Many tragedies have hit the video game industry over the years. For Nintendo fans, one of the saddest ones was that of the death of former company President Satoru Iwata. He took over Nintendo in the early 2000s, and he passed away in 2015, less than two years before the company bounced back in a big way via the Switch. To this day, fans still honor and cherish the man who brought many unique insights and changes within Nintendo. To that end, a previously unreleased interview from 2004 has resurfaced and been remastered to boot. It’s certainly interesting and worth the watch.
In the interview, which was set just after the events of the legendary Nintendo E3 2004, Satoru Iwata was asked about life within the company and certain things that had been announced. For example, at the E3 presentation, he unveiled the Nintendo DS for the first time and teased the console that would become the Wii. At that period of time, Sony was getting ready for its own handheld via the PSP, and Iwata had some interesting words on the topic:
“With the DS, we are not replacing the Game Boy Advance. Instead, we are expanding the Game Boy market with the DS. So, by the time the PSP is probably released worldwide, the total [GBA] install base will be around 60 million units. They will need to show superiority against both the existing 60 million GBA units and the DS, which offers new ways to play. I think that will be a tough challenge.”
The irony of that statement is many fold. First, the PSP was able to eclipse the GBA’s install base by selling over 80 million units themselves. However, the Nintendo DS sold over 150 million units and was hailed as a far superior gaming system thanks to its expansive roster of titles. Then, when Sony followed up with the PlayStation Vita, it barely got around 15 million.
Regardless, it’s interesting seeing Iwata at this point in his young career and talking about things with fresh eyes. Those same eyes would see many highs and lows for Nintendo, including the rise of the Wii and the crash of the Wii U.
Yet, his wisdom helped get the company through, including taking a pay cut himself so that other employees weren’t let go during the hard years. That’s not something you see much nowadays.
You can watch the whole interview below. We miss you, Mr. Iwata.
