Nintendo has just announced in a short statement that their 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.
Last year, Iwata was forced to skip the E3 due to his poor health, and just afterwards, he underwent a surgery to remove the bile duct growth. A few months later, he stated “I’m progressing well” during the wake of concerns regarding his health.
Iwata first joined Nintendo’s HAL Laboratory as a talented programmer in the 1980s, where he developed his first games like Balloon Fight and EarthBound. He became a Director of the company late in 2000, and was appointed as the fourth President of Nintendo in 2002 following Hiroshi Yamauchi.
During his time as President, Iwata facilitated some of the strongest consoles like Wii and DS in Nintendo’s history as a video game company.
Rest in Peace, Mr. Iwata. We understand that you did not die, you simply restarted the game.
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