On July 11, Satoru Iwata, CEO of Nintendo, passed away.

The man wasn’t just some corporate leader. He was a game designer first. I remember playing Kirby’s Adventure on the NES, a game he worked on personally. I’ve since played many titled he’s overseen or had a hand in, and owned every system he’s helped release. The Wii brought so many of my friends and family into the world of video games who would have never touched it otherwise, and he was very much responsible for pushing the company in that direction.

Not only that, but Iwata spoke directly to his fans. Nintendo has been putting out news about their goings-on in the form of short videos called “Nintendo Directs” for quite some time now, and Iwata has always been at the center of them. He’s actually really funny, too!

Satoru Iwata was the leader of a company who didn’t just sit back and make decisions from the shadows, but instead spoke directly to his fans, and… I really respect that. I respect him.

Mr. Iwata, your legacy will go on forever. You will be greatly missed by millions of people around the world, myself included. Your contributions to the video game industry and my own personal life were immense, and the games that you helped create are a part of why I’m the person I am today.

Thank you, Satoru Iwata. Thank you so much, for everything.