Long time president of Nintendo Hiroshi Yamuchi died today at the age of 85. Even though he stepped down as president to make way for Satoru Iwata in 2002, he had remained on the company’s board for the rest of his life and can in part be credited for Nintendo’s meteoric rise to the top of the video game industry.
He had his ups and downs as Nintendo’s president, introducing essentially all of the classic games and systems we know and love he was also responsible for Nintendo’s still archaic approach to the Internet and non-game media like movies and music.
Any way you look at it, he was a very rich an influential man throughout his life. He was able to pave the way for Mr. Iwata to take Nintendo in strange new directions that would forever change the gaming landscape. Rest in peace, Yamauchi-san and our condolences to his family and the Nintendo company for their loss.