We’ve learned some deeply unfortunate news: Nintendo’s president, Satoru Iwata, has passed away at the age of 55.
Nintendo confirmed the news in a press release:
Nintendo Co., Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth.
For those who haven’t been following the Nintendo boss and his personal health, he was forced to skip last year’s E3 because of his health. He went into surgery shortly thereafter to remove the bile duct growth. Things seemed ok at the time, and he returned to work shortly afterwards.
Iwata was first hired at Nintendo during the 1980s, in which he worked on various games like EarthBound and even Kirby’s Adventure. He eventually became director in the year 2000, and finally became the fourth president of Nintendo, in 2002.
Satoru Iwata, when he first joined HAL Laboratory full-time, in the 1980’s.
Our best wishes go out to Iwata’s family and friends.
Paige
July 12, 2015 at 8:14 pm:(
San Marino
July 12, 2015 at 8:21 pmThis is not quality.
InfectedAI
July 12, 2015 at 8:21 pmI’m in shock. I didn’t see this coming at all. I thought he was doing better. He was a brilliant programmer I looked up to and I loved seeing him in Nintendo Directs. He was the face of the company to me. And at 55. I hope his family, friends, and everyone at Nintendo pull together to get through this loss.
Wonderkarp
July 12, 2015 at 8:22 pmI’m just going to drink some alcohol from my NES flask and lament…
Alexis Nascimento-Lajoie
July 12, 2015 at 8:23 pmFuck
deadeye
July 12, 2015 at 8:23 pmFUCK
ConnorORT
July 12, 2015 at 8:24 pmVery sad. Rest In Peace, and thank you for all the good Nintendo memories.
blackice85
July 12, 2015 at 8:24 pmI’m surprised too. I hadn’t been closely following news of his health, so I had no idea it was this serious. Like you said, at 55 it was too early for me to think about him passing. Very sad.
Dom The Elegy
July 12, 2015 at 8:25 pmWhat the hell is it with 2015 and killing nerd icons?
Karo
July 12, 2015 at 8:25 pmWhat the fuck is the point of living in this world if Iwata is not in it?
perfectchaos83
July 12, 2015 at 8:26 pmThis… This came from out of fucking nowhere. I may not of cared for his recent decisions at Nintendo, but the company sure did benefit from his Career…
Good night, sweet prince.
Wonderkarp
July 12, 2015 at 8:27 pmSatoru Iwata, Robin Williams, Leonard Nimoy, James Horner, Christopher Lee, Dusty Rhodes, the King of Cartoons….Its Bullshit
JustaGuest
July 12, 2015 at 8:28 pmTime to binge on Balloon Fight and remember his legacy….
sanic
July 12, 2015 at 8:29 pmBrilliant creator and business man always thinking about long term growth and focused on what’s best for the consumer not what can make a quick buck.
Irreplaceable.
BattlerArisato
July 12, 2015 at 8:29 pmyou were big man, you will be remembered soldier, as long as I keep breathing and the gaming community is alive, you will be remembered.
Unmotivated
July 12, 2015 at 8:33 pm>no more Iwata Asks
fuck
No_Good_Names_Ever
July 12, 2015 at 8:36 pmI hope whoever becomes head is just as good if not better since I bet there’s a lot of people who wanna try to replicate Sony and Microsoft. Hope he’s happy in his next life or whatever happens after death.
Derek
July 12, 2015 at 8:42 pmMeanwhile, Fish, Totilo, Ramsay’s actor still lives.
Derek
July 12, 2015 at 8:43 pmBecause grimdark is winning, embrace your future of Kevin Spacey, GRRM, ISIS and horrible things happening to good people
Landale
July 12, 2015 at 8:44 pmIt might not have been too serious, initially, to be honest. Odds are he slipped up in the recovery process. You feel fine, maybe you don’t do what you’re supposed to for just a day or two, that’s all it takes sometimes for shit to come back worse. That’s why doctors will give you hell for not using antibiotics right, for example.
RetroGamer
July 12, 2015 at 8:54 pmDamn. In this day and age, that’s way too young to go.
Hawk Hopper
July 12, 2015 at 8:54 pmRIP, Mr. Iwata. Thank you for everything.
tetrisdork
July 12, 2015 at 9:01 pmThat was unexpected. And fucking sucks.
Zanard Bell
July 12, 2015 at 9:02 pmI’ll never understand…
“Please understand. I’m in a better place now.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F535Xpu0NDE
FirstLine
July 12, 2015 at 9:02 pmwow, that’s crazy young. RIP.
chizwoz
July 12, 2015 at 9:11 pmWell fuck that!
Syndromic
July 12, 2015 at 9:12 pmDamn too early. R.I.P
Neojames82
July 12, 2015 at 9:13 pmIt is a bit of a sad day for Nintendo indeed, you will be missed Mr. Iwata.
And just to show how much this site actually has some damn integrity about this, unlike some other kinds of sites……
https://twitter.com/ManaByte/status/620390567399198720
DanTheMan
July 12, 2015 at 9:25 pmR.I.P
You will be sorely missed.
Master Bating
July 12, 2015 at 9:31 pmI tried to understand everything
But this…this I cannot…
Good Night Iwata
Muten
July 12, 2015 at 9:32 pmI undertand now, the hole you left inside me.
DariusQ
July 12, 2015 at 9:33 pmFucking tools. That’s more than a little disrespectful.
DariusQ
July 12, 2015 at 9:34 pmRIP Iwata-san.
PleaseHelpMe
July 12, 2015 at 9:35 pmR.I.P :(
Landale
July 12, 2015 at 9:42 pmNo one has an archive of it that I’ve seen. It’s considered to be fake for now.
However they are doing something to fuck with Google to make it look like they were the first by over half a day to report on this and that much can be confirmed.
https://archive.is/F45j4
https://archive.is/vBjyC
8 PM, somehow 13 hours ago.
Ippiki Okami
July 12, 2015 at 9:54 pmSatoru Iwata was always a developer and business man that I admired. RIP :(
Fenrir7
July 12, 2015 at 9:58 pmGod damnit!!
Brandon Orselli
July 12, 2015 at 10:05 pmYep, and I can’t stop crying. Combination of Iwata passing and me feeling old, now.
Mighty No. 56008
July 12, 2015 at 10:05 pmRest in peace Mr. Iwata. I’ll be holding my New 3DS a little tighter tonight.
FalseTragedian
July 12, 2015 at 10:16 pmThe aggregate skill of the world’s programmers just tanked.
RIP one of the greatest men in gaming.
Tromboner
July 12, 2015 at 10:40 pmFar too young to lose such an incredible developer. The world of games just got a little less bright.
Fenrir007
July 12, 2015 at 10:47 pmTruly a sad day for us all. Rest well, Mr. Iwata. You deserve it.
Holyfox25
July 12, 2015 at 10:56 pmRIP Satoru Iwata.
Tyrannikos
July 12, 2015 at 11:01 pmHonestly, I’m kind of in shock. I knew his health was bad, but for some reason, I just thought he’d be okay. Rest in peace, Mr. Iwata.
PenguinPlayer
July 12, 2015 at 11:05 pmYou go living your life, one day at a time, thinking they will live forever and then this happens.
I will never be able to understand. RIP
tccboss
July 12, 2015 at 11:08 pmRip Iwata you had helped with so many games I never knew until now which makes me a little more sad.
Nonscpo
July 12, 2015 at 11:21 pmThose are some of the manliest tears you’ve got there!
Obbliglol
July 12, 2015 at 11:35 pmFucking cancer, man. It’s evil. Age 55. RIP Iwata, lotta people around my age are going to wake up to a slightly colder world tomorrow. You kinda made some of our childhoods.
Eldhin Hellknight
July 12, 2015 at 11:53 pmWhat!?…. well, that was really unexpected
Jack Ripper
July 12, 2015 at 11:58 pmOh wow. That’s fucking awful.
Couldn’t have said 亡くなりました instead of just saying 死んだ huh. That’s the difference between respect and integrity.
Jack Ripper
July 13, 2015 at 12:03 amWow his death came out of nowhere.
RIP President Iwata.
Steven T.
July 13, 2015 at 12:09 amSo I take a brief evening nap, just to wake up to this… I did no expect this at all. And just weeks after E3 too…
deadeye
July 13, 2015 at 12:40 amThis is confirmed to be fake, just so everyone knows.
Zombie_Barioth
July 13, 2015 at 12:56 amIts possible he pushed himself too hard at work. He might have felt “fine” enough to work, so he did, and it took a toll on his health.
That’s assuming his health wasn’t much worse than he or Nintendo let on. It wouldn’t do to have fans nor investors knowing of his condition, for both personal and business reasons.
That being said, its always shocking when somebody passes so suddenly. I don’t think its something anybody gets used to. At least any pain he may have been in is over with now. I hope both he and his family find peace.
Fenrir007
July 13, 2015 at 1:03 amA little bit of his story, told by the man himself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63mG4k-VIyY
Dogbot3000
July 13, 2015 at 1:06 amA beloved icon, to both machine and man; to pixel and soul alike.
The world shall forever miss his whimsy, his intelligence, his compassion, and his love for a craft that many of us hold dear.
Rest
well President Iwata, you have done a many great services to this world and the
many you have helped create and deserve peace. May your legacy be
remembered forever.
Nad Nod
July 13, 2015 at 1:50 amgeez that rude
Steven T.
July 13, 2015 at 2:10 amI’ve been watching this keynote when writing my own article. Interesting to see the beginnings of where he would eventually take Nintendo as president. This is also where his “I am a gamer” quote comes from.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9HUMt2rrOI
2501
July 13, 2015 at 4:16 amI don’t care that anyone says, Iwata was a great CEO. He wasn’t just some suit, he knew how to program games and he showed allot of passion for this medium.
It’s a real shame that he is gone.
Wand
July 13, 2015 at 4:39 amWe understand, but now’s too late. Jokes aside, RIP Satoru, your products and ideas shaped a big part of me
Minohoro
July 13, 2015 at 5:33 amThis is a sad day. I may not have known him personally, nor have played much that he’s made, but he was a big part of nintendo that deserves to be remembered. My condolences to his family and co-workers. RIP
JackDandy
July 13, 2015 at 7:14 amDamned shame. Seemed like a great guy, and a great president.
Nagato
July 13, 2015 at 7:54 amIt’s pretty surreal to realize how Iwata passed on not even two years after Yamauchi, a shame he didn’t retire when his health problems started so he could’ve lived at least some time in relative peace and quiet like his predecessor did.
Neojames82
July 13, 2015 at 12:55 pmWell, guess in Polygon isn’t THAT incompetent. Though lord knows I would not have been surprised if it was true.
Juhata
July 13, 2015 at 1:13 pmI have never played Nintendo games until recently, but I have always respected them because they were an icon of games being true to the fact that they’re games. Looking at the games that Iwata worked and looking at his attitude towards games, even I feel like we lost one of the best in this industry. Directs were always entertaining to see as well; I’ll find it hard to see Directs without Iwata now.
It’s a damn shame, really. I didn’t expect him to go so soon.
MusouTensei
July 13, 2015 at 1:52 pmI will miss him :(
R.I.P.
MaidKillua
July 13, 2015 at 3:07 pmDirects won’t be the same. Rest in peace
Lex
July 13, 2015 at 3:17 pmSad news. 2015 has not been a kind year.
Jesus Zamora
July 13, 2015 at 10:26 pmYeah. Seems a bit of a ripoff to die without having ever had a retirement. That said, the dude loved his work, so he probably wouldn’t have been comfortable in retirement.
Tracy Mcdonald
July 21, 2015 at 7:44 pm