The Impact of Iwata

New Contributor: Nintendo's Toru Hashimoto!
over 2 years ago – Wed, Aug 02, 2023 at 08:24:47 AM

Hello again, Impact of Iwata backers! I hope the arrival of the month of August finds you well. It's been just about three weeks since our campaign came to a close, so I wanted to check in with you all and give you a new update on progress!

First up, the pledge manager for backers to confirm order details/add extra book copies and other items (as well as the "late pledge" page for people who missed the campaign's cut-off time) should be launching very soon. I had intended to have it ready a little earlier after the main campaign ended, but I had a loss in my family just as the campaign was ending -- I spent many of the final hours of the campaign in the hospital at my grandmother's bedside, actually. Thank you all for your patience and understanding as my time spent directing my attention toward my family meant less attention focused here.

The book itself remains on schedule, though, and I'm happy to announce that we've secured a major new contributor! One of Nintendo's earliest game makers and a founding member of the product-testing Super Mario Club that did quality assurance for just about every game the company put out beginning in the early '80s, it's Toru Hashimoto! You might also know him as the owner and operator of the Nintendo-themed "84" (pronounced as "hashi") café in Japan, the go-to hang-out spot for video game industry luminaries that is full of extremely rare memorabilia. His work there has been profiled by The New York Times (read that article here) and Nintendo Life (their article here), among others. If you have a few minutes, read one or both of those pieces to get to know a little bit about him!

Toru Hashimoto worked directly with Mr. Iwata for years, and he's sent in a lengthy reflection on his life and their time spent as colleagues. I think you'll find it fascinating! And my thanks to Robert Sephazon for his translation of Mr. Hashimoto's words.

That's all for this update. I hope to check in again soon!

~ Lucas M. Thomas

Success!
over 2 years ago – Thu, Jul 13, 2023 at 07:02:10 PM

Thank you, backers! This Kickstarter campaign has been an incredible success thanks to each and every one of you – from the rocket start that got us to our minimum funding goal in less than two days at launch to the extra boost here at the end, and every single day in the weeks between! No matter when you jumped in and pledged your support, we appreciate it!

The Impact of Iwata will be finalized in the months ahead, and I'll keep you all updated on progress as we go. I'm planning to head to the printing facility for a full tour within the next few weeks, so maybe that will be the subject of our first progress update.

But for now, we enjoy the moment! A great Kickstarter, fully funded multiple times over, and with every Stretch Goal achieved. You all are amazing!

~ Lucas M. Thomas

24 Hours to Go + Final Stretch Goal Completed!
over 2 years ago – Wed, Jul 12, 2023 at 02:04:26 PM

Great success! With our last Stretch Goal accomplished, we'll now add 16 extra pages to bump The Impact of Iwata up to an even 240 overall!

It occurred to me that I never explained why 16 would be the number of pages added – it's a printing thing. Books almost always have a multiple of 16 for their total number of pages. (And blank white sheets are there in books that fall short of hitting a multiple mark precisely.) It's just the way the printing process is set up! It's been that way forever! So adding exactly 16 more pages makes the addition as easy for our printing company to integrate as possible. 

24 hours now remain in the campaign! I won't add another Stretch Goal at this point, so as to not stress anyone who'd be fretting about whether or not we might hit it. We'll call the campaign overall a wonderful success and welcome in anyone else who wants to jump on board and preorder their copy of The Impact of Iwata in this final stretch of hours!

~ Lucas M. Thomas

Stretch Goal #7 Unlocked! So, Let's Go for Another!
over 2 years ago – Tue, Jul 11, 2023 at 11:43:23 AM

Boom! You're now living in the timeline where The Impact of Iwata's $99,000 Stretch Goal was achieved even before the critical final 48 hours of the campaign had a chance to begin, so if you're pledged to any tier of $29 or higher, you've got a bonus print copy of Nintendo Force heading toward your mailbox in the future. 

And since we've still got time left, let's go for another one!

If the funding total here climbs up to the even greater milestone marker of $109,000, we'll upgrade The Impact of Iwata yet again by adding more pages to the final page count. It will go from having 224 pages to having 240! The extra space will mean more of Mr. Iwata's inspiring story will be able to be told, and in greater detail. So let's make it happen!

The final 48 hours are nearly upon is! Let's keep this train rolling!

~ Lucas M. Thomas

Announcing a Partnership with OverClocked Remix!
over 2 years ago – Tue, Jul 11, 2023 at 05:42:33 AM

I hinted at this back when the Stretch Goal to create it was met, but now it's time to officially confirm it: The Impact of Iwata's audiobook version will be enhanced by an official partnership with OverClocked ReMix! 

If you're unfamiliar with OC ReMix, it's an entire community of talented musicians who take video game tunes of the past and remix them to make new, even more magical songs. They've been around since 1999 – almost as long as the general public's access to the Internet! – and have been creating incredible tracks ever since. Most of the community's remixes are one-offs, but from time to time the community will also come together to create entire collaborative albums!

And that's what's happening again for The Impact of Iwata. One of the things I'm most excited about with the book's visual versions is the fact that each chapter opens with a spectacular full-color illustration – but the audiobook version will naturally lack that eye-catching impact. So I wanted to have an ear-catching equivalent!

The plan, then, is for the OverClocked ReMix community to make a brand-new album of 16 different remixes – one apiece for each of the book's 16 chapters. A portion of each track will be used to musically introduce each new chapter, at the same point when your eyes would be drinking in the illustration in the other versions. Then, at the end of the audiobook, when all the words are done, the mic will be fully turned over to the remixers' hard work and you'll get a free album of all 16 tracks, uncut, allowed to play out in their entireties. Lots of times, audiobooks are things we listen to just once. With this complete OC ReMix album included with The Impact of Iwata, I'm hoping to add extra repeat listening value!

If you want to familiarize yourself with the OC ReMix style, they did a small tribute album dedicated to Mr. Iwata back in 2015, around the same time we were publishing our "Thank You, Mr. Iwata" magazine issue. Give it a look and a listen right here: https://ocremix.org/album/71/heart-of-a-gamer-a-tribute-to-satoru-iwata

The race toward this Kickstarter's finish line continues!

~ Lucas M. Thomas