Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has passed away at age 55
Bummer, serious bummer.
Nintendo has announced that its president and CEO, Satoru Iwata, died on Saturday. He was 55, and the cause of death was stated as a bile duct growth. Iwata took some time off for health reasons last year and had had surgery to remove a tumor, returning later in the year.
Iwata took over as president from longtime boss Hiroshi Yamauchi in 2002, and led the company to huge success with the Nintendo DS and Wii consoles. He formerly worked as a programmer at Nintendo subsidiary HAL, contributing to games like EarthBound,Balloon Fight, and the Kirby series.
Aside from his executive role, Iwata was a very well-known figure to Nintendo followers from his appearances in the company’s Nintendo Direct broadcasts and his “Iwata Asks” series of interviews with developers. With the Wii U failing to perform on the level of its successor, Iwata recently announced new initiatives for the company including a move into mobile gaming and a mysterious “Quality of Life” program.