Editing Satoru Iwata (section)

{{Short description|Japanese video game executive (1959–2015)}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Family name hatnote|Iwata|lang=Japanese}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| native_name        = 岩田 聡
| native_name_lang   = ja
| image              = Satoru Iwata - Game Developers Conference 2011 - Day 2 (3) (cropped 2).jpg
| alt                = Satoru Iwata presenting at the Game Developers Conference in 2011
| caption            = Iwata at [[Game Developers Conference|GDC]] 2011
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1959|12|6|mf=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Sapporo]], Hokkaido, Japan
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|2015|7|11|1959|12|6|mf=y}}
| death_place        = [[Kyoto]], Japan
| death_cause        = <!-- should only be included when the cause of death has significance for the subject's notability -->
| alma_mater         = [[Tokyo Institute of Technology]]
| employer           = [[HAL Laboratory]] (1980–1999)<br>[[Nintendo]] (2000–2015)
| notable_works      = {{cslist|''[[EarthBound]]''|''[[Balloon Fight]]''|''[[Kirby (series)|Kirby]]''|''[[Pokémon (video game series)|Pokémon]]''|''[[Super Smash Bros.]]''}}
| title              = [[President (corporate title)|President]] of [[Nintendo]] (2002–2015)<br>CEO of Nintendo of America (2013–2015)
| boards             = Nintendo (2000–2015)
| spouse             = {{Nihongo|Kayoko Iwata|岩田 佳代子|Iwata Kayoko}}
| module             = 
| signature          = Satoru Iwata's signature.svg
}}

{{Nihongo|'''Satoru Iwata'''|岩田 聡|Iwata Satoru|extra=December{{nbsp}}6, 1959{{snd}}July{{nbsp}}11, 2015|lead=yes}} was a Japanese businessman, video game programmer and producer. He was the fourth president of [[Nintendo]] since 2002, and he was also the [[chief executive officer]] (CEO) of Nintendo of America since 2013, until his death in 2015. Iwata was a major contributor in broadening the appeal of video games by focusing on novel and entertaining games rather than top-of-the-line hardware.

Born in [[Sapporo]], Iwata expressed interest in video games from an early age and created his first simple game while in high school. He majored in [[computer science]] at the [[Tokyo Institute of Technology]]. In 1980, he joined the game developer [[HAL Laboratory]] while attending the university. At HAL, he worked as a programmer and closely collaborated with Nintendo, producing his first commercial game in 1983. Games to which he contributed include ''[[EarthBound]]'' and many games in the ''[[Kirby (series)|Kirby]]'' series. Following a downturn and near-bankruptcy, Iwata became the president of HAL in 1993 at the insistence of Nintendo president [[Hiroshi Yamauchi]] and brought financial stability. In the following years, he worked in the development of the ''[[Pokémon (video game series)|Pokémon]]'' and ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' series. Iwata joined Nintendo as the head of its corporate planning division in 2000.

Nintendo saw growth under Iwata and, when Yamauchi retired, he became the company's president in May 2002. Under Iwata's direction, Nintendo developed the [[Nintendo DS]] and [[Wii]] game consoles, helping the company achieve financial success. As a self-declared [[gamer]], he focused on expanding the appeal of video games across demographics through a "[[Blue Ocean Strategy|blue ocean]]" business strategy. Nintendo attained record profits by 2009, and [[Barron's (newspaper)|''Barron's'']] placed Iwata among the top 30&nbsp;CEOs worldwide. Iwata expanded his strategy by defining a quality-of-life product line for the Wii that evolved into a ten-year strategy to create standalone products. Later hardware such as the [[Nintendo 3DS]] and [[Wii U]] proved far less profitable than the Wii, and Nintendo's net sales fell by two thirds from 2009 to 2012; the company saw its first operating losses in 30 years during this time. Iwata voluntarily halved his salary in 2011 and again in 2014. In 2015, after several years of refusal, Iwata put a portion of Nintendo's focus into the rapidly growing [[mobile game]] market; a landmark partnership with mobile provider [[DeNA]] was established that March. Throughout his career, Iwata built a relationship with Nintendo fans through social media and his regular appearances in [[Iwata Asks]] and [[Nintendo Direct]], becoming the public face of the company.

In June 2014, a [[tumor]] in Iwata's [[bile duct]] was discovered during a routine physical exam. It was removed, and Iwata returned to work in October of that year. The problem resurfaced in 2015, and Iwata died at the age of 55 from its complications on July 11. Members of the gaming industry and gamers worldwide alike offered tributes through public announcements and social media, and fans worldwide established temporary memorials. Iwata was posthumously awarded the [[Lifetime Achievement Award]] at the [[Golden Joystick Awards|2015 Golden Joystick Awards]] and the 2016 [[D.I.C.E. Awards]].