Nintendo and the rest of the gaming community is now grieving the death of its CEO Satoru Iwata last Saturday. The 55-year old head of the company passed away because of a growing tumor in his bile duct.
The world renowned gaming company published a brief statement confirming the news today. "Nintendo Co., Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth."
Following his doctor's advice not to travel overseas, the CEO failed to attend this year's E3 event. Last month, Iwata underwent a surgery to remove the growth. He went back to work after recovering for a short period of time.
Satoru Iwata has already mentioned about his condition during the Nintendo shareholders' meeting. The CEO stated, "In general, it is said that a bile duct growth can be difficult-to-treat, partly because of the difficulty of detecting it early. In my case, luckily, it was detected very early and I had no symptoms."
"I was counseled that removal at an early stage would be the desirable medical option. Therefore I had surgery last week, and I came through it well, as predicted," the CEO added.
Iwata was not able to attend to the company's annual shareholders' meeting and for good reason. He explained he had to prioritize his health to become a more effective CEO of the company. He asked for the company's understanding and promised to do his best to make the company grow as soon as he recovers.
Satoru Iwata was appointed as President of Nintendo of America on June 2013. During his term, he was able to introduced the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS consoles, which have continued contributing to the company's success.
Despite facing stiff competition against Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo was able to still hold its own place in the gaming industry. Recently, the company has announced that they are planning to enter in the mobile games sector, something that many fans have been looking forward to.
Satoru Iwata was the fourth president of Nintendo and the first leader of the company who is not a descendant of the Yamauchi family.
