Nintendo CEO and President Satoru Iwata has died at the age of 55. "Nintendo Co., Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth," reads a statement released by the company.
Iwata was battling bile duct cancer over the last couple of years. He was appointed as the president of the gaming company back in 2002 and has a long history with Nintendo, joining the company's HAL Laboratory studio in 1983 to work on game titles like Balloon Fight and Earthbound.
Iwata was also chosen to be the CEO of Nintendo of America in 2013. He helped create some of Nintendo's beloved characters including Mario, Kirby, The Legend of Zelda as well as Pokemon. He also oversaw the launch of the hugely successful Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS consoles, according to CNN.
Iwata had undergone surgery in June 2014 to remove the tumor and had resumed his duties, also attending Nintendo's annual general meeting, which took place on June 26. However, his condition deteriorated over the last few days, according to Reuters.
The company said it had not yet decided who would take charge as the new president but in the meantime, Shigeru Miyamoto and Genyo Takeda will jointly run the company, according to IGN.
