July 11, 2025 is an important date for game director and designer Masahiro Sakurai. The 22nd anniversary of Kirby Air Ride’s Japan release coincides with the 10th anniversary of former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata’s passing. Sakurai reminisced on both events and shared some of his thoughts in a recent X post.
Today was the Japanese release date of Kirby Air Ride on the GameCube. It is now on its 22nd anniversary! At the same time, it is also the anniversary of Iwata’s passing in 2015.
Ten years have passed since then… Iwata and I were about ten years apart in age. I’ll be catching up to him in age now, won’t I?
Right now, I’m pouring my heart into making Kirby Air Riders. It’s shaping up to be something great!
Prior to joining Nintendo, Satoru Iwata was dividing his time between his responsibilities as a Tokyo Institute of Technology student and a part-time programming gig at HAL Laboratory – a Japanese video game studio that would become known for its Mother and Kirby franchises. This is where Iwata first met Sakurai, who would go on to create Kirby and make his debut as a director with Kirby’s Dream Land for the Game Boy. Iwata and Sakurai would become close friends, providing advice and help to each other while working at HAL Laboratory and eventually Nintendo.
Being eleven years younger than Iwata, Sakurai cannot help but notice that he is almost the same age as his friend when he passed away. To end his post on a lighter note, Sakurai assures fans that he is working hard to ensure that the upcoming Kirby Air Riders will be great.
Kirby Air Riders is set to release sometime in 2025 for the Nintendo Switch 2.
