Satoru Iwata, the CEO and the face of Nintendo for over a decade before his death in July 2015, was a beloved figure in gaming simply because he was so incessantly visible — he would interview his employees in a series called “Iwata Asks” on Nintendo’s web site, and he would host the periodic Nintendo Direct livestreams whenever the company had something to announce, among other media appearances.
At the GDC Awards on Wednesday, in tribute to Iwata, an animated short by Raber Umphenour, Shawne Benson, David Hellman and Chris Kohler made its debut, and you can watch it above.
Iwata began his professional career in games as a programmer at the HAL Laboratory in 1980. In the 1990s, while at HAL, he worked with Nintendo on several Pokemon titles before moving to Nintendo and joining its board of directors in 2000. He was named president and CEO in 2002.
