Nintendo president Satoru Iwata dies at 55

Ben Silverman
(Credit: Bob Riha, Jr./Nintendo via Getty Images)
(Credit: Bob Riha, Jr./Nintendo via Getty Images)

Satoru Iwata, the president of Nintendo, has passed away. He was 55.

Nintendo announced the tragic news in a brief statement, listing his cause of death as “a bile duct growth.”

Iwata’s health had been declining for some time. In 2014, he missed the E3 conference in Los Angeles on advice of his physician. He underwent what was believed to have been successful surgery shortly thereafter.

Iwata’s career began as a developer with Nintendo subsidiary HAL Laboratories, where he worked on popular Nintendo games such as Balloon Fight and Earthbound. He became president of HAL in 1993. Seven years later he became the head of corporate planning at Nintendo proper, a title he held for only two years. In 2002, Iwata succeeded longtime company president Hiroshi Yamauchi to become only the fourth president in Nintendo’s history.

Greatly admired by gamers and peers, Iwata steered Nintendo through some of its brightest days. During his tenure, Nintendo released the DS line of handhelds — the best-selling video game system of all-time — as well as the wildly popular Wii console.

Iwata's friendly demeanor endeared him to countless players. In 2011 he launched a series of Nintendo Direct online events in which he would speak directly to fans and announce new games and updates. His "Iwata Asks" interview series lent fantastic inight into the minds of Nintendo's own game developers.

Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime released a statement Monday:

"Mr. Iwata is gone, but it will be years before his impact on both Nintendo and the full video game industry will be fully appreciated. He was a strong leader for our company, and his attributes were clear to most everyone: Intelligence, creativity, curiosity and sense of humor. But for those of us fortunate enough to work closely with him, what will be remembered most were his mentorship and, especially, his friendship. He was a wonderful man. He always challenged us to push forward...to try the new...to upset paradigms—and most of all, to engage, excite and endear our fans. That work will continue uninterrupted."

Legendary Nintendo game maker Shigeru Miyamoto also released a statement, simply saying “I am surprised at this sudden news and overcome with sadness."

Iwata's many admirers took to Twitter to share memories and condolences.

 

 

 


Iwata's death leaves Miyamoto and fellow senior manager Genyo Takeda and as representative directors, said Nintendo. He is survived by his wife, Kayoko.

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