Bit by Bit: July 2015

I did promise back in March to be better at announcing hiatuses for Silver Bit, but I honestly didn't plan this at all.  After the craziness that was E3 2015, I didn't have much drive to write Best Games of E3 article because of the lack of playable demos on the show floor this year.  On top of E3 fatigue, I tried to write an article on collector's editions, but it didn't pan out.

Although a lot of July didn't work out as planned, I am hoping to update Silver Bit on a regular basis in August.  Fingers crossed.

Game of the Month
Two games took up most of my time this past month. The first is Radiant Historia, a turned-based RPG that has you bouncing between two parallel timelines in order to save the world from desertification.  I bought the game two years ago and spent a few hours with it before putting it down until recently.  I always enjoyed the gameplay and premise of Radiant Historia, but it's story and timeline-weaving quests are what will keep you gripping your DS or 3DS for hours on end.  In all seriousness, I play Radiant Historia a good hour or two at a time.  Sadly, I hit a grind wall around chapter four that has caused me to put the game down for the time being.

The second game and July's Game of the Month is Tearaway for the PlayStation Vita.  While I planned on waiting until Tearaway Unfolded for PS4 to dive into Media Molecule's critical darling, my curiosity got the best of me especially considering I found the game for 10 dollars new.  As cool as it would be to experience the beautiful paper craft visuals on a big HDTV, I am so happy that I experienced Tearaway on its system of origin.

Out of all the games on the Vita, Tearaway is the system's killer app.  Unlike other titles, such as Uncharted: Golden Abyss or Killzone: Mercenary, where the use of motion and touch controls feels tacked on, Tearaway uses every feature built into the Vita in an intuitive way.  Seeing your fingers pop out of the back touch screen to dispatch enemies or watching your face play a role as the ever-present sun are just magical.  My descriptions don't do Tearaway justice; it is a game that you have to experience for yourself in order to understand how special it is.

Video of the Month
On July 12th, 2015, the video game industry lost a visionary in Satoru Iwata.  Since the tragic news broke, many lovely tributes for Iwata-san have been made.  All these tributes are amazing, but I can't showcase them all here.  I choose to highlight Screwattack's tribute video because it does a wonderful job at blending Iwata's greatest quotes and the video clips that highlight his quirky personality.

Thank you, Satoru Iwata.  You will be deeply missed.

Rest in Peace, Satoru Iwata

Death in the video game industry is a subject only thought of in relation to the violent content of the medium and its possible influence on us as human beings.  Nobody thinks about it in relation to the men and women that give their lives to this industry through game development, corporate management or game journalism.  Being fans and followers of video games as a whole, we sometimes bestow these people with imaginary invincibility when in reality, they are merely mortal.  They live and, unfortunately, they die.

Late July 12th, news broke that Satoru Iwata, now former President of Nintendo, passed away July 11th at the age of 55 due to a bile duct growth.

When I opened up Facebook to find the news plastered in the centre of my News Feed, I couldn't believe it.  I went into denial as I scoured the Internet for more evidence than a couple Facebook posts.  Once I confirmed Mr. Iwata's death, the shock sunk in.  Nintendo and other news sources have reported on Iwata's multiple bouts with illness over the past two years, which caused him to miss the last two E3s.  None of the reports mentioned that it was this severe; making the news even more tragic.

Among all the grief and sadness, I feel the best way to honour Mr. Iwata's memory is to share what made him such a great leader and lovable personality not only at Nintendo, but in the industry as a whole.

While not as prolific as legendary Nintendo designers like Shigeru Miyamoto, Eiji Aonuma or Masahiro Sakurai, Satoru Iwata was responsible for the creation of Kirby and fostering classics, such as Earthbound and Super Smash Bros., during his tenure as a programmer and later President of HAL Laboratory.  Upon Hiroshi Yamauchi's retirement in 2002, Iwata was named the fourth President of Nintendo.  As president, he would go onto lead the company through the launches of the Gamecube, DS, Wii, 3DS and Wii U. 

In his early years as president, it was hard to get a read on Iwata's personality since gamers would only hear from him in the occasional interview or appearance at E3 or Tokyo Game Show.  As the years went on and technology evolved, Iwata stepped out as one of the corporate faces of Nintendo along with Reggie Fils-Aime and Shigeru Miyamoto.  The Iwata Asks and the Nintendo Direct gave Nintendo fans into a closer look at the president's quirky personality.  From intensely staring down a banana to his "Directly to you" slogan and hand gesture, Iwata was never afraid to put himself in wacky and possibly embarrassing situations in order to entertain.  His signature quirkiness is the main reason fans love him so much. 

On the corporate side, Iwata was a fighter and an incredible leader.  He managed Nintendo through some of its most difficult times as a company.  Facing immense pressure from stockholders, the media and the consumer, Iwata always stood his ground and kept Nintendo's future in mind before making drastic decisions.  Despite low sales for Nintendo during the Gamecube and horrible launch sales for the 3DS and Wii U, Iwata avoided making shortsighted immediate gains and developed long-term plans to ensure success for the future.  Under Iwata's direction, the DS and Wii both saw unbelievable success and the 3DS has consistently outperformed the other systems on the market over the past couple years.

Although death is horrible experience to all those involved, Satoru Iwata's love for the industry and quirky nature will live on through those he led at Nintendo, the many people fortunate enough to meet him in person over the years and the millions that eagerly watched every Nintendo Direct to see what crazy thing he would do next.  All I have to say to Mr. Iwata is thank you.  Thank you for making the company that I have loved since a child the best it could be for these past 12 years.  You will be deeply missed.