"I am surprised at this sudden news and overcome with sadness"
Dette er den officielle reaktion fra Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendos kreative leder, over morgenens chokerende nyheder om, at Satoru Iwata tabte kampen mod kræften og gik bort i en alder af 55 år. Udmeldningen fra Nintendo i Japan, reflekterer over pludseligheden af disse sørgelige nyheder, eftersom Iwata havde vist tegn på bedring siden sidste efterår.
Både Miyamoto (software creative leader) og Genyo Takeda (hardware creative leader) vil midlertidigt tilse firmaets opgaver som repræsentative direktører. Miyamoto fortæller, at han vil holde den samme kreative vision og forretningsstrategi, der for nyligt er blevet lagt af Iwata-san.
Hele spilbranchen sørger i øjeblikket over Iwatas død, og de sociale medier er fyldt med beskeder, der ærer Iwata. Det mest brugte citat i dag, er det rammende citat set her:
"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".
Her er nogle af de andre citater og reaktioner fra spilindustrien - primært fra Twitter.
"Nintendo of Europe is today mourning the passing of Mr Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's Global President. It is difficult to put into words the sadness we feel at this time. Mr. Iwata was a strong leader, a unique figure in the gaming industry and an important part of Nintendo's history. He was a visionary in every sense of the word and we will miss him dearly. Just as Mr. Iwata challenged us to always push forward, we will ensure his legacy lives on through our ongoing work to always surprise and delight our fans. At this time our thoughts are with his family." - Satoru Shibata, Nintendo of Europe President (via Videogamer).
"Thank you for everything, Mr. Iwata." - PlayStation official channel.
"Sad day for Iwata-san's family, friends, and gamers everywhere. His passion, creativity & leadership elevated our industry." - Phil Spencer, Xbox boss hos Microsoft.
"Mr. Iwata's contributions to the industry were immeasurable. Thank you for inspiring us all." - Activision official channel.
"We lost a great voice and passionate guiding light for the games industry today. Iwata-san, your work will live on. Thank you." - 2K Games official channel.
"Please, I don't understand. #ThankYouIwata" - Markus "Notch" Persson.
"In my heart forever. https://twitpic.com/daizry" - Hideki Kamiya.
Denne NeoGaf tråd har samlet flere reaktioner og citater fra hele industrien.