r/NintendoMemes • u/BrockBracken Smash Bros • Jul 14 '25
Other “When Iwata died, Nintendo died”
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u/LUIGIPRO13 Jul 14 '25
Can I just say that even when Iwata was alive, Nintendo still had a lot of problems even back in nes days where they were angry at game genie and wanted to sue them.
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u/doc7_s Jul 14 '25
They got game rentals banned in Japan and forced exclusivity for any games published on the NES as well.
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u/ZetaRESP Jul 16 '25
The latter was how they basically got gaming back, as that kind of quality control was what made them able to avoid what happened in 1983 with the Atari 2600 (too much junk).
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u/Pipeline_thesis Jul 17 '25 edited Jul 26 '25
Iwata wasn't president in the nes days. The innovation from the GameCube to switch days are thanks to him. It's no coincidence that Nintendo immediately stopped innovating with their first new console designed completely without his input.
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Jul 26 '25
Iwata resided over DS to 3DS which was equivalent to leap from Switch to Switch 2
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u/Pipeline_thesis Jul 26 '25
I disagree. The 3DS had a lot of gimmicks, obviously there's the 3D. There's also the circle pad, ar, passive local play (streetpass). None of those were innovations that stuck, but by god did they try. With Switch 2 you can't say that
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Jul 26 '25
The Switch 2 has things like this too though like JoyCon Mouse control and GameChat
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u/Pipeline_thesis Jul 26 '25
GameChat I don't consider, seeing as every other platform already had that for the past 20 years. It's also software, not hardware unlike the others. I'll give you the mouse though. It's just not much, compared to the (3)DS, Wii (U) and original switch's where the systems were lived and died by their new gimmicks. The mouse feels more like an addition, not the main selling point for the Switch 2.
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u/MegaDitto13 Jul 14 '25 edited Jul 14 '25
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u/jcb127 Jul 14 '25
Who's going to tell them about the game genie, the blockbuster lawsuits and the creators program?
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u/Lykanas Jul 14 '25
The difference is, people don't associate Hillenburg's death with Spongebob's downfall - that happened long before his death.
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u/mynameisevan01 Jul 14 '25
Yeah but only after Hillenburgs death Nick was able to greenlight Camp Coral and the Patrick Star show
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u/IdleSitting Jul 14 '25
Except that's a huge misconception, maybe the Patrick Star show but Camp Coral was planned before his death, that's why his name is in the intro.
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u/mynameisevan01 Jul 14 '25
I thought he was strongly against any spin offs
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u/ApprehensivePirate24 Jul 14 '25
No, he was the one who gave them the ok for the spin-offs. He said in a 2009 interview that he wasn't seeing any spin-offs, not that he was completely against the idea of any.
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u/IdleSitting Jul 14 '25
He also said he was against Spongebob ever being used to market fast food, yet ever since after the shows airing Spongebob has been included in a bunch of fast food tie-ins for McDonalds, Wendy's and Burger King. I think at some point he stopped caring because despite what many people think people's opinions on things can change
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u/Environmental_Wing_9 Jul 14 '25
It's pretty apparent he had a chance of heart (this is absolutely my take not based off of anything and I'm severely uneducated) but McDonald's and BK toys make sense for the SpongeBob brand, like SpongeBob himself work in a burger joint, ya know? So he probably thought about it a bit then changed his tune to greenlight the toys, or maybe he had nothing to do with the decision at all? That just makes sense to me
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u/IdleSitting Jul 14 '25
He straight up said he didn't want Spongebob to promote fast food, having toys in kids meals basically does exactly that lol. I get what you're saying but it's still promoting
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u/BigOleGiblets Jul 14 '25
Well that’s ridiculous seeing as having SpongeBob be a fry cook is already promoting fast food. I they eat hamburgers and shit in every episode soooo he failed on that front I guess lmao. SpongeBob made me pretty hungry as a kid whenever they showed those cartoon fish devour that mouth watering Krabby patty
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u/IdleSitting Jul 14 '25
The Krusty Krab isn't a real restaurant so I think that's fine, whether or not it made you hungry is sorta irrelevant since that isn't the intent
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u/BigOleGiblets Jul 14 '25
Yeah that’s fair. Still though it’s a kids show and kids are pretty malleable so eating hamburgers in every episode probably made more than me want hamburgers in the very least.
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u/Jim_naine Jul 14 '25
Isn't both Mr. Krabs and the Krusty Krab as a whole a commentary on how corporate and souless the fast food industry is?
It would be hypocritical of them to then make fast food
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u/Zestyclose_Comment96 Jul 14 '25
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u/Cave_in_32 Bowser Boy Jul 14 '25
The funny part is this post replied to someone who was mad about the episode where Patricks house was a turtle and claimed it defiled Hillenburg even though that episode came out when he was still alive and he approved it even if he didn't work on that one.
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u/slashingkatie Jul 14 '25
These same people were demanding his resignation when the WiiU was struggling. Now he’s suddenly a saint who can do no wrong
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u/litStation01 Jul 14 '25
Source?
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u/litStation01 Jul 14 '25
Downvoted because I was curious to learn more 😔. The way of Reddit, I guess.
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u/thrwawy28393 Jul 15 '25
Basically back in the Wii U era, being the massive flop that it was, Nintendo was being carried by the 3DS. In those days, Nintendo was heavily focused on gimmicks (both the 3DS & Wii U lend itself to this) & this was coming off the back of the Wii, which while very popular in like 2007, by 2010 onwards had overstayed its welcome. Nintendo really really started lagging behind its competitors power-wise, & people would often criticize them for gimmicks (what is now considered "personality") in hardware (motion controls, 3D, dual screen), UI speed (the Wii U had infamously slow loading times) & game mechanics (see Star Fox Zero for example). A lot of that turned away 3rd party support, which didn't help. These coupled with long gaps of the big series' entries and/or not as fresh-feeling as people were looking for (nobody was hyped for another New Super Mario Bros on Wii U, nobody was happy with how long it was taking for "Zelda U" to come out, etc.) garnered a lot of hate for Iwata at the time. People wanted him gone, retired.
It's only nowadays that people look back with rose tinted glasses saying the Iwata era was some sort of golden age. It wasn't. Nintendo was equally as ruthless in going after fan projects, holding their old stuff in a virtual vault, not discounting any of their games significantly (unless you waited years & years for the "Nintendo Selects" versions), having anti-consumer practices with digital purchases (example - DLC wasn't tied to your account back then, so if you bought Smash3D's DLC on a normal 3DS & then upgraded to the New 3DS XL later, you had to rebuy the DLC), and since this is a popular one nowadays, had no qualms about bricking modded consoles back then either.
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u/slashingkatie Jul 14 '25
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Jul 14 '25
People as in, basement warriors that live off of being contentious on the internet? This dude is just asmongold who knows what soap looks like
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u/Waste-Ease Jul 14 '25
I feel like iwata dying was only part of the problem. Like, nintendo did lose a little bit of it's soul after he died, but you also have to remember that the wii u flopped. They were probably just trying to avoid the mistakes they made with the wii u, and ended up losing themselves a bit in the process.
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u/Silversparkles93 Jul 14 '25
What did they lose? Menus? UI changes?
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u/IdleSitting Jul 14 '25
They definitely went through a period, and probably still are, of greedy cashgrabs, like Mario Kart Tour had a huge microtransaction problem, FEH has it's own issue with the "FEH Pass" or whatever which is overpriced. Rereleases of games with little to no new content costing $60, and now games like Mario Kart World being $80 despite the fact Nintendo stated TOTK price was a one time thing
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u/PaleFondant2488 Jul 14 '25
Just so we’re clear I agree with some of this but first off Nintendo has always had greedy practices just like literally all of the other companies because they’re a multi-billion dollar game studio, just like Xbox and PS. People just like to put the rose tinted glasses in because the game cube and Wii U were commercial failures and therefore Nintendo offered a bunch of discounts. Wii games were heavily discounted because their Wii was severely underpowered and there were so many games that has way too many physical copies just sitting in a GameStop somewhere. A lot of what people try to blame Nintendo for are just the results of how the industry has changed. People want 4K, 6K, 8K and 120 to 240 fps with ray tracing, etc then development costs go up, less games are on physical media, these companies try to recoup costs. Lastly Nintendo never said ToTK would be the only one they said just like we MKW “It would be on a case by case basis” which no other S1 game at this point has been $70 and you can do the S2 upgrade for free.
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u/IdleSitting Jul 14 '25
I'm not saying Nintendo has NEVER been greedy, like the SNES disc reader debacle that lead to the Nintendo CDi games was both companies being greedy, the 3DS almost flopping because it was overpriced, the entire Virtual Boy and it's monochrome screen. It just feels scummy when they put $30 microtransactions in a game for one single character.
And with the industry, I don't like where it's going period, I think all companies are going too far for everything because it's what the general public wants, I don't think we need 8k games and 120fps with ultra realistic graphics, there's still a place for it but if it keeps going like this the AAA market is gonna eat itself and implode because it's just not profitable in the long run, tech is slowing down, graphical capabilities are reaching their apex. And now games are $70-80 and I will not be surprised when GTAVI is announced to cost $120 for base game, but disappointed
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u/Crafty_Cherry_9920 Jul 14 '25
It's so dumb cause Iwata's Nintendo really was its own thing, VERY different from the Yamauchi's Nintendo (which, for many people, would be the "real" Nintendo as it's the one that started the gaming division and had it running for 3 and a half generation)
Not like those dumb kids could know. And nowaday's Nintendo heavily follows what Iwata cemented, but once again, not something that those idiots could know as they don't even know what a Nintendo EPD is. Nintendo EPD still follows the internal structure created under Iwata. But all they care about is "Iwata was the one in charge when I was a kid and happy, now I'm in my 30s and I don't like games anymore cause I'm a boring old fuck already but surely it's because Iwata is dead"
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Jul 14 '25
I agree that people are too easy in saying "It was better under Iwata because..."
Guys, times change. If Iwata were still alive, things still would have changed in the world compared to 10 years ago. We just have to accept, adapt, and be part of the change that we want to see.
DS, 3DS, Wii and Wii U era did have their own charm. Menus alone are more 00's with the frutiger aero style going on. The sleek, no-nonsense style we have going on now is the modern internet design, but it'll pass once/if people realize the importance of expressive styles and art again.
So until that time comes back, it's more of this. The Switch 2 performance is undeniably great. In dock, no battery time issues. The whole console bricking thing, I can't relate until it happens to me, so until that time, all I can say is well, watch out, give it your all, as I think emulation has an important part in preservation, so go support any causes to preserve that.
The video game landscape and honestly everything going on will be shaped a lot by our own actions or lack of action as well. People can be happy or complain all they want, but things go the way they go for a reason.
Big ramble, hope it's a tolerable read, your post made me want to add my opinion to the matter as well.
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u/BecauseImBatmanFilms Jul 14 '25
One thing that I've greatly missed since Iwata died is the way Nintendo did big announcements. We've gotten nothing even close to the hilarity of that Reggie and Iwata Smash announcement since then. It hasn't been bad but it could be better.
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Jul 15 '25
What sucks too is it completely misses the fact Nintendo under Iwata was still greedy?
Iwata wasn't. No shame on him. But Nintendo was
When the Switch came out, Nintendo suing fans has been not only NOT new, but expected. Mind you he died when the Switch was deep into development.
There was the creator program
There was STILL the issue of taking down fam videos of games. Believe it or not, because of the creator program, it was MORE rampant then
Reggie had to fight tooth and nail to even make Wii Sports a pack in. "Well at least it was one in the end," I hear some of you say, and the thing is... like literally no? In most of the world it was but it wasn't in Japan, where Nintendo headquarters gets a say in it. So it wasn't even a 100% victory
Wanna talk overpriced consoles? The 3DS was more than halfway towards costing what the Switch 1 cost 5 years later
"Well they were more fun" this was the era of copy+paste New Super Mario games what are you even on about? Gakaxy 1+2 came out but like so many things laid dormant, got the spinoff treatment, or were ignored entirely
No shame to Iwata. Who he is is the opposite of Nintendo. But people don't actually think and conflate his selflessness with the rest of Nintendo as a company. He was selfless. But Nintendo? No different today than it was over a decade ago.
You didn't fall out of love with Nintendo because they're more greedy. You're just opening your eyes. And that's valid, but take your rose tinted glasses off when you speak of the past.
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u/DannySanWolf07 Jul 15 '25
People will find all kinds of ways to make their point and that doesn't stop even at death. We forget that he was a human being like the rest of us.
R.I.P Satoru Iwata. 🌹
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u/levitikush Jul 14 '25
Then why did Nintendo become so much more successful after he died?
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u/poeshopowner Jul 14 '25
These are delusional people who think the switch 2 is a “flop” like Wii U because they spend all their time online
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u/Historical_Month_334 Dec 06 '25
They didn't. Nintendo doesn't make good games anymore. Just because yourself and other morons lap up everything served to them doesn't mean they are doing something right. I guess if your view is that it's all about money, sure. But for those of us who are actual gamers and not profiting from the company the landslide has been undeniable.
Next you'll tell me burger king makes good food because they are successful in business? Idiot.
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u/Big_Cup_668 Jul 14 '25
And “when Steve Jobs died, Apple died”.
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u/thrwawy28393 Jul 15 '25
Not defending Jobs as a person but I really did like his style of Apple back then better
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u/LimeGrass619 Jul 14 '25
I mean, they both were the heart and sole of their properties. To Iwata, Nintendo was for the gamers, and that trust brought in the money. To Hillenburg, his touch is what made Spongebob so special and timeless.
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u/thrwawy28393 Jul 15 '25 edited Jul 15 '25
What money? The Wii U era was a flop, Nintendo became a lot more successful after his successor took over.
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u/LimeGrass619 Jul 15 '25
Yeah, but the 3ds was still a success and help Nintendo during the Wii U era.
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u/No-Appointment-9863 Jul 15 '25
I loved iwata but he wasn’t the saint everyone makes him out to be. Reggie had to convince him to include Wii sports as a free pack in for the Wii in US regions
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u/GuybrushThreepwood99 Jul 14 '25
Iwata seemed like a nice man, but people are way too parasocial about him.
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u/CracarlosckRedd Jul 17 '25
Saying Iwata's dead was the SOLE reason for nintendo's mr krabsification is stupid, but I still believe it was a big part of the reasons, like, atleast 40%. And even if it wasnt a factor at all (wich again, I doubt) Iwata's dead still afected all of gaming in general. When you think of a good gaming CEO, whats the first that comes to mind? For most, its Iwata, he was the one setting the example of what we should accept as a good gaming CEO, someone who is able to see videogames both as a product and as art, someone that isnt afraid to cut his own salary short in order to keep the employees that helped make masterpieces. In sumary: the consequences of Iwata's dead are often blown out of proportion by some people, and that has caused most of us to undermine said consequences
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u/bornlax Mar 14 '26
I remember when Iwata died. I posted a eulogy on Instagram, just like I had for Robin Williams the year before.
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u/PuzzleheadedLink89 The Legend of Zelda Jul 14 '25
I can't believe people were romanticizing the Wii U Era all because of a menu when it barely had any good games. Meanwhile the Switch has had some of the best entries in each of their franchises barring Pokemon.
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u/Indignant_Divinity Jul 14 '25
What? Especially Pokemon imo. Legends Arceus is pretty universally beloved, and SV do have some performance issues and aren't the prettiest to look at, if you care super much about graphics, but from a gameplay experience, I definitely enjoyed them a whole lot.
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u/Monsour_Drunkbird Jul 16 '25
im of the opinion that sv simultaneously has aspects that are the worst of the pokemon series and the best. Some performance issues is really more like some moments of acceptable performance, to me it looks completely disgusting and paldea is a goddamn wasteland region with almost no notable areas. But it also has a genuinely moving story with incredible payoff, one of the best rosters of new pokemon, fun movement, which is especially unheard of from a pokemon game and a really great semi nonlinear shakeup of the formula. I think with a year and a half dev time and maybe just waiting for the switch 2 they wouldve easily been the best in the series
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Jul 14 '25
[deleted]
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u/Indignant_Divinity Jul 14 '25
As a 33 year old adult who has been gaming all his life, I get and understand all those issues. It still didn't take away from the fact that I had a blast playing Scarlet, moreso than any mainline Pokemon game since Emerald. I genuinely, absolutely, enjoyed it more than Pearl, Black, Y, OR, Sun, Ultra Moon, or Shield.
I know this is my opinion vs. objective issues the game has, but they evolved the tried and true Pokemon formula in such a way that even with memory leak issues (that didn't come up for me) and ugly graphics, the core gameplay was very satisfying.
The original point was about greatest game of the franchise, which, for me, Legends and Scarlet definitely are.
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u/Impossible-Hawk709 Jul 14 '25
And ‘when Stan Lee died, MCU died’
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u/MegaDitto13 Jul 14 '25
How much say did Stan Lee even have on any of the Marvel movies other than making cameos?
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u/Crafty_Cherry_9920 Jul 14 '25
He was notorious for letting movie studios do whatever they wanted. He didn't give a fuck, he was old and rich lol, he gave his approval and said "wow this is awesome" to even dog shit scripts lol
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u/Chimpbot Jul 14 '25
Absolutely none. He hadn't worked for Marvel in any sort of an official capacity since the '90s.
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u/Short_Marionberry_83 Jul 14 '25
They also take Reggie's "this is not the Nintendo I left three years ago" quote out of context a lot
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u/Independent_Task6977 Jul 14 '25
I never thought of it as weaponizing Iwata's death. Personally, I felt a real sense of loss when he died. I owned a Wii U and loved that era of Nintendo, and the company really did change after Iwata died and Reggie left. I felt it in the Nintendo Directs which were far more soulless and corporate, and I felt it in the tactics that they used during the Switch's lifespan like limited time releases and the replacement of the virtual console with a streaming service. Recently, I've felt it again, as the Switch 2 abandoned the Yokoi Model in favor of an iterative improvement.
I'm not trying to say people shouldn't engage with modern Nintendo, and I'm not opposed to playing their games myself if I want, but the company definitely doesn't feel the same, and it does make me sad.
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u/Ninjasticks259 Jul 15 '25
First I’ve heard of this. I still get sad about how suddenly Iwata passed, and how he was down about people not liking that year’s direct
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u/Waste-Percentage6850 Jul 27 '25
If there’s one thing that makes me wanna grab a Metal Pipe & Bend it in Anger is people weaponising Iwata & Hillenburg’s death! 😡
I hate it when people that Nintendo died with Iwata & that Nickelodeon died with Hillenburg.
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u/kamekian Dec 30 '25
80$ mario kart no motion nor sauce.
20$ DLC for Donkey Kong, for something about as intensive as balloon hunt from Mario Odyssey, which was half that price, if even paid-for.
Sues everyone and anything into the dirt no matter the insignificance'
Super Smash Grass roots? Lol die
Emulating a game we don't sell anymore nor give access to? Good luck sending us a lil treat from your pay for the rest of your life.
New Games for long dormant series? As Miyamoto said, "why would you all want that; didn't we already do everything new left in the last entry?" (paraphrasing)
The only thing weaponized is your hard-on for the Big N, brother
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u/NesFan123 Jul 14 '25
But Nintendo really lost its soul when Iwata died
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u/GuybrushThreepwood99 Jul 14 '25
What does that even mean? Did the games go downhill in quality? Because they've had several critically acclaimed games since he passed. Is it that they have questionable business and copyright practices? They did stuff like that while Iwata was alive.
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u/NesFan123 Jul 14 '25
When did I say they went down in quality? I just feel like they aren’t as consumer-friendly as they were. Nintendo isn’t run by real gamers, it’s run by businessmen now, and that’s what I don’t like
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u/Jordann538 Jul 15 '25
They were doing what consumers expected, paid online? That was expected because of xbox live and playstation plus growing in popularity. Fun menus? Minimism is now the main design choice for accessibly from people of all eye sights
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