Satoru Iwata

Japanese video game programmer and businessman (1959–2015)
Person human Q316013
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Satoru Iwata was born on December 6, 1959, in Sapporo [1]. He was a citizen of Japan and spoke Japanese as his native language . His father was Hiroshi Iwata . He attended Hokkaido Sapporo Minami High School and the Tokyo Institute of Technology for his education .

Professionally, Iwata worked as an entrepreneur, game programmer, video game producer, engineer, computer scientist, and executive producer [2][3]. His employment included tenures at HAL Laboratory and Nintendo . He died on July 11, 2015, in Kyoto [1]. The cause of his death was cholangiocarcinoma .

Satoru Iwata

Summary

Satoru Iwata is a human[1]. He was born in Sapporo[2]. He was born on December 6, 1959[3]. He passed away in Kyoto[4]. He died on July 11, 2015[5]. He worked as an entrepreneur[6], game programmer[7], video game producer[8], engineer[9], and computer scientist[10]. He ranks in the top 0.59% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (4,149 views/month, #5,853 of 1,000,298).[11]

Key Facts

  • Satoru Iwata's place of birth was Sapporo[2].
  • Satoru Iwata passed away in Kyoto[4].
  • Satoru Iwata was born on December 6, 1959[3].
  • Satoru Iwata died on July 11, 2015[5].
  • Satoru Iwata's father was Hiroshi Iwata[12].
  • Satoru Iwata held citizenship in Japan[13].
  • Japanese was Satoru Iwata's native language[14].
  • Satoru Iwata's professions included entrepreneur[6].
  • Satoru Iwata's professions included game programmer[7].
  • Satoru Iwata's professions included video game producer[8].
  • Satoru Iwata's professions included engineer[9].
  • Satoru Iwata worked as a computer scientist[10].
  • Satoru Iwata worked as an executive producer[15].
  • Satoru Iwata held the position of chairperson[16].
  • Satoru Iwata held the position of chairperson[17].
  • Satoru Iwata was employed by Q8093[18].
  • Among Satoru Iwata's employers was HAL Laboratory[19].
  • Satoru Iwata's education included a stint at Tokyo Institute of Technology[20].
  • Satoru Iwata was educated at Hokkaido Sapporo Minami High School[21].
  • A notable work attributed to Satoru Iwata is Ask Iwata: Words of Wisdom from Nintendo's Legendary CEO[22].
  • Satoru Iwata is recorded as male[23].
  • Satoru Iwata's instance of is recorded as human[24].
  • Satoru Iwata's Commons category is recorded as Satoru Iwata[25].
  • The cause of death was cholangiocarcinoma[26].
  • Satoru Iwata's family name is recorded as Iwata[27].

Product Details

The following facts are restated verbatim from public-domain and CC0 open-data sources — every line is independently verifiable against the named source's catalog.

MusicBrainz — CC0 open music encyclopedia

  • Type: Person[28]

  • Country: JP[29]

  • Began / founded: 1959-12-06[30]

  • Ended / dissolved: 2015-07-11[31]

  • MusicBrainz ID: ef2428ad-efa8-4115-b787-33e3bd2d22b4[32]

Body

Origins and Family

Satoru Iwata was born in Sapporo[2]. He was born on December 6, 1959[3]. His father was Hiroshi Iwata[12]. Japanese was his native language[14].

Education

Educated at Tokyo Institute of Technology[20], a university in postwar Japan[33], in Japan[34], founded in 1881[35], headquartered in Ōokayama[36] and Hokkaido Sapporo Minami High School[21], a Japanese high school[37], in Japan[38], founded in 1895[39].

Career and Affiliations

Recorded occupations include entrepreneur[6], game programmer[7], video game producer[8], engineer[9], computer scientist[10], and executive producer[15]. Employers include Q8093[18], a software company[40], in Japan[41], founded in 1889[42], headquartered in Kyoto[43] and HAL Laboratory[19], a video game developer[44], in Japan[45], founded in 1980[46], headquartered in Chiyoda[47]. Positions held include chairperson[16], a type of position[48].

Works and Contributions

A notable work attributed to Satoru Iwata is Ask Iwata: Words of Wisdom from Nintendo's Legendary CEO[22].

Death and Burial

Satoru Iwata died on July 11, 2015[5]. He passed away in Kyoto[4]. The cause of death was cholangiocarcinoma[26].

Why It Matters

Satoru Iwata ranks in the top 0.59% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (4,149 views/month, #5,853 of 1,000,298).[11] He has Wikipedia articles in 26 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[49] He is known by 13 alternative names across languages and contexts.[50]

FAQs

Where was Satoru Iwata born?

Satoru Iwata's place of birth was Sapporo[2].

Where did Satoru Iwata die?

Satoru Iwata passed away in Kyoto[4].

Who were Satoru Iwata's parents?

Satoru Iwata's father was Hiroshi Iwata[12].

What did Satoru Iwata do for work?

Satoru Iwata worked as entrepreneur[6], game programmer[7], video game producer[8], engineer[9], and computer scientist[10].

Where did Satoru Iwata go to school?

Satoru Iwata was educated at Tokyo Institute of Technology[20] and Hokkaido Sapporo Minami High School[21].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] . wikidata.org.
  3. [23] . wikidata.org.
  4. [12] . wikidata.org.
  5. [13] . wikidata.org.
  6. [24] . wikidata.org.
  7. [16] . wikidata.org.
  8. [17] . wikidata.org.
  9. [20] . wikidata.org.
  10. [21] . wikidata.org.
  11. [14] . wikidata.org.
  12. [6] . wikidata.org.
  13. [7] . Q1007902. Retrieved . gamasutra.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  14. [8] . wikidata.org.
  15. [9] . wikidata.org.
  16. [10] . wikidata.org.
  17. [15] . Q612975. wikidata.org.
  18. [18] . wikidata.org.
  19. [19] . wikidata.org.
  20. [25] . wikidata.org.
  21. [26] . wikidata.org.
  22. [3] . nintendo.co.jp. Retrieved . nintendo.co.jp. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  23. [5] . nintendo.co.jp. Retrieved . nintendo.co.jp. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  24. [27] . wikidata.org.
  25. [22] . wikidata.org.

Product details (FDA / USDA / NHTSA public-domain catalog data)

  1. [28] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  2. [29] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  3. [30] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  4. [31] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  5. [32] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [48] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [33] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [34] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [35] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [36] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [37] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [38] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  8. [39] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  9. [40] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  10. [41] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  11. [42] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  12. [43] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  13. [44] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  14. [45] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  15. [46] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  16. [47] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [11] . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [49] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [50] . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Satoru Iwata. Retrieved March 9, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/satoru-iwata
MLA “Satoru Iwata.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 9 Mar. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/satoru-iwata.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_satoru-iwata_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Satoru Iwata}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/satoru-iwata}, note = {Accessed: 2026-03-09}}
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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 12d ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-20 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Occupation entrepreneur, game programmer, video game producer +3
    Wikidata description Japanese video game programmer and businessman (1959–2015)
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/32084|batch #32084]]: import P21 and P106 from GND (26)"
  2. 23d ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-09 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Vgc people id
    Aliases
    Birth date
    Signature Satoru Iwata's signature.svg
    + 122 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ [[Property:P9984]]: 981059719267606706, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/257571|batch #257571]]"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.