Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has passed away at the age of 55 in a statement made by the company earlier today.
Nintendo Co., Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth.
Iwata had to miss E3 2014 due to a presumably related ailment, and unfortunately it appears he’s succumbed to the illness. Iwata has been the face of Nintendo for as long as most people can remember, taking the Japanese games company through many highs, including the Nintendo Wii and DS platforms, and many lows, namely the Nintendo Wii-U and GameCube. Iwatu first started at Nintendo in 1983 and worked on developing iconic games such as Earthbound and parts of the Kirby series, but went on to become director in 2000. He became president of Nintendo in 2002, the first president not to come from the founder’s Yamauchi family and fourth president overall. From there, Iwata became a very well known figure within the Nintendo franchise primarily due to his involvement in the Nintendo Direct program.
Unfortunately, Iwatu won’t be able see how Nintendo’s first foray into the mobile industry goes, but we thank him for how much he’s done to enlighten the lives of children and adults all over the world for the past few decades. Rest in peace, Mr. Iwata.
