Gone, but never forgotten…
Even since the sad passing of former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata in 2015, his legacy has beenreferencedthrough anumberof in-game and industrytributes. Another touching nod has recently been uncovered in Nintendo 3DS gamePokemon Ultra Sun & Moon.
Should a player visit the title’s Game Freak building, whilst having aGold or SilverPokemon in their party, then they will be regaled with a story about the struggle of cramming so much data into the 1999 Game Boy Color games, until the developers were helped out by an “amazing guy”.
“‘When we were having trouble fitting all the data in forGold and Silver, and we were really in a pinch,” reminisces the Game Freak employee. “this amazing guy came along and made a program for us that solved all our problems. He went on to become the amazing president of a real big company soon after that, too.”
Iwata’s contribution toGold & Silver, referenced here, was his devising of a data compression technique that allowed the game to squeeze inPokemon Red & Blue‘s Kanto region, without compromising on the size ofGold & Silver’sown world, Johto.
This small, touching reference is yet another example of great work Iwata did, not only during his time as Nintendo’s president, but in the many years he worked with HAL Laboratory. The tributes found in video games, and among their fams, since his passing speaks volumes of Iwata’s talent, influence and indelible legacy.
#ThanksIwatapic.twitter.com/4U1YSqOwr0
— Joe Merrick (@JoeMerrick)August 10, 2025
