title: [Book Sharing] Satoru Iwata Said: From Genius Programmer to Game Company President, the Legendary Life of the Man Who Revitalized Nintendo
published: false
date: 2021-06-07 00:00:00 UTC
tags:
canonical_url: http://www.evanlin.com/reading-satoru-iwata/
---
[](http://moo.im/a/hmpBCJ "Satoru Iwata Said")
Satoru Iwata Said: From Genius Programmer to Game Company President, the Legendary Life of the Man Who Revitalized Nintendo.
Author: Hobonichi Itoi Newspaper Publisher: Taiwan Dongfan Language: Traditional Chinese ISBN: 9789865119263 eISBN: 9786263046443 Word Count: 51,266
#### Recommended Book Purchase Links:
-
E-book: [Readmoo](http://moo.im/a/hmpBCJ)
-
Books.com.tw: [Purchase Link](https://www.books.com.tw/exep/assp.php/kkdailin/products/0010889781?sloc=main&utm_source=kkdailin&utm_medium=ap-books&utm_content=recommend&utm_campaign=ap-202106)
## Preface:
This is the seventh book I've read this year. At the age of 42, he took over as the president of Nintendo, leading Nintendo to create the NDS and Wii, revolutionizing the gaming world. President Satoru Iwata, however, passed away at a young age. This book is not about sharing his achievements or related accomplishments, but rather about sharing his thoughts in daily life and conversations with colleagues, and letting everyone know that he was a consistent person.
It's a bit like a scene from The Last Samurai:
Emperor Meiji: “Tell me how _he died_.” Algren: “_I_ will tell you how _he lived_.”
I highly recommend everyone to read this book; it's a short book, but it will make you reflect again and again.
## Content Summary and Thoughts:
About twenty years ago, Hiroshi Yamauchi arranged for Satoru Iwata to join Nintendo headquarters as the Director of the Business Planning Department, and when he retired two years later, he appointed Mr. Iwata as the president of Nintendo. At that time, Nintendo was in a precarious situation. Although its financial situation had always been healthy, the N64 and NGC home consoles had both failed, and its market share was even being chased by a new challenger, Microsoft's Xbox console, which had entered the market with substantial capital.
Mr. Iwata, who was only forty-two years old at the time, took on this important responsibility and lived up to expectations, raising the banner of "expanding the player population." He launched the handheld console "Nintendo DS" and the home console "Wii," which, with their different and heterogeneous changes from past consoles, attracted players, former players, and non-players, successfully leading Nintendo out of its slump and achieving the highest revenue since the company's founding. He was truly the "Revitalizer of Nintendo."
This book is compiled from the interviews with Mr. Iwata published on the website of "HOBO Nikkan ITOI Newspaper (ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞)," re-edited from Mr. Iwata's words. Some statements are also excerpted from the "President's Questions" column on the Nintendo website.
Mr. Iwata was a person who, when speaking in front of the media, almost never made himself the main topic. If it was for the company and projects, based on the judgment that "it is most reasonable for me to come forward," he would respond to the microphone in front of him, but in his words, he only put his own matters in a secondary position.
However, as most people know, Mr. Iwata was an honest and genuine person, consistent throughout.
He once represented the company or developers in various occasions and made statements. When these statements are compiled and viewed together, it's like the intersection of multiple circles, overlapping to create another color, naturally revealing "Mr. Iwata's own words."
### Chapter Outline
#### Chapter 1 Before Mr. Iwata Became President.
This chapter's content comes from Mr. Iwata's interviews, and you can feel Mr. Iwata's boundless passion for game production and work. Also, during his time at HAL Laboratory, due to the company's 1.5 billion yen debt, Mr. Iwata, who was only 33 years old at the time, also cultivated the ability to manage a company. Here's a quick summary of some traits that I think are rare:
- Try to make time for 1 on 1 with everyone in the company
- Because he took office, he understood everyone's thoughts and the company's problems through interviews with everyone in the company. He also learned how to do things better, and he tried to continue this habit.
- Listening with the idea of helping everyone solve problems (without expressing opinions)
- Often asking people: "Are you happy?" "Do you think this is fun?" to bring the game back to its essence.
- Never avoid encountering problems with various clients. And take the initiative to face the clients and the problems. With the idea of "If I avoid it, I will regret it for the rest of my life" to face things.
#### Chapter 2 Mr. Iwata's Leadership.
Here are some examples of Mr. Iwata's leadership, which are very suitable for those who want to switch to management positions or project management positions.
- **Find the bottleneck:** It is very important not to get bogged down in the problem, but to see the face of the problem clearly.
- **Only you can solve it:** You have to choose the right problems to face, and let the rest of the team solve other problems for you.
- Nintendo's ultimate goal is "to give people a feeling of surprise"
- **_The most ideal situation for a project is: "When something unexpected happens, but someone takes the initiative to step up and take over, solving the problem."_**
- Let everyone in the team have a common vision for the product. Only then can you have common ideas and work together.
- Hold respect for every colleague; every colleague must have their own specialty to be hired. You must be able to make good use of different people.
- **_“Never have the foolish idea of wishing you had three of yourself.”_**
Regarding interviews, there are also many insightful ideas here:
- Don't ask the interviewee difficult questions, but instead ask the interviewee questions that they can talk about freely. Through extensive conversations, to understand whether the other party can help you.
- You have to choose candidates who can be confidently blamed "stupid!" Such people can have the courage to face difficult situations. And those who can easily discuss each other's shortcomings are often less afraid of being tied down in cooperation. Do what you want to do, and question what you want to question.
In addition, I also feel that Mr. Satoru Iwata himself also has a strong missionary spirit. He likes to encourage every colleague and take the initiative to discover the unique aspects of each colleague.
**_“It's completely different whether a person understands something and whether they can explain it to others.”_** (This quote, I think, is great)
#### Chapter 3 Mr. Iwata's Personality.
This chapter lists many of Mr. Satoru Iwata's valuable personality traits:
- Is a person who gets to the bottom of things and loves to learn:
- Understanding the principle is one thing, and being able to make the other party accept it calmly is another skill.
- The ability to provide feedback:
- Just like a game, give feedback and suggestions to colleagues, so that each colleague can continuously improve.
- Using programming experience to run a company:
- Just like finding a bug, you won't think it's your own problem at first. You need to think carefully about the other party's problems and your own problems, and then think about whether there is a good way to communicate with each other in a more positive way.
- As long as it's reasonable, make up your mind early (and see it through):
- This refers to Mr. Satoru Iwata coming out to represent Nintendo to release the game, for which he worked hard to learn English and earnestly expressed the company's aspects and the essence of the game.
- "Programmers cannot say No"
- This refers to programmers not limiting themselves from the start, allowing many good ideas or (more difficult to develop) ideas to be stifled halfway.
- Prioritizing things through the "person involved will not regret" method
- This way, not only will you not waste time, but you can also ensure that every person (thing) (object) is properly treated.
#### Famous Little Sentences:
"When customers eat a meal, they often say too much, possibly because it's not delicious. It's not because they can't finish it, and at this time, the boss might simply give less food, which doesn't really solve the problem."
#### Chapter 4 The People Mr. Iwata Trusts.
This chapter mainly shares the stories of the people Mr. Satoru Iwata trusts.
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Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto can often solve multiple problems with one idea.
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Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto often grabs colleagues in the company and asks them to try out his games to get feedback. (It may also be that Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto likes to face the pure side of the players)
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Mr. Miyamoto's thorough understanding of the essence of computers, this refers to Mr. Miyamoto's deep foundation.
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There are two ways to solve a game, one is to redo it, and the other is to make small changes. Mr. Itoi insists on redoing the game for fun.
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Mr. Miyamoto often cuts and redoes, but it may be that the game engine and gameplay are changed, but he will try to think about how to use the reusable parts.
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The teachings of former President Hiroshi Yamauchi: "Don't always follow the old path, be brave and take a new path."
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A genius may be "doing what others hate and cannot finish, persistently."
#### Chapter 5 The Games Mr. Iwata Pursued.
This starts to introduce some of Mr. Satoru Iwata's ideas for creating consoles and games:
- **Creating the game console in your mind:** Hoping to create a video game console that you would want to open immediately when you get home.
- **Creating a gameplay structure:** For a period of time, Nintendo's main goal was to open up the population of the game group, so they would change the way of playing games from the controller to the remote control. Through the way of body feeling to attract more game population. This is also the reason for the birth of the Wii.
- **Through brainstorming discussions, it may not be a waste of time:** There was a time when Mr. Satoru Iwata hoped that children's game time would not be too long, but this idea was obviously contrary to the company's revenue. Through continuous discussions, the game time system was born in the game. It can also allow parents and children to communicate and restrain each other.
- **Following the path of past success is the most terrifying:** For a period of time, Nintendo was constantly creating new console systems. From NDS to 3DS to Wii, they believed that following the path of past success was often the easiest way to fail.
- **Super Smash Bros. is a game that grows slowly:** At first, they only hoped to create a fighting game that anyone could play. Later, with the addition of many characters and more ideas, it could become the interesting look it is now.
- **The birth of Wario is to subvert Nintendo:** The initial idea of Wario's birth was to do what Mario couldn't do: bad things, mini-games, or some other game types. This "side" game type, instead, attracted another group of game groups!
- **Casual players and hardcore players:** Most of the time, Nintendo will attract more players to join in a way that allows casual players to join. But there will also be game types for hardcore players.
#### Famous Little Sentences:
Why does this little stone have to be placed here? If the designer says "no reason," this is quite dangerous and unacceptable.
At the beginning of making a game, you want to add all the elements, but when you have to finish it, you often compromise and complete it through subtraction. Constraint is the mother of creation!
#### Chapter 6 Mr. Iwata in the Eyes of Others
Here are many of the god-level figures within Nintendo's view of Mr. Satoru Iwata, and through this way, it also echoes many of the characteristics that describe Mr. Satoru Iwata earlier.
- Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto's view of Mr. Satoru Iwata:
- Not like a superior, but more like a friend.
- Likes to use naming to build consensus. For example, product naming, or games using common names. (Wii Sport, Wii Fit ...)
- Mr. Itoi's view of Mr. Satoru Iwata:
- Makes people feel trusted, but dare not slack off colleagues.
#### Chapter 7 Mr. Iwata the Person.
Finally, through many short sentences, to help Mr. Satoru Iwata conclude.
"When working with others, you must make people feel that they must continue to work with me next time"
On my business card, I am the president
In my mind, I am a game developer
In my heart, I am a game player
## Thoughts:
Perhaps because it's a book written by a Japanese person, even when writing the chapter summaries, they will use many words like "Mr." (laughs). This book is not long, it's a kind of collection of articles through interviews. And it also adds the side interviews of many people to understand this admirable person. Although Mr. Satoru Iwata became president at a young age, his humility and willingness to solve many problems are quite admirable. This is not a very thick book, but I should often come back and read it, because there are many short texts, but they are so concise and powerful that I will keep thinking.
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