So long, old friend.
Image: Nintendo

When Nintendo president Satoru Iwata passed away in 2015, it came as a massive shock not just to Nintendo fans, but to the industry as a whole. Iwata had guided the company through one of its most successful periods, and - had his life not been tragically cut short - would no doubt have overseen many other highs.

Iwata began his career as a programmer, and this is something that gave him an unique outlook on work, according to Shigeru Miyamoto. Interviewed by Eurogamer and New Yorker scribe Simon Parkin recently, Miyamoto had this to say about his departed colleague:

He had this unique ability to rally people around a vision. Similarly, to then put them into a structure that could make that vision a reality. I always remember his ability to take something, give it shape and and then to motivate people. That always impressed me about him.

He was a technologist - a programmer originally. And typically, you go to a programmer and tell them what you, as a designer, want to do. They then tell you all the reasons why they can't do what you want. [Laughs]

Mr Iwata was different. Instead, he would say he was going to figure out how to make it work. He'd always be positive, always try to make the impossible happen. I still remember that to this day.

Super Mario Run has just launched on iOS, the first major title to come out of Nintendo's move into mobile - a move which was instigated by Iwata himself. He may be gone, but his influence can still be felt today.

[source twitter.com, via vimeo.com]