It was announced Thursday that Hiroshi Yamauchi died due to complication from pneumonia at the age of 85.
Hiroshi Yamauchi, who ran Nintendo from 1949 to 2002, passed away Thursday at 85.
Yamauchi led Nintendo from 1949 until 2002, transforming his great-grandfather’s trading card company into a global, video game juggernaut. Games with characters like Donkey Kong, Mario and Luigi gave way to not just the rise of Nintendo but the rise of the video game industry.
Nintendo has revolutionized the industry for years, with memorable characters ranging from classics like Super Mario Bros., Pokemon and Metroid.
He told reporters after stepping down in 2002, “I have no energy left.”
In recent years, Nintendo has lost their grip on the video game industry. Though still alive and kicking, the company has failed to compete on a large level with the Xbox and Playstation platforms. Their content hasn’t helped either, while competitors focus more on realism and darker stories, Nintendo has stuck to more of a family friendly nature.
The news of Yamauchi’s passing has dealt an emotional blow to the gaming community, writers here at The Pit included:
Mark Lynch: “This is really sad. Nintendo has been struggling enough and to now lose it’s President… I’m not sure what the future of Nintendo will be. Right now the best thing to do is to remember all the great times that Nintendo gave us.”
Will Churchill: “People die everyday, unfortunately. However, as with the passing of most CEOs or presidents, it usually means a change for the company all together, especially struggling companies like Nintendo has been lately.”
Nate Korczyk: “Like Will mentioned about changing of the company, hopefully Nintendo will actually make a gaming console that will be able to compete with Sony and Xbox.”
Jason Kobylarz: “Prayers to his family. Never played many Nintendo games.”
Kyle Orski: “Well, this is no good. Actually, Hiroshi Yamauchi isn’t the current president, he stepped down in 2002. It’s still sad to see him go, being such an integral part in Nintendo’s history. He prized his company’s ability to be flexible and try risky, new things and Nintendo will honor him by carrying on Yamauchi’s legacy.”
With Hiroshi Yamauchi’s recent passing, what thoughts do you have concerning the Nintendo legend or comments you’d like to make about Nintendo? Comment below.
