[9] While attending the school, he was one of several unpaid interns at Commodore Japan, assisting the subsidiary's head engineer—Yash Terakura[7]—with technical and software-development tasks.

[6][18][19] Nintendo initially contacted several other developers to produce Open Tournament Golf; however, all of them declined as they did not believe the large amount of data could be stored within an NES cartridge.

[29] Yamauchi left the company in Iwata's hands with a final request: "that Nintendo give birth to wholly new ideas and create hardware which reflects that ideal.

[37] After a year-long analysis conducted at Iwata's behest, Nintendo concluded that pushing hardware was not the most effective way to promote video games and decided to focus on software.

"[39] He stressed that developers wasted far too much time focusing on core gamers and would be unable to turn a profit if they did not tend to the average game player.

[43] The Nintendo DS proved to be a highly profitable system and went on to become the second-best selling video game console of all time with more than 154 million units, inclusive of subsequent iterations, sold by September 2014.

[6][46] Iwata personally oversaw development of the Brain Age series, even foregoing a public appearance on the day of the Nintendo DS's release in Japan on December 2.

Iwata saw the gradual price drop in the five-year cycle as a way of indirectly telling consumers to wait to purchase products and a punishment for those who bought it at launch.

[58] During the console's development process Iwata challenged engineers to make the Wii no thicker than three DVD cases stacked together, a feat they ultimately accomplished.

[60] Alongside the internal hardware designed by Nintendo's engineers, Iwata proposed that the console abandon use of a typical controller to make gaming more accessible to everyone.

During his speech at the conference, Iwata reiterated his stance on growing the gaming market but expanded upon it by emphasizing the need to make controls less complicated.

[63] The Wii ultimately popularized the use of motion control-based video games and proved highly successful for Nintendo, helping to nearly double the company's stock price.

[68] Due to his success, Barron's included Iwata on their list of the 30 top CEOs worldwide from 2007 to 2009, stating that for Nintendo, "Wii (was) a winner; stock soars" under him.

[89][92] During the development phase of the 3DS, a handheld device featuring stereoscopic 3D without the need of accessories, Iwata stated that his background in technology helped keep Nintendo's engineers in line.

[99] The Wii U, released in November 2012,[100] was sold below its production cost as Nintendo hoped for stronger software sales to alleviate ongoing losses.

[101] The addition of HD graphics, a feature not present in the original Wii, placed unexpected strain on development teams and led to software delays.

Compounding the frustration of consumers was Iwata's disinterest in competitors such as Microsoft and Sony,[102][103] both of which experienced similar issues during the releases of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 respectively.

Paul Tassi of Forbes claimed that Nintendo could have handled the change more efficiently by drawing lessons from Microsoft and Sony's transition to HD graphics.

[91][92][111] The slight turnaround was largely attributed to blockbuster games such as Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.

[115] In early 2010, the success of Apple Inc.'s mobile App Store prompted concern among game developers that the medium was shifting to smart devices.

Yoshihisa Toyosaki, president of Architect Grand Design Inc., claimed that "Nintendo is out of touch", referring to the company's history of ignoring outside input.

In a February 2017 interview with the magazine Time, Miyamoto believed Iwata's goal for the system was to make it portable and allow communication between people.

[129] During the earlier years of his presidency at Nintendo, Iwata would often forego media appearances, unless new hardware was being announced, in order to spend more time programming.

He acquired this position after being asked by Itoi one month prior to the June 6 launch date to arrange a website and the company's technical systems, to which Iwata complied.

[142] Soon after his promotion to president of Nintendo, Iwata assigned himself to a development team at HAL Laboratory working on Super Smash Bros. Melee, for the GameCube, to continue his programming passion.

[149] Iwata issued a public message to shareholders on June 24 that he had undergone surgery the previous week to remove a tumor in his bile duct discovered during a routine physical examination.

[162][163] Shuhei Yoshida, president of SCE Worldwide Studios, stated: "I pray that Mr. Iwata, who contributed so much to the development of the gaming industry, rests in peace.

[122] Following Iwata's death, Reggie Fils-Aimé remarked, "... it will be years before his impact on both Nintendo and the full video game industry will be fully appreciated.

"[180] In October 2015, a fan-made Amiibo featuring Iwata's Mii avatar was crafted and auctioned for US$1,900 on eBay; all proceeds were to be donated to the Child's Play charity in his memory.

[184][185] At the 2016 Game Developers Choice Awards, Iwata was honored with a short animated film by David Hellman, the artist who worked on Braid.