes even admitting your own mistakes to them. You demonstrated this through your belief that people could eventually come to understand one another, and your strong conviction that the best way for us to grow is through patient communication, even if it took several times, a dozen times or even seemingly endless discussion.
You succeeded in planting the seed in employees’ hearts that, in order to solve an issue, there is a fundamental cycle whereby you make a hypothesis, execute the plan, see the result and then make adjustments, and by which you have caringly nurtured these seeds to sprout and mature into plants.
Until now, our successors and the younger generation would take a few first steps and then look back at you for guidance because they could not tell if they had chosen the right path. Today they cannot ask for your guidance anymore.
However, I am sure that they have already made the firm determination that they will continue on their own, making the hypothesis, executing the plan, seeing the results and reflecting on the results to improve and adjust by themselves.
In the face of your unbelievable passing it will surely take some time before we can emerge from this deep sorrow. Please know, however, that the seeds you have planted, and the plants that have sprouted will put forth small flowers as they bring smiles to the faces of people around the world, blossom into a grand flower bigger than even you, our leader, Iwata-san. Together with Miyamoto and others of our generation, we swear in our hearts that we will continue our efforts so that, someday, we can report and present to you the blossoming of these flowers. May you continuously watch over and guide us managers, our employees and your family.
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