The death of Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata on July 11 unleashed a rare outpouring of emotion in Japan's normally impassive tech world, and deservedly so. Iwata had many accomplishments at Nintendo — including the development of the Wii console, the DS handheld player and the Rockefeller Center retail store — but his legacy transcends them. He personified much of what's right and wrong about corporate Japan in the increasingly dynamic global economy.
The Yamauchi family that founded Nintendo took a calculated risk in naming Iwata the company's first non-family CEO in 2002, a relatively fallow time for the company. Replacing Hiroshi Yamauchi (a man known for inflexibility and a volatile temper), Iwata quickly led Nintendo back to ascendancy, helping oversee a tripling of revenue.
By 2009, Nintendo was posting $4.5 billion in operating profit as revenue hit $15 billion. The company shipped more than 100 million units of the Wii alone, making it the world's best-selling console. For a time, Nintendo seemed to be enjoying a revival of its 1980s heyday.