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In a shocking turn of events, President of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, has just passed away. Story and info is currently developing.

Nintendo has just issued a short statement announcing that president Satoru Iwata has passed away at the age of 55.

The statement reads:

Nintendo Co., Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth.

Satoru Iwata initially began as a programmer, having begun at HAL Laboratories, developing titles such as Kirby and Earthbound. After becoming acquainted with then-director of Nintendo, Hiroshi Yamauchi, he was offered a position in 2000 at Nintendo and succeeded Yamauchi as the president of Nintendo.

Throughout Mr. Iwata's tenure at Nintendo, he spearheaded many different and unique gaming experiences for fans all over the world to reach - mainly, the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo Wii console. Mr. Iwata also garnered much praise for his down-to-earth appearances in the Nintendo Direct announcements and through a series of interviews called Iwata Asks, in which a round table is conducted with developers to talk and look more closely at Nintendo titles.

Lately, Mr. Iwata has seen his share of struggles with the Nintendo Wii U, but looked forward to a brightening horizon with the Nintendo NX and the DeNA platform. It's truly saddening to think that he won't get to witness this dream coming to fruition. He will, however, be remembered for his contributions and for making gaming accessible to a worldwide audience.

On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer. -Satoru Iwata

SOURCE

 

[Atlas_Noire]

The news of his passing was just so sudden the moment I opened Siliconera's frontpage.
This is just very sad, this is a national day of mourning for the gaming industry and all gamers.
R.I.P. Mr. Iwata.
Thank you so much for shaping up my childhood.
We will always remember you as a legend and an icon.

 

[shadow1w2]

Dang didn't see that coming.
Won't be the same without him but never forgotten for sure.

 

[AkiraCast]

I'm seriously in really deep shock right now, I literally just came home from work and come home to this news... I'm so sad right now forreal :'(

 

[Seroczynski]

I didn't even know he was sick. I am shocked about his (sudden) death. He will be missed, even though I didn't know him personally.

R.I.P.

 

[ProtoKun7]

Well I did not anticipate this at all.

 

[AlanJohn]

Earthbound is easily one of my favorite games and it makes me extremely sad that the person that basically brought it to existence through his coding is gone now. Satoru Iwata made a lot of things possible for the development of Nintendo games, and if you had any nintendo games in your childhood you should probably thank him for those fond memories. Truly, he was a visionary and a legend in the industry. Rest in peace.

 

[WiiCube_2013]

Guys, look on the bright side he lived his life doing something he truly loved and cared for so he didn't waste it on some career that'd make him depressed.

We'll miss you, Mr. Iwata.

P.S.: While Reggie's no Iwata he might be the best replacement for him during Nintendo Directs.

 

[sarkwalvein]

Fuck. This is so sad. So fucking sorrow.
It will be hard to overcome.

 

[megazero1x1]

It's really sad news.
Just when the company started to become profitable, this unfortunate event occurred.

RIP Satoru Iwata , you inspire me !

 

[Vanth88]

I don't know if this was mentioned but on PlayStations official twitter account they tweeted "Thank you for everything, Mr. Iwata." Some people said how much they respect Sony for this as it shows class, while others started talking shit about console wars and stuff (seriously).

https://twitter.com/PlayStation/status/620412765849546752

With that being said I think everyone in the industry felt sad about his passing. They might be business rivals but that doesn't mean they can't show class, and there have been numerous times when all three companies (Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft) have shown some mutual respect for one another. However it's sad how some fans cannot do the same.

 

[Flame]

He was only 55?! That's so unfair.

Some of the things I've been hearing about his coding achievements are incredible. Like coming up with compression for Pokemon to squeeze another region onto the cart. Dude worked hard to give the player more.

The gaming industry has lost a giant. The way he maintained the charm of Nintendo and wanting to keep gameplay as the important thing for their products I find to be quite admirable. A true champion for gaming.

Please understand.


R.I.P

 

[Osha]

Was feeling like shit last night after hearing the news, and this afternoon I'm not feeling any better. A great man left us and I still have a hard time believing it.

 

[Maximilious]

I don't know if this was mentioned but on PlayStations official twitter account they tweeted "Thank you for everything, Mr. Iwata." Some people said how much they respect Sony for this as it shows class, while others started talking shit about console wars and stuff (seriously).

https://twitter.com/PlayStation/status/620412765849546752

With that being said I think everyone in the industry felt sad about his passing. They might be business rivals but that doesn't mean they can't show class, and there have been numerous times when all three companies (Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft) have shown some mutual respect for one another. However it's sad how some fans cannot do the same.

Without Nintendo, touch, motion and possibly even VR would still be in infancy stages. If not for the Wii, Kinect and Move wouldn't have even been a thought in the last gen consoles not to mention current gen. It does speak volumes for them to show respect, and unfortunate that the general populace doesn't understand said graces.

Edit: You could say motion control had been tried before by other companies, but Nintendo made it a reality albeit still finicky. They made it work for an entire console rather than one-off games.

 

[Issac]

It's a sad, sad day.

 

[DinohScene]

RIP, Ninty won't be the same now.

 

[hippy dave]

Still sad. My own small tribute: Iwata Memorial Balloon Trip Challenge - get involved.

 

[tj_cool]

Wow, this seems to have happened quite suddenly.

Rest in peace.

 

[Hielkenator]

 

[B-Blue]

fuck

 

[BORTZ]

fuck

Well if that isnt the goddam saddest thing ive seen all week. Fucking hell.