Reggie Fils-Aime honors Satoru Iwata: 'mentor, colleague, and friend'

Between DJ sets and handing out trophies, The Game Awards welcomed Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime to the stage Thursday night to honor the life of Satoru Iwata. Iwata, the former president and CEO of Nintendo, died in July after years of struggle with bile duct cancer, at which time Fils-Aime observed that it would be years before his impact on the gaming industry would be fully appreciated.

Here's his full four-minute speech from The Game Awards:

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Iwata was proficient with just about everything that goes into making video games, from electrical engineering to design theory to business dealings (watch Iwata's video biography to learn more about his many accomplishments). But beyond his rare expertise, Fils-Aime praised the courage and confidence that helped Iwata shape Nintendo and the industry at large.

"The man was fearless," Fils-Aime said at The Game Awards. "Remember how you felt when you first heard the name Wii? Or remember what was said when you found out about Nintendogs, or Brain Age, or a dual-screen portable device? You may have been puzzled. But he already knew. He had already heard the criticisms internally. But he always championed an idea he truly believed in. And we all benefitted."

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I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and was formerly a staff writer at GamesRadar+.