Hiroshi Yamauchi, the Japanese
businessman, credited with transforming
Nintendo into a world-leading video
games company, has died aged 85.
Yamauchi ran the firm for 53 years, and
was its second-largest shareholder at the
time of his death.
The British Broadcasting Corporation
reported that the company confirmed the
news in an emailed statement.
A spokesman said the firm was in
mourning over the “loss of the former
Nintendo president, Mr Hiroshi Yamauchi,
who sadly passed away this morning.”
He died of pneumonia at a hospital in
central Japan, the company said, adding
that a funeral will take place on Sunday.
Yamauchi ran the company from 1949
until 2002.
In that time, he took what was a small-
time collectable trading card company
and built it into one of the most
recognisable — and successful — video
games brands today.
“Hiroshi Yamauchi transformed a run-of
the-mill trading card company into an
entertainment empire in video games,”
said Ian Livingstone, co-founder of Games
Workshop and former chairman of
publisher Eidos.
“He understood the social value of play,
and economic potential of electronic
gaming. Most importantly he steered
Nintendo on its own course and was
unconcerned by the actions of his
competitors. He was a true visionary.”
Rob Crossley, associate editor of
Computer and Video Games magazine,
told the BBC: “You cannot overestimate
the influence the man had on the games
industry.”
“He spearheaded Nintendo as they moved
into the arcade business, with hits such as
Donkey Kong.
“This man was the president of Nintendo
during the NES, the SNES, the N64 and
the Gamecube — the first two were
transformative pieces of electronic
entertainment.”
Yamauchi took over at Nintendo after his
grandfather suffered a stroke. After
several years developing the firm’s
existing trading card business, Yamauchi
turned to electronic entertainment.
Under Yamauchi’s stewardship, Super
Mario enteredms of homes
He utilised the work of legendary games
designer Shigeru Miyamoto, who had
made Donkey Kong, as a way of breaking
into the US arcade game market.
Miyamoto’s later work was pivotal in the
success of Nintendo’s home
entertainment systems — titles such as
Super Mario, Legend of Zelda and Starfox
became commercial smashes and
household names.
Yamauchi stood down as president in
2002, taking a place on the firm’s board of
directors. In 2005, he left the company
entirely.
Since his departure, Nintendo has gone
on to produce the hugely successful Wii
console, but has floundered in the past
12 months due to disappointing sales of
its latest effort, the Wii U.
businessman, credited with transforming
Nintendo into a world-leading video
games company, has died aged 85.
Yamauchi ran the firm for 53 years, and
was its second-largest shareholder at the
time of his death.
The British Broadcasting Corporation
reported that the company confirmed the
news in an emailed statement.
A spokesman said the firm was in
mourning over the “loss of the former
Nintendo president, Mr Hiroshi Yamauchi,
who sadly passed away this morning.”
He died of pneumonia at a hospital in
central Japan, the company said, adding
that a funeral will take place on Sunday.
Yamauchi ran the company from 1949
until 2002.
In that time, he took what was a small-
time collectable trading card company
and built it into one of the most
recognisable — and successful — video
games brands today.
“Hiroshi Yamauchi transformed a run-of
the-mill trading card company into an
entertainment empire in video games,”
said Ian Livingstone, co-founder of Games
Workshop and former chairman of
publisher Eidos.
“He understood the social value of play,
and economic potential of electronic
gaming. Most importantly he steered
Nintendo on its own course and was
unconcerned by the actions of his
competitors. He was a true visionary.”
Rob Crossley, associate editor of
Computer and Video Games magazine,
told the BBC: “You cannot overestimate
the influence the man had on the games
industry.”
“He spearheaded Nintendo as they moved
into the arcade business, with hits such as
Donkey Kong.
“This man was the president of Nintendo
during the NES, the SNES, the N64 and
the Gamecube — the first two were
transformative pieces of electronic
entertainment.”
Yamauchi took over at Nintendo after his
grandfather suffered a stroke. After
several years developing the firm’s
existing trading card business, Yamauchi
turned to electronic entertainment.
Under Yamauchi’s stewardship, Super
Mario enteredms of homes
He utilised the work of legendary games
designer Shigeru Miyamoto, who had
made Donkey Kong, as a way of breaking
into the US arcade game market.
Miyamoto’s later work was pivotal in the
success of Nintendo’s home
entertainment systems — titles such as
Super Mario, Legend of Zelda and Starfox
became commercial smashes and
household names.
Yamauchi stood down as president in
2002, taking a place on the firm’s board of
directors. In 2005, he left the company
entirely.
Since his departure, Nintendo has gone
on to produce the hugely successful Wii
console, but has floundered in the past
12 months due to disappointing sales of
its latest effort, the Wii U.
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