Ask Iwata: Words of Wisdom from Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's Legendary CEO

by Satoru Iwata

On that occasion, for whatever the reason, I shared my work philosophy with him. And you know what? I don’t think that what I told him then has changed, all these years later. “It makes me really happy when people enjoy my work. This could mean gamers, or maybe friends, or maybe the companies we work with, but what interests me is helping people to enjoy themselves. Seeing the people around me looking pleased is what keeps me going.” That’s the gist of what I said. Looking back, I’m not sure what possessed me to be so open with somebody I’d known for just over a year and wasn’t especially close to. I mean, it wouldn’t be so crazy to say this kind of thing to an old friend, but I was talking like this guy had been my mentor for twenty years at least—because he made me feel that way. What I’ll truly never forget is how Itoi said to me, once I had finished talking, “I feel the same.” That’s when I realized, “Oh, that’s what made this work. We approach so many things in entirely different ways, have totally different personalities, and have taken different paths, but in a fascinating case of synchronicity, we have the same work philosophy.”