Former Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi has died from pneumonia Thursday, the company has revealed. He was 85.
Yamauchi is accredited for transforming Nintendo from a simple playing card company to a videogame titan for more than half a century. He was president of Nintendo from 1949 to 2002; at the time, he held an executive advisory role until his passing.
Under Yamauchi’s presidency, Nintendo developed the Famicom (NES) game console in 1983, as well as the Game Boy handheld device. This, in turn, paved the way for an era in which players can enjoy games in the comfort of their own homes.
During the Nintendo Wii’s popularity, Forbes magazine named Yamauchi as Japan’s wealthiest man five years ago, with an estimated net worth of $7.8 billion. He was also recently ranked 13
on Forbes Japan’s rich list, with an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion.
Source: Reuters
