Nintendo announced yesterday that ist President Satoru Iwata has died due to a bile duct growth at the age of 55. A brief statement posted to the company’s web site says: “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 faced health problems before. So he missed last year’s E3, to undergo surgery. At the time, however, Iwata told investors that the growth had been caught in its early stages, and he resumed his full duties in October.
Nintendo’ s Statement also includes highlights from Iwata’s career and says that two top executives, research and development lead Genyo Takeda and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, will act as representative directors for the Company.
Satoru Iwata was a popular executive who oversaw Nintendo during some of its shakiest and strongest times, guiding it through the launches of the GameCube and Wii U as well as of the Wii. Appointed in 2002, he was the first Nintendo president who was not related to the company’s founding Yamauchi family. He began his gaming career as an employee at the HAL Laboratory, which is responsible for games such as the “Kirby” series.
On social medias, several prominent video game industry leaders, including Sony Computer Entertainment President Shuhei Yoshida and Xbox Live Director of Programming Larry Hryb, expressed their sympathies for Nintendo, and their respect for Satoru Iwata.
Source: Nintendo, Washington Post