[4][1] While in junior high school, he became interested in the Japanese electropop group, Yellow Magic Orchestra.
Once he graduated high school, Iwata tried to find work that combined his love of music and video games, and joined Bothtec, which while he was there became part of Quest.
[5] While at Bothec, Iwata met Hitoshi Sakimoto, who was a freelance composer working on games for the company while still in high school.
[2] Iwata's first encounter with mainstream success in Japan came about in 1993 when he composed Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen along with Sakimoto.
[7] This collaboration led to Iwata co-composing several titles with Sakimoto over the next few years, culminating with his first brush with international success with Final Fantasy Tactics in 1997.
[3] Basiscape composes and produces music and sound effects for various types of interactive media, most notably video games.
[10] Since becoming part of Basiscape, Iwata has gone on to compose for over 50 other titles, including big-name works such as Final Fantasy XII, Odin Sphere, and Soulcalibur IV.