There has been an outpouring of grief and many shows of thanks from game developers and fans alike for Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who died unexpectedly over the weekend.

Nintendo design legend Shigeru Miyamoto issued a statement to the Wall Street Journal that simply said, “I am surprised at this sudden news and overcome with sadness.”

Earthbound director and close friend of Iwata Shigesato Itoi posted a tribute on his blog, which was translated by fansite Yomuka!:

When I'm parting with a friend, regardless of the circumstances, I find it best to just say, 'See you later.' We'll meet again. After all, we're friends.

That's right - nothing unusual about it. I'll see you later.

You went on a trip far, far away, even though it was planned for many years from now. You wore your best outfit and said 'Sorry for the short notice,' though you didn't say it out loud.

You always put yourself last, after you'd finished helping everyone else. You were so generous as a friend that this trip might be your very first selfish act.

I still can't grasp what's happened. It feels like I could still get a light-hearted e-mail asking me out to lunch at any moment - after you've made sure lunch wouldn't disrupt my schedule, of course.

You can invite me out whenever you want. I'll invite you, too. So for now, let's plan on meeting again. You can call me up whenever you like, and I'll give you a call, too. I still have a lot to talk to you about, and if I come up with any particularly good ideas, I'll let you know.
So let's meet again.

No - I suppose we're already meeting. Right here, right now.



A huge number of developers took to Twitter to express what Iwata meant to them. Here are a few of our favourites, from an extensive list gathered by Venturebeat:



Fans also tweeted out messages, under the hashtag #ThankYouIwata. Here are our favourites:



Meanwhile, Eurogamer put together a great photo gallery that celebrates Iwata’s career, and Gamasutra published a number of memorable Iwata quotes.

Here are our favourites:

"I sincerely doubt employees who fear that they may be laid off will be able to develop software titles that could impress people around the world." – Iwata in 2013, explaining why he didn’t lay off workers and restructure the business amid Nintendo’s financial challenges.
"I believe that if we don't make moves to get people who don't play games to understand them, then the position of video games in society will never improve. Society's image of games will remain largely negative, including that stuff about playing games all the time badly damaging you or rotting your brain or whatever. If that happens, then even people who enjoy games will start to feel a strange guilt when they play them. If people who haven't played games up til now start playing them, and appreciate how enjoyable they are, it is highly likely this situation will change. Society will be more accommodating towards people who play games, and it will become even easier to produce more conventional games." – Iwata on the state of games, speaking in an Asking Iwata installment of his well-loved Iwata Asks interview series.



Finally, here’s a great obituary by Games Industry’s Rob Fahey which ably sums up Iwata’s expansive career.

An excerpt:

“It's worth pausing for a moment to consider how unlikely and unique this career trajectory actually was. For an enthusiast programmer to display management skill at the small studio he sets up with his like-minded friends is not unusual; for that skill to shine to the extent that he becomes a crucial part of the operation of the biggest company in the games industry, promoted at a relatively young age far over the heads of more senior, formally management trained staff, is truly remarkable.”



RIP Iwata.