A previously unpublished 2004 video interview with Satoru Iwata has been shared online
Iwata discusses the PSP, the Revolution (Wii), Miyamoto and Yamauchi
A 2004 video interview with Nintendo‘s then-president Satoru Iwata has been published in full for the first time.
The interview, which was recorded by the website Kikizo at E3 2004, was partially shared at the time, but never shown in full.
Now the full 30-minute discussion, including Iwata’s answers, the English translation by Nintendo’s Yasuhiro Minagawa and optional English subtitles, has been remastered in HD and published in full online.
At the time, Iwata had only been Nintendo president for two years, and had just been on stage at E3 showing off the Nintendo DS and teasing the Revolution (which would later be renamed the Wii).
Discussion topics in the interview include the Revolution, his views on Shigeru Miyamoto and former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, and how he felt the DS would do against the Sony PSP (both of which were still a number of months away from launch).
In the interview, Iwata was asked if Yamauchi, who had stepped down as president of Nintendo but was still chairman of the board of directors, was still involved in big decisions. Iwata pointed out that Yamauchi was the one who decided the DS should have two screens.
Later, he added: “Of course, Hiroshi Yamauchi is a person who 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.
“I have heard a lot from him in the past about his philosphy on how the gaming industry should change, and I intend to inherit that philosophy as it is, if it’s good. He himself said we need to change with the times, and I also intend to inherit that.
“In that sense, I don’t think we should just do exactly what he has said in the past, but I definitely think the essence of his ideas will continue to be applicable in the future.”
Further reading
Nintendo is still influenced by Yamauchi and Iwata, says president
Elsewhere in the interview, Iwata was asked how he felt the Sony PSP would compete with the Nintendo DS. Iwata replied that he felt it was actually competing with both of Nintendo’s handhelds.
“With the DS, we are not replacing the Game Boy Advance,” he said. “Instead, we are expanding the Game Boy market with the DS.
“So by the time the PSP is probably released worldwide, the total [GBA] install base will be around 60 million units. They will need to show superiority against both the existing 60 million GBA units and the DS, which offers new ways to play. I think that will be a tough challenge.”
Iwata passed away in 2015, at the age of 55, having been Nintendo president for 13 years.
