In April, Oddworld creator and Oddworld Inhabitants founder Lorne Lanning appeared on The GameOverGreggy Show. Though the show was originally recorded in April, some comments Lanning made about Nintendo made the rounds at the end of this week.

Lanning noted a few things – he personally thought Switch would likely be unsuccessful, that it might not be worthwhile for third-parties given what happened on Wii and Wii U, and several other comments.

Ultimately the biggest remark that caught on is something Lanning said about late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. He said that “The thinking has to change,” before adding: “The biggest problem I see at Nintendo is the thinking. Personally, I think it killed Iwata – that he couldn’t move the organization into a really successful arena.”

Lanning has now apologized “for the poor choice of words concerning Satoru Iwata.” He also clarified what he was originally trying to say. See the tweets below

Yesterday, a number of news outlets reported on a conversation I had while appearing on the GameOverGreggy show in April of this year. 1/7

— Lorne Lanning (@lorne_lanning) July 8, 2017

I would like to sincerely apologize for the poor choice of words concerning Satoru Iwata. 2/7

— Lorne Lanning (@lorne_lanning) July 8, 2017

My intention was certainly not to disrespect the great man, who I have long held with utmost admiration and respect... 3/7

— Lorne Lanning (@lorne_lanning) July 8, 2017

...and consider a hero in the industry... 4/7

— Lorne Lanning (@lorne_lanning) July 8, 2017

Re: my comments on Nintendo's current policies and practices as they pertain to the Switch's ecosystem, these are personal opinions. 5/7

— Lorne Lanning (@lorne_lanning) July 8, 2017

I state them, not to disparage anyone but to encourage what I believe would be a healthier ecosystem that would benefit all involved... 6/7

— Lorne Lanning (@lorne_lanning) July 8, 2017

...platform holder, developer, publisher and, of course, gamer. 7/7

— Lorne Lanning (@lorne_lanning) July 8, 2017

Source

"Hey, let's blame Nintendo for my game not doing well and being a dick towards someone who died from cancer!"

His rant was nonsense and I'll probably view his apology as nonsense too. His comments weren't trying to improve the Switch's ecosystem; he's just pissed that his game didn't do well and that Nintendo didn't give it 24/7 spotlight

Poor choice of words indeed. Nintendo ninjas will visit him shortly.

"he personally thought that the Switch will be unsuccessful."

Boy, must he feel like a dumbass right now.

Nah, haters will just find something else to dislike. 99% of salty Switch haters will say 'errr it's a port machine with no original games' or other dumb crap.

And regarding his Iwata statement, I don't actually have a problem with what he said. It's not like he was saying "Screw, Iwata. The gaming industry and Nintendo is better off now that he's gone." Or something dickish and insensitive like that. His comments were regarding his business strategy, which a lot of people criticized while he was alive and I'm sure they still don't agree with as we approach the 2 year anniversary of his death.
What I DON'T agree with is: "Personally, I think it killed Iwata – that he couldn’t move the organization into a really successful arena.” Because of his thinking, Nintendo got its best selling handheld AND best selling console in the same generation, a flux of successful new IPs (Animal Crossing, Splatoon, the Wii series -albeit for a brief period of time.) And some franchises saw revivals or newfound popularity (Kid Icarus, Fire Emblem). They ventured into mobile gaming, which has worked great for them so far. (Pokemon GO). And the Switch, which was HIS idea, had the best launch out of any Nintendo system, is setting up to be a huge success, and has the potential to be for Nintendo, what PlayStation is for Sony. All things considered, I look at Nintendo before Iwata and Nintendo after Iwata, and it's hard to argue how Nintendo is in a worse position than they were before he took over. 
And I don't think he had any regrets when all was said and done, (aside from maybe the Wii U).
So, I don't have a problem with his comments because of if they were offensive or not. I have a problem with his comments because he's just flat out wrong.

Some of what he said was right in his analysis. A lot of it went too far, as if he was being an extremist, and was (factually) wrong. However, his statement about Iwata was (most likely) figurative and I think people are getting too mad at it.

However, because I'm too lazy to read his tweets, there might be some clarification that proves he meant it literally and that I was wrong. Idk.

Iwata took a massive paycut when the 3DS wasn't as successful as they imagined for the first few months after launch. No employee layoffs. Amazing leader, especially since the 3ds turned around.

I agree that the "thinking" over at Nintendo needs to change since some of their practices and rules are outdated and we all knew that for a long time now but calling that the main reason for Iwata's supposed failure and death??

Only the WiiU failed Wii, DS and 3DS did extremely well and Iwata died of cancer... This Lorne Lanning guy is a real dumbass I feel sorry for those who payed just to listen to this man rant like an idiot and got their IQ significantly lowered.

I did think the wording 'it killed iwata' was a bit much but it wasn't that offensive or crude.