The False Story

In Season 1, Episode 06 of the GameCraft Podcast ("Console Castles"), co-host Mitch Lasky presented a fabricated story about Nintendo's late president Satoru Iwata as if it were fact. Between minutes 29:36 and 30:30, Lasky claimed:

In 2013, a shareholder at the Nintendo annual meeting stands up and starts expressing concern about Nintendo's plummeting stock price and asks Nintendo's CEO, Iwata-san, what his plans were for mobile phones. To which Iwata answers that they have no plans for mobile phones and suggests that the shareholders buy a DS.

The shareholder persists and he continues this heated exchange with Iwata… and ultimately Iwata gets so mad he exits the stage, walks down into the ballroom, and punches the shareholder in the face. And both men are then escorted out of the room by security. So, this is where we were in 2013 with Nintendo and the mobile phone. Iwata chooses violence.

The Truth

This story is completely false. It originated from P4RGaming.com, a now-defunct satirical gaming website that operated like "The Onion of video games journalism." The article, published on April 24, 2013, was titled "Satoru Iwata Punches Man at Investor Meeting After Asking When Nintendo Will Make Smartphone Games."

• "P4RGaming.com provided entertainment through satire in an increasingly serious gaming environment." (source)
• "You really need to say your site is not a legit news site somewhere cause some ppl can’t figure out its satire on their own. Otherwise it’s just slander." (source)
• "The entirety of this site is satire…" (source)
• "Play4Real is [a] joke site. It's basically the Onion of video games journalism." (source)
• "They've been linked a few times by users who thought they were serious. Better let the public know that this is, in fact, satire." (source)
• "The interview displayed above is a work of humorous fiction that was originally published on gaming site Play4Real on 7 November 2012." (source)

Attempts to Correct the Record

1. Twitter (June 9, 2023): No response
   
2. Twitter (January 28, 2024): No response


3. Email (February 14, 2024): Politely explained the story was false and requested a correction
4. Follow-up email (March 3, 2024): Asked for thoughts on previous email
5. Final email (April 23, 2024): Provided an edited audio file with the false story removed

The Response

1. March 3, 2024: Lasky claimed they had "discussed the apocryphal nature of the Iwata story in the joint Acquired/GameCraft podcast." However, after reviewing the entire Acquired/GameCraft podcast episode, no such discussion exists. He also stated he doesn't share my "opinion of Iwata-san’s legacy — at least as a businessman," which is irrelevant to the factual accuracy of the story.
2. April 23, 2024: Lasky wrote: "I am a busy man and I am not going to honor your request. I have my own issues with Iwata whom I dealt with personally and I don’t share your belief in his sainthood. I have disavowed this story publicly and that’s the end of it."

Despite claiming to have "disavowed this story publicly," no evidence of such a disavowal exists in any publicly available content. If anyone has information about any public disavowal of this story by the GameCraft hosts that I may have missed, please contact me at chad [dot] timblin [at] gmail.

Why This Matters

1. Credibility: GameCraft presents itself as an authoritative source on the video game industry. Knowingly maintaining false information undermines this credibility.
2. Respect: Spreading defamatory stories about deceased individuals who cannot defend themselves is deeply problematic, regardless of one's personal opinions about their business legacy.
3. Accountability: When informed of factual errors, responsible podcasters issue corrections. Refusing to do so while claiming to have addressed it publicly (without evidence) raises questions about integrity.
4. Easy fix: The solution is simple: upload a corrected audio file and update the show notes. I even offered to provide the edited audio to make this as easy as possible.

The Current Status

The GameCraft Podcast continues to host Episode 06 with the false Iwata story intact. The "Iwata chooses violence" link remains in the show notes, directing listeners to a forum post that itself identifies the story as fake.

Future listeners deserve accurate information. Out of respect for Satoru Iwata and the principle of factual accuracy, GameCraft should correct this error. Until they do, potential listeners should be aware that the podcast's co-hosts have chosen to maintain false, defamatory content even after being informed of its inaccuracy.