We may get an English version of the Iwata book after all

The publisher is weighing its options for Iwata-san

We’ll never stop missing Satoru Iwata – not for a moment.

It’s hard to believe the former president of Nintendo has been gone for four whole years now. He left such a positive mark not just at his own company, but on the video game industry in general.

I’ll eagerly take any chance I can get to learn more about Iwata’s fascinating life, career, and outlook. As such, I’ve been crossing my fingers for an English translation of Iwata-san, a new book out now in Japan from Hobonichi featuring Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto and EarthBound‘s Shigesato Itoi.

We ran some excerpts from Iwata-san the other day (courtesy of IGN), and if you left that article wishing you could read the full book, I’m right there with you. There’s good news on that front: Hobonichi has gotten “many inquiries and requests” for an official translation and, “needless to say, it is our wish to spread the words and philosophy of Mr. Satoru Iwata to as many people of the world as we can.”

“Currently, nothing is definite yet, but we are preparing publication of Iwata-san in various languages in consultation with Tuttle-Mori Agency,” the company added. “We will make an official announcement as soon as we finalize the deals.” To keep tabs, you can follow this English-language Twitter account.

As for fan translations of the book, Hobonichi issued a warning. “We are sorry to keep you waiting. In the meantime, please note that translating this book into any languages for public distribution is a clear violation of copyright and will be subject to criminal charges. We ask for your understanding.”

While we wait for an update, I’m definitely going to peruse the Iwata Asks archive.

A note regarding the translated version of our latest book “Iwata-san” [Hobonichi via Siliconera]