GAME DESIGNER
Satoru Iwata
1959 - 2015

Satoru Iwata
Satoru Iwata (Japanese: 岩田 聡; December 6, 1959 – July 11, 2015) was a Japanese businessman, video game programmer and producer. Beginning in 2002, he was the fourth president of Nintendo, as well as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Nintendo of America from 2013 until his death in 2015. Iwata was a major contributor in broadening the appeal of video games by focusing on novel and entertaining games rather than top-of-the-line hardware. Born in Sapporo, Iwata expressed interest in video games from an early age and created his first simple game while in high school. Read more on Wikipedia
His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Satoru Iwata is the 9th most popular game designer, the 592nd most popular biography from Japan (down from 487th in 2019) and the 3rd most popular Japanese Game Designer.
Memorability Metrics
Page views of Satoru Iwata by language
Among GAME DESIGNERS
Among game designers, Satoru Iwata ranks 9 out of 77. Before him are Lizzie Magie, Markus Persson, Hideo Kojima, Ralph H. Baer, Jeff Kinney, and Alexey Pajitnov. After him are Gunpei Yokoi, Gabe Newell, Toru Iwatani, John Carmack, Satoshi Tajiri, and Sid Meier.
Most Popular Game Designers in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsLizzie Magie
1866 - 1948
HPI: 68.97
Rank: 3
Markus Persson
1979 - Present
HPI: 67.57
Rank: 4
Hideo Kojima
1963 - Present
HPI: 66.39
Rank: 5
Ralph H. Baer
1922 - 2014
HPI: 64.67
Rank: 6
Jeff Kinney
1971 - Present
HPI: 64.46
Rank: 7
Alexey Pajitnov
1956 - Present
HPI: 64.38
Rank: 8
Satoru Iwata
1959 - 2015
HPI: 64.03
Rank: 9
Gunpei Yokoi
1941 - 1997
HPI: 63.64
Rank: 10
Gabe Newell
1962 - Present
HPI: 63.16
Rank: 11
Toru Iwatani
1955 - Present
HPI: 62.91
Rank: 12
John Carmack
1970 - Present
HPI: 62.89
Rank: 13
Satoshi Tajiri
1965 - Present
HPI: 62.51
Rank: 14
Sid Meier
1954 - Present
HPI: 61.62
Rank: 15
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1959, Satoru Iwata ranks 81. Before him are Nirmala Sitharaman, Miki Matsubara, Wim Hof, Rosanna Arquette, Victoria Abril, and Donna Strickland. After him are Donna Murphy, Xiomara Castro, Azali Assoumani, Hassan Diab, Benny Gantz, and Yasmina Reza. Among people deceased in 2015, Satoru Iwata ranks 99. Before him are André Brink, Patrick Macnee, Akiyuki Nosaka, Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria, Cabu, and Ornette Coleman. After him are Gerry Byrne, Yaşar Kemal, Jaakko Hintikka, Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Omar Karami, and Arsen Dedić.
Others Born in 1959
Go to all RankingsNirmala Sitharaman
POLITICIAN
1959 - Present
HPI: 64.60
Rank: 75
Miki Matsubara
COMPOSER
1959 - 2004
HPI: 64.53
Rank: 76
Wim Hof
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1959 - Present
HPI: 64.23
Rank: 77
Rosanna Arquette
ACTOR
1959 - Present
HPI: 64.20
Rank: 78
Victoria Abril
ACTOR
1959 - Present
HPI: 64.11
Rank: 79
Donna Strickland
PHYSICIST
1959 - Present
HPI: 64.09
Rank: 80
Satoru Iwata
GAME DESIGNER
1959 - 2015
HPI: 64.03
Rank: 81
Donna Murphy
ACTOR
1959 - Present
HPI: 64.03
Rank: 82
Xiomara Castro
POLITICIAN
1959 - Present
HPI: 63.98
Rank: 83
Azali Assoumani
POLITICIAN
1959 - Present
HPI: 63.98
Rank: 84
Hassan Diab
POLITICIAN
1959 - Present
HPI: 63.88
Rank: 85
Benny Gantz
POLITICIAN
1959 - Present
HPI: 63.75
Rank: 86
Yasmina Reza
WRITER
1959 - Present
HPI: 63.64
Rank: 87
Others Deceased in 2015
Go to all RankingsAndré Brink
WRITER
1935 - 2015
HPI: 64.50
Rank: 93
Patrick Macnee
ACTOR
1922 - 2015
HPI: 64.50
Rank: 94
Akiyuki Nosaka
WRITER
1930 - 2015
HPI: 64.43
Rank: 95
Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria
POLITICIAN
1938 - 2015
HPI: 64.41
Rank: 96
Cabu
COMIC ARTIST
1938 - 2015
HPI: 64.30
Rank: 97
Ornette Coleman
MUSICIAN
1930 - 2015
HPI: 64.17
Rank: 98
Satoru Iwata
GAME DESIGNER
1959 - 2015
HPI: 64.03
Rank: 99
Gerry Byrne
SOCCER PLAYER
1938 - 2015
HPI: 64.00
Rank: 100
Yaşar Kemal
WRITER
1923 - 2015
HPI: 63.97
Rank: 101
Jaakko Hintikka
PHILOSOPHER
1929 - 2015
HPI: 63.93
Rank: 102
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
RACING DRIVER
1937 - 2015
HPI: 63.91
Rank: 103
Omar Karami
POLITICIAN
1934 - 2015
HPI: 63.89
Rank: 104
Arsen Dedić
SINGER
1938 - 2015
HPI: 63.81
Rank: 105
In Japan
Among people born in Japan, Satoru Iwata ranks 592 out of 6,245. Before him are Satoshi Kon (1963), Miho Kaneda (1950), Saichō (767), Yasuji Okamura (1884), Shinran (1173), and Katsu Kaishū (1823). After him are Tokugawa Ieyoshi (1793), Otozō Yamada (1881), Emperor Junnin (733), George W. Casey Jr. (1948), Dom Justo Takayama (1552), and Kunihiko Kodaira (1915).
Others born in Japan
Go to all RankingsSatoshi Kon
FILM DIRECTOR
1963 - 2010
HPI: 64.10
Rank: 586
Miho Kaneda
SOCCER PLAYER
1950 - Present
HPI: 64.08
Rank: 587
Saichō
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
767 - 822
HPI: 64.08
Rank: 588
Yasuji Okamura
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1884 - 1966
HPI: 64.07
Rank: 589
Shinran
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1173 - 1263
HPI: 64.07
Rank: 590
Katsu Kaishū
WRITER
1823 - 1899
HPI: 64.05
Rank: 591
Satoru Iwata
GAME DESIGNER
1959 - 2015
HPI: 64.03
Rank: 592
Tokugawa Ieyoshi
POLITICIAN
1793 - 1853
HPI: 64.03
Rank: 593
Otozō Yamada
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1881 - 1965
HPI: 63.98
Rank: 594
Emperor Junnin
POLITICIAN
733 - 765
HPI: 63.97
Rank: 595
George W. Casey Jr.
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1948 - Present
HPI: 63.97
Rank: 596
Dom Justo Takayama
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1552 - 1615
HPI: 63.96
Rank: 597
Kunihiko Kodaira
MATHEMATICIAN
1915 - 1997
HPI: 63.95
Rank: 598
Among GAME DESIGNERS In Japan
Among game designers born in Japan, Satoru Iwata ranks 3. Before him are Shigeru Miyamoto (1952), and Hideo Kojima (1963). After him are Gunpei Yokoi (1941), Toru Iwatani (1955), Satoshi Tajiri (1965), Shigesato Itoi (1948), Masayuki Uemura (1943), Hironobu Sakaguchi (1962), Shinji Mikami (1965), Naoto Ohshima (1964), and Hidetaka Miyazaki (1974).
Shigeru Miyamoto
1952 - Present
HPI: 69.47
Rank: 1
Hideo Kojima
1963 - Present
HPI: 66.39
Rank: 2
Satoru Iwata
1959 - 2015
HPI: 64.03
Rank: 3
Gunpei Yokoi
1941 - 1997
HPI: 63.64
Rank: 4
Toru Iwatani
1955 - Present
HPI: 62.91
Rank: 5
Satoshi Tajiri
1965 - Present
HPI: 62.51
Rank: 6
Shigesato Itoi
1948 - Present
HPI: 58.97
Rank: 7
Masayuki Uemura
1943 - 2021
HPI: 58.94
Rank: 8
Hironobu Sakaguchi
1962 - Present
HPI: 57.60
Rank: 9
Shinji Mikami
1965 - Present
HPI: 57.52
Rank: 10
Naoto Ohshima
1964 - Present
HPI: 56.88
Rank: 11
Hidetaka Miyazaki
1974 - Present
HPI: 56.40
Rank: 12