Satoru Iwata tribute from GDC Awards
The death of Nintendo’s previous president and CEO Satoru Iwata was more than just the loss of a corporate figure. The man behind the launch of the Nintendo DS and the Wii frequently appeared at press conferences and in videos to discuss the company’s latest products. To honor his memory and his impact on the gaming industry, Wednesday night’s Game Developers Choice Awards show debuted a new tribute to the late executive.
Iwata, who filled various roles during his time at Nintendo and contributed to a number of the company’s most popular games and systems, is depicted in animated form in the new tribute. The animation shows Iwata building up a group of creators around him and collaborating to make his dreams into systems like the DS and games like Balloon Fight.
Iwata died on July 11, 2015, at the age of 55. He was familiar to both fellow industry executives as well as Nintendo fans for his public-facing involvement, including the “Iwata Asks” series of developer discussion videos. Tatsumi Kimishima was named as his successor.
Watch the tribute video, which ends with a reference to one of Iwata’s most famous speeches, above. The video was animated by Raber Umphenour and David Hellman with music by Shawne Benson and story consulting by Chris Kohler.
