Satoru Iwata played a massive role in making Nintendo what it is today, but it seems his influence can still be felt. In an interview with Time, Shigeru Miyamoto talked about Iwata’s role in the Switch’s development. Perhaps surprising to some, Miyamoto really emphasises the role the late president had in developing the upcoming console. According to him, the core concept of the Switch was completely down to Iwata. While the full interview can be found here, an extract is below.
Is there anything in particular about Switch that reflects Satoru Iwata’s involvement? [Iwata was Nintendo’s president from 2002 to 2015, and passed away in July 2015.]
I mentioned that Mr. Iwata, Mr. Takeda and myself provided feedback and made decisions, but ultimately Mr. Iwata was the head of development, so he put a lot of thought and time into Switch. I think that the idea of Nintendo Switch being a device you can take out and anywhere, and the idea of it being a system that really allows networking and communicating with people, I think that’s something Mr. Iwata put a lot of emphasis on.
Because Mr. Iwata was tech-savvy, a lot of our discussion involved trying to figure out how to make the technical things like network capabilities or servers or whatever fun. For example, think about when we added the ability to use a browser on the DS [Nintendo’s two-screen gaming handheld—the browser was added to North American systems in 2007]. As time goes on, all of these services become more and more advanced, and so we need to think about “How do we incorporate mobile devices or new browser features that come up?” That’s something Mr. Iwata and I discussed a lot, really trying to decide what to do and what not to do in our hardware.
We understand… ;(
||Hallowed is Lord Iwata…||
May his spirit linger forever in the halls of the Order.
Welp, there goes my last heart string. Didn’t need it anyways.
it was his last goodbye
Well, iwata put a lot of effort on his development. He really giving us a gift to remember his last development on Nintendo switch. :-(
https://static1.e621.net/data/c0/4a/c04a81d57be5253f0b9c513789750dc3.png
I hope your final vision for gaming becomes a huge success Iwata-san. RIP to the legend
Love you Iwata-san
Pingback: Miyamoto parla del coinvolgimento di Satoru Iwata nella nascita di Switch | ..:: Chivasso Comics & Cosplay ::..
He was a strong influence with it, Iwata was very smart. His legacy will live on in the Switch AND NO TROLLING JERKS CAN SAY OTHER WISE, CAUSE IF THEY DO, THEY’RE COLD HEARTED EXCUSE FOR PLAYERS WHO SHOULD DIVE INTO A DITCH AND DIE FOR BEING SUCH COLDHEARTED FREAKS! AND IF THEY DON’T DIE IN A DITCH, THEN GET FREDDY FAZBEAR AND JASON VORHEES, THEY’LL DEAL WITH THEM! YOU HEAR ME TROLLING FREAKS?!? MAKE ONE, JUST ONE COLDHEARTED REMARK ON MR. IWATA AND I’LL KILL YOU!
Still wish he would have stuck with the original idea he was talking about a few years ago instead of listening to non-tech savvy fans. Feels like Switch was their attempt to make the best out of a bad idea.
What idea?
Multiple devices using the same architecture and OS to allow games to come out for multiple devices. He ever suggested that form factors may not combine but instead, there can be more form factors.
Could you not?
ARE YOU DISRESPECTING IWATA?!?
No. I greatly admire Iwata and was deeply saddened by his death but that doesn’t mean that its disrespectful to have disagree with something he did.
I thought his original idea was inspiring when trying to apply it to such specialized devices but at different form factors.
It’s really too bad he didn’t get to talk more about it like he wanted to; he was excited to share it with us.
Your legacy shall endure forever, Iwata-san.
I think of the Switch as Iwata’s final gift to all of us gamers. A gift that shows, he’s still got it! Or…..had it. Clear to the end. Oh how I wish he was still here with us. I miss seeing him in Nintendo Directs, and on Iwata Asks. I miss his voice, his humor, and his compassion and dedication. Such a great man he was. And I’ll never forget that. THANK YOU, IWATA-SAN.
iwata in numerous interviews gave hints wiiu was only a stop gap and not the vision he said just after release something about the NEXT SYSTEM like he was tellin g us to are faces,wiiu isnt what we wanted to build its the next system THAT WILL INNOVATE AND SUPPRICE i picked this up immidiatly i did not reinvest in nintentdo like i did in 2005 aANSD MADE A FUTUNE…
i reinvested late last year reDY FOR SWITCH listening to this man made me a lot of money,and he follows the natural rule of gaming generations and evolution PERFECTLY
a mouse and motioin was always going to happen i predicted this in 2003,the switch would forther motion not drop it agaqin i tried to tell you all what nx was
i put my money were my mouth is and invest and i remember like yesterday iwata saying WE ARE GOING TO DISRUPT THE INDUSTRY
NON OF YOU LISTENED BUT I DID
||NON OF YOU LISTENED BUT I DID||
||Logic flawed and illogical…||
Don’t get caught in a feedback loop, Commander.
I do miss his Nintendo Directs. A good man and I respected him. I thought he should have stepped down though, long before he died.
Iwata was a sincere and committed leader. I wrote long ago why Nintendo fans loved him. http://www.flawlessgamer.com/2012/12/why-we-love-reggie-mr-iwata.html
Let’s hope Switch does better than Wii U so Iwata’s legacy with Nintendo can actually end on a highly good note.
Now I’m kinda scared. No disrespect to the guy at all, but this was the same person that thought the Wii and the Wii U was a good idea (The gamecube too when you count those dumb 1.5GB discs ). However at least the Switch is displaying the potential to turn all of that around.
Pingback: Breath Of The Wild Development Team Believe That Iwata Was Watching Over Them – My Nintendo News
Pingback: Breath Of The Wild Development Team Believe That Iwata Was Watching Over Them - Best Gaming