Supposedly, gamers are usually known as irascible, immature, grumpy, fat, lazy, jobless, basement-dwelling neckbeards with foul mouths, equally foul breath and a giant pit in the upper part of their chest that houses a mechanical device full of malice where a heart used to be. That's oftentimes the controversial picture we're painted from the way game culture is portrayed in the media. However, sometimes gamers can come together to prove the stereotypes, media portrayals and cultural norms wrong.
4Chan has gone and done the unthinkable, making a super-huge and very endearing get well soon card for Nintendo's president and head honcho, Satoru Iwata.
For those who don't know, Iwata has undergone some sort of illness that has prevented him from attending this year's E3. This is massive news given that this is the biggest video game event of the entire year and all the major players in the video game industry will be on hand to help pimp, market and sell the latest and greatest software and accessories related to all things gaming.
Missing E3 is a serious thing, and as noted on Giant Bomb, Iwata will not be making any big trips in the “immediate future” due to his health concerns. His physicians have reportedly advised him not to make the big trip overseas to attend the annual event.
Some gamers and pundits have presumed that the ill health could be due to all the stress Iwata could be under to revive the Wii U and keep the Nintendo brand profitable. As previously reported, even analysts feel as if a price-cut for the Wii U won't allow it to easily catch the PS4 and gain market dominance in the eighth gen.
Compounded with a very poor showing of sales in 2013, it's easy to see how pressure from the board, pressure from the media and poor market trends up until the recent release of Mario Kart 8 could easily affect the health of Iwata. However, that's only supposition on the end of the gaming community, and we have no way of actually knowing if all the Nintendoom was the actual cause of Iwata's recent decline in health.
Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the state of the company or what actually caused Iwata to fall ill, the usually dour group from 4Chan's /v/ have actually come together to do something proud, do something right and do something humane.
Behold, /v/'s get well soon collage, as seen on the Wii U subreddit.
As you can see, it's a collection of memes, hand-made images and photos all wishing well on Satoru Iwata, hoping for the best and wishing him to return in all good manner.
It's an endearing gesture of positivity and it echoes a fond sentiment throughout gaming culture; no matter what side of the line you stand on during the console wars, there's still a bit of humanity left in us all to show that we still care for one another and hope for the best when times are tough.
With all of that said... get well soon, Iwata.
