Ask Iwata: Words of Wisdom from Nintendo's Legendary CEO book is coming this April

By Heather Wald, Connor Sheridan
published

With contributions from Shigeru Miyamoto and Shigesato Itoi

(Image credit: Viz Media)

Update: Ask Iwata, the book that brings together a "motivational collection" of interviews from the late Nintendo president and CEO, Satoru Iwata, is set to release this April. 

As spotted by VGC, the English translation of the book now has an official release date after publisher Viz Media announced the launch of the book last year. Due to release on release April 13, 2021 in the US, and April 15, 2021 in the UK, you can now pre-order the hardcover edition. Retailing at $22.99 / £18.99, the book compiles interviews with the late and much-loved Nintendo figurehead and also features contributions from the likes of Shigeru Miyamoto and Shigesato Itoi. 

 "In this motivational collection, Satoru Iwata addresses diverse subjects such as locating bottlenecks, how success breeds resistance to change, and why programmers should never say no," the book's synopsis reads. "Drawn from the “Iwata Asks” series of interviews with key contributors to Nintendo games and hardware, and featuring conversations with renowned Mario franchise creator Shigeru Miyamoto and creator of EarthBound Shigesato Itoi, Ask Iwata offers game fans and business leaders an insight into the leadership, development and design philosophies of one of the most beloved figures in gaming history."

Original story: 

The book's Japanese release was simply titled Iwata-san, but its English version from Viz Media will be called Ask Iwata: Words of Wisdom from Nintendo's Legendary CEO. The contents of the book are pulled from years worth of material, including Nintendo's own Iwata Asks online Q&A series - in which Iwata interviewed game developers about the details of their work - and other sources, many of which have likely never before received official English translations.

See more

Aside from quotes straight from Iwata, the book also includes words from notable friends and collaborators, including Nintendo creative Miyamoto and Earthbound director Itoi. Itoi's company created the Japanese version of the book, so he was probably involved with putting Ask Iwata together as well (Itoi's a famous writer in Japan, though out west we know him best for making that game about a bunch of psychic school kids).

Before taking leadership of Nintendo, Iwata was a prolific programmer who worked on games ranging from Balloon Fight for NES to Super Smash Bros. Melee for GameCube. He served as the president and CEO of Nintendo from 2002 until his death in 2015, becoming a beloved face for the company through his regular, often humorous, appearances in Nintendo Direct videos.

Though he didn't see its release, Iwata played a key role in shaping Nintendo Switch - and our list of the best Switch games three years into the console's life shows it has done well by his legacy. 

Heather Wald
Heather Wald
Senior staff writer

I started out writing for the games section of a student-run website as an undergrad, and continued to write about games in my free time during retail and temp jobs for a number of years. Eventually, I earned an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University, and soon after got my first official role in the industry as a content editor for Stuff magazine. After writing about all things tech and games-related, I then did a brief stint as a freelancer before I landed my role as a staff writer here at GamesRadar+. Now I get to write features, previews, and reviews, and when I'm not doing that, you can usually find me lost in any one of the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games, tucking into another delightful indie, or drinking far too much tea for my own good.