​

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

 

[SpaceJump]

Where did this come from

RIP Mr. Iwata

 

[Taleweaver]

This...really came out of nowhere for me. I hadn't even noticed he wasn't directly involved in E3.

RIP, Iwata-san.

 

[JayPea]

お疲れ様でした (おつかれさまでした
(Thank you very much for all of your hard work)

 

[rt141]

Age 55... you will be missed deeply Mr. Iwata.
Thank you for everything.

 

[Arkansaw]

that sega ceo burial reference is so bad...

 

[Yil]

Rest in peace.
But what does Nintendo' future holds? May the NX succeed, and to his and our wish may Nintendo and gaming itself have a bright future.

 

[ComeTurismO]

I just realized he's at 55. My dad is at 55 years old and he's battling for his life too, probably Iwata was suffering just like he did... Man, aren't I upset tonight?

 

[Damian666]

wtf... this hurts more than it should , seeying its a stranger...

but man... ouch

rip

thanx for all fun you gave us.

 

[DiscostewSM]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-volley_salute

 

[Deleted User]

I couldnt believe it when I heard it, especially because he sounded like he was back on his feet and good to go on his Twitter. I will miss him and everything he did very much, Iwata Asks, Nintendo Directs, the E3 shows, and the games he helped work on.

To honor him today I played through Earthbound, a game that he single handedly saved from developement hell and being cancelled. If he didnt have the initiative to step in and recode the entire game from scratch and oversee the rest of production, it would have never come out and I wouldnt have my favorite game of all time.

Thank you, Iwata

 

[Deleted User]

55 is very young to die. I had no idea he had any issues with his health. If I'm not mistaken he was younger than Miyamoto is now. Ignoring his achievements, its sad to hear that a fellow human being has died at that age.

 

[Deleted User]

Rip
I really wasnt expecting this

 

[Bimmel]

What the..!? No... that's just not right. There is so much left to live with only 55 years.. damn!

May the people who loved him hold his memory dear.

 

[DAZA]

Wow, Unexpected news to be reading first thing in the morning. R.I.P

 

[shaunj66]

How unexpected. RIP.

 

[zoogie]

I look at some members that have been at GBAtemp it's entire lifetime and I'm reminded by the cool fact that Iwata became President of Nintendo before GBAtemp was born.

 

[TecXero]

I was thinking about him, thinking about his history. He was very unique. I think he was a bit narrow when it came to seeing what gaming could be and it took him a while to realize Nintendo needs to find a balance between exclusive and inclusive games, but he's probably the only head of a company I liked. He was a fun and passionate person on stage and in front of a camera. He also seemed willing to do what he could to help others and his company. Two major things that stuck out to me was he was willing to reduce his pay and pour his own money into Nintendo when they were going through a rough patch, and he started off developing games so he knew what it was like to be on both sides of game production.

The gaming world has lost a great man.

 

[Lycan911]

I am legit crying right now, holy shit...

Rest in peace

 

[Vipera]

As a gamer, thanks for everything, especially for the Pokémon games you contributed in.

As a human, fuck... dying that young should be illegal.

rip

EDIT:

 

[Neru]

OMG NOO! wHaaat? This is really surprising. Man he is gonna be missed. God damn... He was not even that old Jesus.

Rest in peace man.