"On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer."
- Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, delivering the keynote address at the 2005 Game Developers Conference.
With those words, veteran game developer and Nintendo executive Satoru Iwata launched into his classic "Heart of A Gamer" keynote speech at GDC 2005. At the time, Iwata was serving as president of Nintendo, which had launched the Nintendo DS and was working on the Wii under the "Revolution" codename.
During his hour-long speech, Iwata spoke at length about how he got his start in game development by programming number-based games for early pocket calculators, the way he and his friends came together to create HAL Laboratory and develop games for Nintendo consoles, and his own rise through the company to become president in 2002.
He also shared some of his thoughts on how the game industry is driven by the passion and enthusiasm of game developers, and how the industry as a whole could be a better and more welcoming place for people of all ages and backgrounds to play games. It was a seminal speech, and if you missed seeing it in person you can now watch the recorded video version for free over on the GDC Vault.
About the GDC Vault
In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its new YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.
Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.
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