While fans have already commemorated this tragic anniversary by looking back on Iwata’s revolutionary tenure at Nintendo, the anime and manga publisher Viz Media has announced a new book to honor the former Nintendo president. In a recent tweet, it announced a complete collection of “Iwata Asks” interviews. From 2006 to 2015, Iwata’s series interviewed Nintendo developers and staffers to give devoted fans an inside look at the development process behind Nintendo’s hit consoles and games.
RELATED: Nintendo Switch Hides Touching Tribute to Late President Iwata
According to the tweet, Viz Media will localize Ask Iwata: Words of Wisdom from Nintendo’s Legendary CEO, for a Spring 2021 release date. Compiling interviews about the Nintendo DS, Wii, 3DS, Wii U and its greatest games, the book’s creator Yasuda Nagata worked with the lifestyle company Hobonichi to edit and publish the original Japanese anthology in 2019. It also added new sections from Earthbound mastermind and Hobonichi founder Shigesato Itoi, as well as Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto.
In the Twitter replies, Nintendo fans celebrated Viz Media’s announcement. Many fans thanked Viz for translating Iwata’s work, and talked about how essential this book would be to any Nintendo devotees looking for a beautiful tribute to the impact Iwata left behind. Several people got emotional when remembering the Nintendo president, and promised to buy the book on release day. Industry journalist Geoff Keighley also joined in on the hype, stating that he was looking forward to Viz’s official translation.
While Viz Media has not given a specific release date to Ask Iwata: Words of Wisdom from Nintendo’s Legendary CEO yet, eager fans can still access the original “Iwata Asks” interviews on Nintendo’s official website. However, impatient fans should likely avoid any fan translations of the book. Now that Viz is producing an official Western release, Hobonichi is warning fan translators that it will take legal action against unauthorized versions of the book.
MORE: Miyamoto Talks Iwata’s Influence on the Nintendo Switch Console
