Iwata Had Tumor, Missed E3, Will Be Missing Investor Meet

June 24, 2014

Satoru Iwata

President, Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Thank you very much for your continued extraordinary support of us. I am Satoru Iwata, President of the company.

Today, there is one thing that I would like to share with you.

Recently, as the result of one of my routine physical examinations, an issue was detected. Following a more detailed examination, a growth was found in my bile duct.

In general, it is said that a bile duct growth can be difficult-to-treat, partly because of the difficulty of detecting it early. In my case, luckily, it was detected very early and I had no symptoms.

I was counseled that removal at an early stage would be the desirable medical option. Therefore I had surgery last week, and I came through it well, as predicted.

I have already resumed my business by email and by other means, but it is anticipated that a little more time is needed for me to return to my regular work schedule.

As a result, I have no choice but to miss the company’s very important activity, the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, to be held this month. As the president of the company, I regret that I cannot attend the meeting. However, I understand that I have to prioritize my medical treatment and to recover as soon as possible so that I will again be able to do my best to help the company to grow. I hope that you understand.

Best Regards,

Satoru Iwata

Iwata's health issues were much more serious and severe than anybody might have imagined. He basically had a tumor in the bile duct that could have grown into something much worse. It's great to see that it was detected early and that he had a surgery, and that he is now feeling better. It is also great to see that he is prioritizing his health over an investor's meeting.

I hope you get better soon, Iwata! Don't worry about things too much, they'll all be fine in the long run.

SOURCE

Good luck on a speedy recovery Iwata.

And Nintendo still won e3 in spite of this.

How does one "win" E3?

Damn, I hope he will be okay in the future. I don't wish bad things on anyone.

You already know the answer to this question. You already know what people mean when they say something "won E3". Don't ask stupid shit.

At least they got it early. Good on him, and a speedy recovery.

hope he goes well

omfg this some bad news

get better Iwata!

so that's why the scoundrels at 4chan sent him a "get well" card with fan art and shit....

I wish a smooth recovery for the man.

Hope he feels better soon.

I glad it was found and treated early.

Damn so when they said he was too sick to travel they weren't kidding. Hope he does well

That's great that they found it early. I hope it was benign.

By making a significant change in how your product is perceived as well as showing off desired games by the fist full. That is how you win E3. In this case the WiiU, which was being written off by many people as a complete disaster, is actually looking really good. I, for one, plan on buying on in the coming weeks.

You sound like you're ready to write the obituary.

Good they caught it early.

Show the most games.

I'm actually surprised that there are no fanboys ranting here. System Wars fanboys are better than Android Fanboys by a mile. Can you believe that Android Fanboys were happy and laughing at Steve Jobs' Death? I will never respect android fanboys after that. I like Android, just not the fanboys.

Hope Iwata heals soon.

Oh, man. Hope he gets well soon.

The fact there is no fanboy nonsense in this thread (at least yet) restores a bit of my faith in humanity.

Great that it was caught and he'll recover.

Good to hear it was detected early and dealt with. Get well.

Please be better, I need more understands in my life

but it being the wii u, that means pretty much none of the multiplats at the show (most of the games) aren't there.

@charizard1605:

That's terrible.

Get well soon!

Other companies are going to be providing with that, my friend. Though they may not actually use the term "please understand"

I'm proud of the system warriors on this page. You aren't the vile beasts of the Internet. Kudos.

Get well soon, Iwata.

Yikes. It's all about catching this kind of stuff early. Glad to hear he is recovering. :)

this thread warms my heart a great deal. It's nice to know when we hear of somebody having a serious medical scare, we stop being fools and actually start acting like caring human beings.

Get well soon Iwata!

@nintendoboy16: Currently it's "Greatness Awaits" with an emphasis on awaits.

Hope he's alright.

Rest well Iwata.

No one deserves these kinds of things, unless they are overly offensive-psychopath douchebags.

Luckily it was detected early, good news. Still shocking to hear this kind of stuff.

Hope he gets better soon.

One page in and no spiteful posts or snide remarks? You dun good system wars

hopefully he has a quick recovery, the man doesnt deserve all the shit he usually gets from internet neckbeards.

Poor him. Hope he gets better.

I hope he gets well soon and refrain from stressing himself out. His health must always be top priority.

Speedy recovery Mr. Iwata.

The man does really get a lot of undeserved hate. He seems like a real nice guy who cares about what he does for a living. Selling a product to gamers is a hard fricking job. This community can be brutal.

Glad this issue was found in early stages. Cannot wait to see what is next for Nintendo.

Yes he can, don't for a second buy into the bullshit notion that Iwata comprises Nintendo and his absence would ruin the company. He is NOT Nintendo in its entirety, nor gaming.

As for his illness, quite a timely and convenient coincidence to have such a diagnosis right at the time investors are to give him his review. IF this condition exists, then I sincerely wish him all the best and a fast recovery, but for a man who's largely kept his job by playing up his charisma and personality at the right times, I have my doubts. Just the way I feel.

You can count on me, Shin.

This entire post is in very poor taste, and I expected significantly better from you.

@MirkoS77:

Respect minus 2,000 bro... wtf?

I agree with your previous point. Yes Iwata can be replaced. The company might even be better off for it. Who knows? Just because the man is ill doesn't mean I'll pretend that he is the corner stone of Nintendo. So we agree on that.

Pretending to have a tumor though? WHAT? "IF this condition exists"... WHAT?

I think you need to lay off the System Wars bro. I expected somebody to come in here with something crazy to say. I was surprised it didn't happen sooner. I just expected it to be another one of these trolling cow alts man. Not for a second did I think it would be you.

You guys are right, it's in poor taste and I should've known much better. I apologize to Iwata and to those in this thread that I offended. It's just that he's constructed a cult of personality around him, this has been a focused effort over the years, and he's in a real dangerous position career wise. People are sympathetic to illness. It just strikes me as a little too convenient is all. But I'm probably wrong here, he's understandably under immense stress as well.

I guess sometimes my desire for him to step down skews my perspective in a bad way. Again, I apologize, that was uncalled for.

lucky they caught it early. hope he gets well soon.