Farewell Satoru Iwata

Today gamers across the world are mourning a great loss.
Sadly the CEO of Nintendo Satoru Iwata has passed away on July 15th at the tragic age of 55 due developing a tumour in his bile duct. He was unfortunately absent from E3 due to his condition worsening and its a shame that anyone should die so early.

I am not normally the type to mourn celebrities or post about their deaths but I really respect Mr. Iwata. Many company CEO's and people high up in the ranks of gaming companies, are often said to be disconnected from their audience, too focused on the marketing and profitability of things.

Flag at half mast at the Kyoto Nintendo HQ

One of his more famous quotes is as follows...

"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

Which is pretty damn beautiful in my opinion. He began doing programing work for HAL while in school before later joining Nintendo to work as the companies co-ordinator of software production. Some of his earlier projects included Balloon Fight, Earthbound and Kirby but he also helped do programming on the Pokemon series as well as also dabbling in the production of other fan favourites such as Mario, Zelda and Wario World.

After the release of the GameCube, Nintendo began to struggle against their rivals, however under his guide the company released the Wii and DS to critical acclaim and wide world appeal, Nintendo's stock price DOUBLED under his lead yet he never really lost touch with what was important...

"Video games are meant to be just one thing. Fun. Fun for everyone!"
- Satoru Iwata

Sure many people bash the Nintendo franchise for being a 'kiddy market' or making 'family friendly' games, but they also made some fantastic games for the more hardcore gamers out there too. Creating instantly recognisable characters that are loved by all ages worldwide, without all the edge angst that saturates games these days. He had a friendly charming character that incorporated the best parts of business with his programming and gaming background.

Despite only recently being announced, the internet has been flooded with tributes and I would like to share some of my favourites with you below.

R.I.P Sawato Iwata.

Nintendo and Universal Studios Japan collaboration announced!

Mario ponders about what to ride in future USJ.

This week it was announced that Nintendo will now be introducing its characters and games to Universal Studios Japan (USJ). The press release stated that“The immersive experiences will include major attractions at Universal’s theme parks and will feature Nintendo’s most famous characters and games,”. This is fantastic news because USJ has a proven track record for teaming up with famous video game and comic book company's to provide amazing attractions that bring our favourite video game worlds and characters to life.

Past attractions such as Monster Hunter themed areas as well as the spectacular Raccoon City Halloween special which included a realistic shooting game that brings the zombies of Biohazard to life. It was extremely popular with tickets selling out shortly after the park opened, every single day. Not only that, but it wasn't a casual experience either! The first iteration boasted an impressive 0% survival rate for guests, yes, zero. Some people I knew didn't even get past the first section. This year too, a Biohazard themed zombie escape again has also proved to be a success, challenging you to cure yourself of the zombie virus before it is too late while exploring zombie infested areas. Utilizing current technology such as ipads to deliver a great interactive experience.

Despite being immensely popular the pass rate was 0% in 2014.

With Nintendo's abundant range of characters and licenses there is so many chances for exciting attractions to be built, just imagine...

• Mario Bumper Karts / Real Kart Racing - although I guess there would be safety issues!
• Hybrid 3D roller coasters - Similar to Spiderman this type of ride could easily be adapted to the Starfox, Metroid, Mario Kart, F-Zero, Pokemon series and more.
• 3D Dark interactive shooter rides - These would be FANTASTIC for Starfox, although could also work for Luigi's Mansion, Metroid, and so on!
• Interactive water rides - Pokemon Snap, Mario Sunshine, the new Splatoon series etc.
• Platforming Playgrounds for all ages - Donkey Kong, Mario, Yoshi, Pikmin...would be great fun!
• Themed Restaurants - Cooking Mama, Kirby, Character themed dishes and drinks.
• Haunted Houses - Luigi's Mansion, Bowsers Castle, a montage of spooky areas from all of their games would work well too!

An on rails dark 3D shooter for Starfox would be great!

I'm personally super excited to see what they will announced. The release added that “More details will be announced in the future, as the Nintendo and Universal creative teams work to create specific concepts.” Fingers crossed they use series beyond just Pokemon and Mario. Whilst these two series would undoubtedly prove popular and be fun to visit, there is so much potential to be used from series that have been quiet as of late.

I'm hyped about the idea of a Starfox on rails shooter or 3D F-Zero rollercoaster, how about you?

The 360 degree racing world of F-Zero offers tons of potential.