Satoru Iwata Hypes Up the Nintendo DS and Teases the Wii in Newly Resurfaced Interview
Resurfaced exactly 20 years later.
Satoru Iwata, who served as Nintendo's president from 2002 to 2015, notably didn't do many interviews outside of Nintendo's own press releases. However, nearly 10 years after his death, a previously unpublished interview with him has resurfaced.
Yesterday, Adam Doree (Disclaimer: Doree is an employee of IGN parent company Ziff Davis) uploaded a 29-minute interview with Satoru Iwata from 2004. Originally done for the now-defunct games media site Kikizo during E3 that year, the interview has now been remastered and translated into English with subtitles.
At the time, Satoru Iwata had just taken over as Nintendo's president two years prior, and the company had revealed the DS a few months earlier. Iwata discusses the company's current generation of consoles in the interview, explaining its selection of DS demos for the show and the handheld's status as a competitor for Sony's PSP.
While the Wii wasn't formally revealed until two years later, Iwata teases it as an exciting predecessor for the GameCube, saying, "Just as Nintendo surprised people with the DS, if we were to create new hardware after the GameCube, I believe there's no point in making it unless it's something that will surprise people."
He also discusses working with former president Hiroshi Yamauchi and representative director Shigeru Miyamoto.
"Hiroshi Yamauchi has led Nintendo for over 50 years, and in the past 20 years, he is someone who can be called the father of today's gaming industry," he said.
Iwata sadly passed away a the age of 55 in 2015, leaving behind a legacy that included working on several Kirby games and saving Earthbound from development hell. He is perhaps best known for leading Nintendo (and video games as a medium) to appeal to a wider audience through the DS and Wii.
For more on Iwata's impact on the industry, you can read 11 of his most memorable quotes. You can also learn about his book, Ask Iwata: Words of Wisdom from Satoru Iwata, which was published in English in 2021.
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they've contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun, and they're currently developing a game called Garage Sale. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.
