Tributes and an Outpouring of Respect Are Shared in Honour of Satoru Iwata

To repurpose a line of tribute to Buddy Holly, it could be sung that it was briefly "the day the fun died".

He will be missed.

I didn't know the man but I knew his games, he shared that greatness with the world and for that I am sure he will always be remembered. I hope Nintendo continues to deliver the same qualities in his absence. Good night and God bless Mr Iwata.

It feels like everyone got together to send him off.
This, makes me feel happy. His effect on Nintendo, and by extension the world, was truly great.
He will be missed.

@NintyMan isn't it, very sad and touching.

Tess' message is heartbreaking....

I've seen a lot of fan art dedicated to Iwata. All of which are heartfelt and very pleasing to the eye but that last tweet shown here (very nice art btw) made me shed a tear... We all wish 1-UP Mushrooms would work, Mario; we ALL wish they existed right now... It's so nice seeing everyone; whether they're friends, rivals, competitors or otherwise get together and pay their respect to what many consider a legend to the industry.

Oh damn, those fan art pics are gonna make me cry.

The fanart I've been seeing has been hitting me right in the feels.

Even if the circumstances are sad, it's very nice and refreshing to see the industry and even fanboys coming together like this in remembrance.

May you go directly to Heaven, Iwata-san

Man that last piece if fan art... Actually on the verge of tears...
I lost my baby Kokiri a month ago and that brought it all back.
Rest in peace Mr Iwata. You will be missed.

That last fan art is so touching...😢

Very very unfortunate he passed so suddenly, but not entirely unexpected... It's going to be difficult watching the cheerful puppet parts of E3 2015 over again, juxtaposed with the thought of Mr Iwata being very ill at the same time E3 was happening.

Some great tributes; it's what you want to see really. Still struggling with this news, feels unreal.

Sad... also fearful for Nintendo. The games unveiled from Nintendo at E3 recently was not Nintendo at their top form. Mr Iwata was sick for quite some time, without his direction I think Nintendo is lost and confused, undecided what to do next.

OMG, now I'm crying!

Tell all gamers to pay tribute by buying a Wii U, that's Mr Iwata's last gift to the world.

i really like the tribute that there doing for him still sad and very unexpected that he died

even people from Microsoft and Sony feel sad about iwata's death!
even thought they are rival, there are respecting him and his death

The Playstation 'tribute' is pretty apt. It should read 'thanks for the ideas you and your team had, the ones we plagiarised from you'

@ottospooky Go somewhere please

Wow, that drawing from Konami... Ok, I'm done reading here for today.

That Konami one got to me.

@ottospooky Just no.... This is not the place for comments like this. If you have issues with Sony and the Playstation brand, there are other forums where we can debate who came up with what ideas and which system can render the most polygons.

Would we chew out a Nintendo tweet if they honored someone at Sony who died?

At the end of the day, Iwata's death is a major blow to gaming as a whole. Regardless of your stance on the whole system wars, the fact is, Iwata contributed to making millions of people happy and pushing gaming in new directions, just as Atari, Sega, Sony, and Microsoft have.

This is not the time, nor the place for debates or even comments like this.

Sony did a classy move in my opinion putting out a tweet to honor Iwata. Why can't we leave it at that without going into fanboy wars?

First thing in the morning, I see these articles and start crying again. Best of luck to his family and to Nintendo.

His death has legit choked me up like no one else has since Steve Irwin....

Farewell to Mr Iwata. I also liked the sentiments coming out of the article on sister site Push Square. Gamers unite in times like this. Petty things like console wars don't matter.

Very sad news to begin the week. My favourite memory of Iwata was when he chose to take a 50% pay cut, rather than lay off any staff. Surely a sign of his commitment and dedication to his staff and Nintendo. I've just read that he will be buried on the 17th, the same day as my wedding. Feel that I may include him in the thank yous for my speech.

@DEAD In a way, seeing this puts a smile on my face. I grew up during the 16-bit wars where things were far from civil and I'm happy to see that not only do these companies congratulate each other for their successes, they can come together and support each other in the worst of times.

In many cases, its often the fanboys who are at each others throats over a brand name.

Over the past generation, the big three have been pretty civil to each other. At the end of the day, having all three companies strong does nothing but help the gaming business continue to grow and mature.

I'm just so happy to see so many tweets come out to honor Iwata. Regardless of anyone's stance on the Wii U or Nintendo's recent struggles, the fact is, he made millions of people happy with the Wii, DS, 3DS, and Wii U.

And in the case of the Wii and DS, he helped bring tons of new gamers into the mix, many of whom had never held a controller before but fell in love with games like Wii Sports.

Man, I was in shock last night hearing the news thinking "this can't be real, this is some kind of hoax!" but it's finally hitting me hard this morning. Especially after seeing that fan art. So young and such a visionary. He will surely be missed.

May you rest in peace Iwata-san. May you rest in peace.

@ekreig
Exactly! So nice to see everyone put their "console guns" down and share a deeply sad moment together.

@NintyMan I gotta say this, regardless of how people feel about his roster choices or how Smash 4 does not play like Melee, one thing is clear from these tweets and what we have seen in the past.

And that is Sakurai's insane work ethic. He could have taken time off to grieve, we the gamers would have understood. But he came into work because he wants to make us happy and its likely the best way he can honor Mr. Iwata.

I hope everyone keeps that in mind. We might not like the direction a company or creator takes with a project, but they are human and they often strive to do nothing more then make other people happy with their creations.

We might not have agreed with everything Iwata did, but one thing is certain. He wanted nothing more then to make people happy with the products Nintendo sold.

I know he will likely never read the comment of a random guy in Texas, but I'll say this. Thank you Sakurai for all your hard work!

Here's a tribute to Iwata from an old friend of ours. Remember him? http://brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com/2015/07/13/tribute-to-mr-iwata/

Ah this has really choked me up as well. So sad, and so moving to see the respect from Sony and Microsoft who know that he has kept them on theirs toes, inspired them and indeed all of us.

@Caryslan i was merely addressing the fact that Iwata, during his tenure, was a true visionary and, as a result, other platform holders have used some of his ideas and adapted the ethos towards gaming that he himself had.
The Sony tweet just sounded cynical to me- that was the way I read it. Other industry figures who took the time to post a tribute did so with dignity and passion for what Iwata did during his working life. What he stood for.
He will be remembered as a trailblazer who wished to dispel the old videogame tropes and stereotypes - of the spotty teenager sat up all night playing first person shooters. And he got your Grandmother playing. The fact that these ideas were effectively lifted by Sony, who clearly thought they'd cash in on the success and demographic of the Wii, is fitting of a great trailblazer.
If you really thought my comment was an attempt to troll, or trying to reignite some sort of pathetic 'console war' (yuk, I really dislike that term!) then I'm sorry but you're mistaken.

@NintyMan Sakurai and Iwata probably had a very close working relationship. SSB as a series is a testament to both these men.

I'm still so sad about these news, they truly came as a shock, but seeing all these beautiful comments make me so happy--and quite teary, I must admit. It warms my heart to see how beloved he was, admired and respected. This is truly a great loss not only for the Nintendo family, but to the videogame industry as a whole.

Rest in peace, Iwata-san. We shall miss you, but mostly, we shall remember you. Always.

That story from the flight attendant is beautiful and very touching. And this is just one story, what an inspiring fellow.

That last drawing is quite an emotional piece. Rest in peace Mr. Iwata.

I'm still in shock over this news. I just can't imagine a Nintendo without Iwata.

I'm happy seeing everyone united over this.

I'm sorry to see him go. REALLY sorry. But I have never seen the entire gaming community come together until now. It's pretty surprising actually.

Wow...seeing so many people paying their respects, even Nintendo's rivals in the home console market...I think I'm gonna cry ;(. So long, Mr. Iwata. I would've loved to have met you in real life.

R.I.P Mr Satoru Iwata

@JaxonH

Well there was one jerk-off last night who went rouge on this site (I'm hoping they got banned, cause it was immature nonsense), but other than that, yeah I agree.

We haven't always agreed with him, but he was very good at his job, and being the face of the company. I personally, was always impressed with how he handled difficult situations. He always had a calm and graceful demeanor about him.

First of all I want to say, "Thank you Mr. Iwata for your passion for just making games fun. Your games helped shape my childhood and have ignited my passion for video games to this day." This is a very sad day. Mr. Satoru Iwata was not just a CEO but he was a gamer and cared about games. He was a breath of fresh air in an industry that could be cut throat and soulless. Although not all his choices were popular he had a great respect for the Nintendo brand and fought to keep it safe. RIP Satoru. My prayers go out his family and friends. We lost a giant in the gaming industry. You will be missed and "video gaming" not just Nintendo will not be the same without you!

Somehow, I feel like the appropriate thing to do is to spend the day playing smash bros. That is how I will mourn.

@ekreig yeah, he was respected industry wide and Forbes called him a great CEO for his turning around of Nintendo. Phil Spencer is a class act over at Microsoft too, I've never seen or read him trash talk.

Whistles and flutes,
Warpzones and Vines
Take pixels away
to Fields, Worlds and Lands.
Secrets and Glitches
powerups and rupies
Executive Producer of
Endless treasures.
Thanks Mr Iwata.

I am just going to leave this song here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eBroYj_Qv0

I just drew $50 to my EShop account and bought Lego City Undercover as a tribute to Iwata. I may be nearly completed the game and originally did on disc, but now I'm downloading it. Curious, anyway, to see how the data will be affected. Will I start anew or continue where I left off? Doesn't matter anyway. This is for a special occasion. $50 to Nintendo in remembrance of Iwata.

This art is fantastic.
https://twitter.com/FantasyFBCanuck/status/620556437685604352/photo/1

There was a rainbow above Nintendo's headquarters today.

@N1ntendodo as long as you have your save data file, then you should be able to pick up where you left off. Along those lines, I think I am going to buy the (not so) new Street Pass games.

That last image...man...

@rockodoodle Ok, good to know. Thank you.

Even the most powerful healing items can't revive the dead. Such is life.

@KilluaZoldyck I agree. I plan on doing this as well after work.

Everybody, play some games in his honor. He would've wanted us to have fun, he worked so hard for that.

....Zelda's post just reminded me of last year now. T.T

I'm glad that scumbags like EA and Ubi actually had some decency and stayed the wuveyduv out of this.. I would have lost my oopsie if they tried to worm their way in..

Did anybody have Aerith's Theme playing in their minds?

Does anybody know what Shuhei Yoshida's tweet said?

@Takerkaneanite6 ''He has given a great contribution to the development of the gaming industry. I will pray for Iwata’s soul.”

@GMB-001 Okay. Such a touching statement. Thanks for the quick response.

Such an AMAZING person it is sad to lose him this early, I will miss seeing Mr. Iwata being humorous and charming in the Nintendo Directs.

The Konami tweet already made me well up with tears but that fanart with Kirby, Mario and Link gathered around Iwata really hit home and opened the floodgates. What a sad day

This was awful news to wake up to, and today was a sad day for me at work. He's going to be greatly missed. That last fan art is really moving.

Edit: It's great to see that almost everyone is being really respectful with this, including friends and rivals.

@BinaryFragger good point.

Thank you Mr. Iwata for keeping video games fun. You will live on with gamers and the success you have given Nintendo. R.I.P

@PokemonJustin The waving photo from One of the Nintendo Directs made me shed tears.

That is some serious respect from the gaming world. Admirable... He deserved that much.

@scamander Who will step up now for president?

I know I'm not a regular here but I wrote something in honor of Iwata that I felt I should share here: http://spykexd.deviantart.com/art/A-Good-Man-546110835

@VeeFlamesNL It's a sign that Iwata-san is looking directly at us from the heavens.

I just think it's a shame we wait until somebody is gone until telling them they're doing a good job. Especially if by all accounts they were a good person like Iwata seemed. He made some mistakes, sure, and I felt Nintendo could've benefited from promoting somebody younger to help him run the company. That way you could've had somebody a little more in tune with today's market (doesn't matter if you like the direction it's heading or not, it is what it is and Nintendo hasn't done the best job adapting) who could've learned from one of the best in Iwata and you'd have a ready-made successor whenever the time came. But for some of the recent missteps, two of the biggest money-makers ever for Nintendo were the DS and Wii and people were too busy b*tching about how they were 'casual' rather than digging deeper, finding the good games (of which there were many) and being thankful to Iwata for saving the company's a$$ because Nintendo was in a tough position after Gamecube. Maybe no financially but they were going to border on irrelevance had the Wii not been the hit that it was.

And his work leading the company isn't even counting the games he helped make. This guy did far more good for gaming than bad and the industry is worse off without him. Society in general is. There's very few company 'leaders,' none I know of at Sony or MS, who take a hit in their own salary so their workers could keep their jobs and continue supporting themselves and their families.

The man seriously did it right. He was not only creative but just a beautiful person with a million dollar smile and the Knack to make others smile around him. It's a sad day indeed. I'm so glad to see this huge group of his counterparts have come together to post and show the Love to the man who Loved what he was doing. That was one obvious characteristic of him, that he loved what he was doing.

The response to his death is heartwarming. Its become a "trending hashtag" on Instagram with thousands of people posting their sincere sadness, this article showing the respect he'd earned from his peers, and the first article that Nlife posted of his death, which received some 800 comments from the community.

Obviously, he's already missed.

It's very touching to see do much support from the other companies on a day like this............ But part of me wonders where their support was this e3?

@gamermole
Not really the time to get into it but just because a company may not want to bring a game to Wii U doesn't mean they had anything personal against Satoru Iwata himself.

@GMB-001 ...About that...https://twitter.com/Ubisoft
I'm not mad at this, though. Yeah, Ubisoft isn't exactly my favorite company (in fact, I flat out despise them...except for Rayman...and Scott Pilgrim VS the World: The Game), and they've pretty much turned their back on NIntendo in a way that's rather insulting, at least they had the decency to acknowledge him and give their condolences...

@Gamer83 I know it's not a personal think them not bringing games to Wii u and I'm seriously not trying to start anything...... Not on a day like this , it's just a shame to see that the companys that don't normally care at all are all on the bandwagon. In my eyes the messages coming from Ubisoft are no where near as heartfelt as some of those from some of the indie devs and rare for example

@gamermole
Ok, I see what you're saying and don't totally disagree. Paying respects is better than not doing so but I'm sure some aren't as sincere as others. For example, I don't really know what to make of tweets from Neil Druckmann or Phil Spencer but somebody like Ken Lobb who worked for Nintendo and met Mr. Iwata, I'm sure his is heart felt, even if he is at MS now.

Sigh, how many of the big game companies are left helmed by actual game developers?

I hope miyamoto takes his role, he is destined to..... From one great developer to another.

It will certainly feel weird not seeing him any future directs. Seeing him dress up in funny costumes was definitely one of the highlights of those segments. Shame about his death and he wasn't even that old either, he would have had many more years at Nintendo if this had not happened.

I could go on forever about why i loved the guy, but it all really just boils down to this: Thank Mr. Iwata, from the bottom of my heart.

http://nintendoeverything.com/skype-peta-react-to-satoru-iwatas-passing/ What the what?!

@N1ntendodo i was just about to post that too, what the hell? it starts well and then boom capitalising a man's death to promote their rubbish

A great man with great talent. It's a shame that the Wii U was not a huge hit, but hopefully he can look down onto all the gamers, and see the NX take off and watch his company grow throughout the years! You were a great man, Mr. Iwata. Many prayers to your friends and families, and know that you will and always will be loved by so many who feel like they knew you from day one!!!

It almost feels worse today...
I gotta be honest though, I kind of like this sad feeling. It's just nice to see all gamers come together, even if only for a bit, and remember all the great things this man brought to us. Never before has the song "Smiles and Tears" from EarthBound fit into a situation more perfectly for me. That's why I've been listening to it on loop since yesterday hah...

Dylan Cuthbert, Phil Spencer, Bungie, Ken Lobb, Konami, Zelda Williams, Warren Spector, even PlayStation! Many names and teams that I hold in high regard all celebrating the great man that is Satoru Iwata. It really is amazing just how beloved the man was, even by his competitors.

@N1ntendodo Disgusting. They even use Mr. Iwata's passing to promote their agenda. They are actually using someone's death to advertise their games. They are the worst!

I hate when people use someone's death for their selfish PR purposes. More than half of that was self-promotion.

All in respect to the man who makes gaming fun. Mr. Iwata I bow to you, thank you for all the great memories that you had brought to gaming.

I still can't believe he's gone. If only stuff like 1-UPS were real... Iwata deserves a million of them. RIP

i really like alot of what 3rd parties, along with Xbox/Sony and fans saying on how much they miss him.
i truly never got meet the guy myself, i first watch E3 2008 of Animal Crossing City Folk i kinda coninued watching E3 from 2010 to today that how i really got to know him more, (along with Nintendo Directs)

although i somehow wish that could go back in time and watch when all of the games stuff was first announced, to see on how hard he work on them

i truly enjoy alot games that he worked on that grew up over the years, i think i'll miss him and how he change Nintendo better.