I. Satoru Iwata was someone who left behind a legacy.
II. For much of his life he was a game developer, but he was destined for more than that.
III. He later became the president of the largest and most infamous video game company in the world, Nintendo.
IV. During his time as CEO, he took big risks to not only satisfy fans but to create new ones and push the industry to innovate.
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I. Satoru Iwata’s passion for games developed when he was a teenager.
A. He first began by creating a baseball game on his calculator.
B. “When I saw my friends playing that game and having fun, it made me feel proud. To me, this was a source of energy and passion... I think my life course was set." (Martens)
II. He began studying computer science and engineering at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
A.
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During this time Iwata’s interest in programming began to take off.
III. Iwata joins a company called HAL Laboratory.
A. While at HAL Laboratory he helped create some Nintendo’s most popular series such as the Kirby series, Mother (in the U.S. it’s called EarthBound), and Super Smash Bros.
B. “When HAL Laboratories verged toward bankruptcy in 1992, Iwata was made the company’s president, and he helped restore it to fiscal soundness.”(Martens)
IV. Iwata leaves HAL Laboratory in 2000 to take a position at Nintendo becoming the head of corporate planning.
A. In two short years Iwata becomes the President of Nintendo after Hiroshi Yamauchi announces his retirement.
1. “That made him the first person outside of the Yamauchi family to head Nintendo.” (Wong)
B. Iwata took over at a rough time for Nintendo.
1. Not to long before, Nintendo released the GameCube, which couldn’t compete with Sony’s PlayStation 2 or Microsoft’s Xbox.
2. It wasn’t long before he brought the company back around taking a huge risk that could potentially backfire.
V. Iwata sought to innovate and change the way we play
"COMPANY NEWS; CHAMPION ENTERPRISES HIRES A NEW CHIEF AS DEBT RISES." The New York Times, July 1, 2003.
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