Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata Has Died

Iwata’s death was reported in a short statement by the company, which said that he passed away due to a bile duct growth.

The 55-year-old executive had been facing ongoing health complications, undergoing surgery to remove a tumour lodged in his bile duct in June 2014.

Iwata has been a director at the Kyoto-based company since 2000 and was appointed president in 2002. That would be the same growth that caused Satoru Iwata to skip E3 this past year.

Born December 6, 1959, and raised in Japan, Iwata joined Nintendo in the 1980s, working on games including “Balloon Fight“, “EarthBound” and the “Kirby” franchise.

Nintendo of America is consistently amazed and humbled by the passion and loyalty of our fans.

In 2013, Nintendo’s stocks were at an all-time low, and suffered one of the most severe monetary losses in the company’s history.

If you’re a gamer, there’s a very good chance Satoru Iwata had a big impact on your life.

Iwata began his career as a freelance programmer for HAL Laboratory, a subsidiary of Nintendo, before joining HAL full-time after college. He was later promoted to company president. During his term, Nintendo’s stock price skyrocketed due to the massive sales of the company’s Wii game console.

“One thing that has not changed – and will not change – is our nature as a form of entertainment”. Iwata was a man with passion, and a love for his company and their craft.

Nintendo’s Wii hardware became the hottest-selling console when it was released in 2006.

Nintendo is yet to announce Satoru Iwata’s successor.