Legendary ex-Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi has passed away at the age of 85. It’s truly an end of an era in the games industry and it’s hard to think what gaming would be like without Yamauchi’s contributions over the years.
Hiroshi Yamauchi joined Nintendo all the way back in 1949 after his grandfather suffered a stroke and asked Hiroshi to assume the role as president of Nintendo. During those days Nintendo was a company that created card games but it was Yamauchi who was the driving factor which saw Nintendo make the jump into electronic based games. Their first release was the Color TV Game, a precursor of sorts to the original Famicom, otherwise known as the NES (Nintendo Entertainment Sytem).
For an incredible 52 years, Hiroshi Yamauchi was Nintendo’s present until he finally stepped down in 2002. He selected Satoru Iwata as his successor who then went on to spearhead the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii, the best selling handheld/console in the company’s history. Hiroshi Yamauchi was also responsible for helping bring Shigeru Miyamoto’s Donkey Kong to the western market and we all know how that turned out.
Without Hiroshi Yamauchi, one has to wonder what gaming would be like. Atari infamously destroyed the videogames market so it was up to Nintendo to resurrect it and Hiroshi Yamauchi played a large part in doing so. If there was ever a father figure in the games industry, Hiroshi Yamauchi would be it.
On behalf of everyone who has ever picked up a controller, we thank you for your enormous contribution to gaming.
May you rest in peace.
We cannot guarantee interesting video games just through the use of better technology - Hiroshi Yamauchi
