All the old innovators are disappearing...
Little do modern people realize that what people like Iwata did would have been impossible without imagination, emotion, passion, fantasy, and devotion... everything which is being targeted by modern kids and the internet-hive as emo or abnormal. Start with a passion, the business comes later.
I'm surprised MORE people didn't see this coming. He didn't attend this E3 OR the previous one, and nobody wondered why? It's still incredibly sad and all the Miiverse posts in Splatoon are still referencing him despite the upcoming Splatfest.
I've played the Nintendo 64, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, GameCube, DS and the Wii during my childhood, and only until very recently have I even known the names of the people behind such wonders. And darn, they were geniuses with a sense of humor and a real passion for gaming. You won't find guys like them in any other games company nowadays, and Iwata's death is a severe blow to Nintendo and our childhood. I actually teared up a bit when I saw him unbox the Wii U to some really depressing music.
I'll never look at a bunch of bananas the same way again.
I've not really had much interest in gaming press, or had the initiative to watch any E3 presentations, so I never got to experience Iwata. In fact, I had trouble recalling who he was when I heard that he died. Having started reading up on his past projects/interviews involving him/clips of him acting strange, I've got only one thing to say.
It's a terrible thing I had to wait until after he was dead to see just how cool of a dude he was, and it's a damn shame he had to go. This guy was beloved even by those that'd never met him in person, and were devastated to hear of his passing, I can't even imagine how his immediate family and friends must be feeling.
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