Nintendo's President, Mr. Satoru Iwata, Dies At The Age of 55

I regret to inform you, my readers that Mr. Satoru Iwata has passed away as of July 11th, 2015.
Nintendo has released a statement regarding this loss:

"Nintendo Co., Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth."

Sometime in June of 2014, Mr. Iwata had been advised by his physician to "not to travel overseas in the immediate future" (Web. Kotaku. June 5, 2014) due to health concerns. Presumably, these were related to a malignant bile duct growth, that was later removed during that month. As a result of the following recuperation that took place, Mr. Iwata was unable to attend the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.

“On my business card, I am a corporate president.
In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer”
 - Satoru Iwata, GDC 2005

In November, Mr. Iwata Tweeted to his followers to let them know that he was "...progressing well."

Unfortunately, Mr. Iwata's time was cut obscenely short. He was born in Sapporo, Japan on December 6, 1959 and passed away at the age of 55.

As a final farewell to this legendary person, I would like to share a few words:

Mr. Iwata was someone I truly respected in the video game industry. He made his share of mistakes like anyone would in such a high position of authority and while there were times that I too, found myself questioning his methods, he always managed to keep the company's best interests at heart.

Those goals always involved providing a fun, upbeat, and whimsical nature to the games that they produced & published. He made me laugh time & time again with his Nintendo Direct segments and provided boundless insight into what makes a truly great title through his "Iwata Asks" interviews.

Everything he did in the public eye seemed to instill joy and proved to be slightly less business oriented (thus, far more approachable to the populace).

Nintendo, more than any other company, has been purely centered around family entertainment, and I sincerely hope that the next person to fill Mr. Iwata's rather larger shoes will honor his legacy and the traditions of the company. Today, we've lost a great, imaginative, and innovate mind. May he rest in peace.


Source List:

Ashcraft, Brian. "Nintendo President Responds to Worries Over His Health." Kotaku. 6 Nov. 2014. Web. 12 July 2015. 

Plunkett, Luke. "Nintendo's President Had Surgery To Remove A "Bile Duct Growth"" Kotaku. 24 June 2014. Web. 12 July 2015. 

Plunkett, Luke. "The Video Game Community Pays Tribute To Satoru Iwata." Kotaku. 12 July 2015. Web. 12 July 2015.

Stephen Totilo, Stephen. "Nintendo Chief Satoru Iwata Missing E3 On Advice Of His Physician." Kotaku. 5 June 2014. Web. 12 July 2015. 

E3 Nintendo 2013 Presentation

For those of you that missed the live coverage of Nintendo's E3 Direct, here is the video:

I'm really fired up for the new Smash Bros. title for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Especially since the announcement of Megaman as a playable character. His inclusion is a more than welcome addition to the Smash Bros. family.

It would seem that even the nameless "Villager" (now the mayor in the latest Nintendo 3DS iteration of the franchise) from Animal Crossing is getting the "star treatment" as well. If you notice his moveset, it is loosely based around the tools that one can utilize in the Animal Crossing series to make improvements to the town. I like how in the intro video, the character speeds off the moment he gets the invitation to join the fray, almost as if he's petrified that he's been selected. Yet, we see him not long afterwards with a smug look on his face after capturing Mario with his net. Also worth mentioning, with regard to his use of the net, is that it reminded me of Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, in that the character Spike, from Ape Escape, also utilizes a net in a similar fashion to knock out opponents.

Nintendo Direct -- May 17, 2013

Today, Nintendo had another one of its Nintendo Direct Announcements at 10am ET, 7am PT and 2pm GMT.

Below is a video link (courtesy of YouTube's embedding feature) to the entire presentation.

Overall, I was not particularly impressed with it, because not much was divulged, but it's nice to know that Nintendo is partnering with SEGA on their mascot's franchise. Sonic has been sunk (in my opinion as well as that of many other gamers) ever since he made the transition from 2D platforming to 3D. Don't get me wrong, the first two Sonic Adventure games were great for their time, but some of the other titles for the Nintendo Gamecube and other consoles weren't all that spectacular, many of which were poorly coded disasters (Sonic the Hedgehog 2006), and others were simply frustrating. This pattern of failure has been known as the "Sonic Cycle".

Nonetheless, a new Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (er...game) will be coming soon. I'm not a fan of the series per se...I like the notion of Mario & Sonic partnering up for titles, but this series is mostly riddled with minigames that I'm not particularly fond of. It's nice to play with others, but I tend to avoid spending money on these.

Earthbound bound for the U.S. and Europe!!!

As many of you may know, as of April 17, 2013 Nintendo had their latest edition of their Nintendo Direct public service announcements. As such I've provided a link to the video itself. There were quite a few important updates regarding games coming for the Nintendo 3DS as well as a few more in-depth looks at Wii U titles such as Pikmin 3. I however was floored with the announcement that Europe and the United States would be getting Earthbound (a.k.a Mother 2) for the Wii U Virtual console later this year. 

Although I've never personally had the opportunity to play this game, I already plan on purchasing it when it's available on the Nintendo Virtual Console E-Shop. I've heard nothing but praise and admiration for this title and even though I had an SNES when I was a kid, I missed out on this iconic masterpiece. Check out the video below and tell me if you've been waiting a long time for this game to arrive!!!