NewNews - Hiroshi Yamauchi Passes Away at 85

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Hiroshi Yamauchi ran Nintendo as its president from 1949 to 2002 and contributed to the revival of Videogames when the industry was at its lowest point.  In other words, he helped save the Videogame industry with the introduction of the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom in Japan).  He was a business man at heart and so he may not have been directly responsible for all the games and memories we had of playing them, but it's undeniable that he was a driving force towards the industry's influence in the world.  After Satoru Iwata succeeded Yamauchi's position within Nintendo, Yamauchi stayed with the company as an adviser.  It's been reported throughout the three decades of Nintendo's existence, since it became a videogame company, that Yamauchi was a hard man to work with and that he was a force to be reckoned with.  He always sought out change and innovation and was rather adamant on his decisions, be they good ones or not.  But because of that, Nintendo continues today to innovate and deliver new entertainment.  Despite that, Nintendo has been viewed as being stubborn on change throughout the years as the game industry becomes more involved in online and social aspects.  Yamauchi's influence in Nintendo hasn't been prevalent ever since stepping down as president in 2002.  And now that he has passed, it is entirely up to the new generation to shape, adapt, and change to keep Nintendo relevant in the industry.  The sales of Nintendo's newest Wii U console hasn't been doing the best it could have done, but things could change.  Despite the N64 having a lot of great and memorable games on it, it actually sold pretty poorly and it was the Gameboy and Pokémon that saved Nintendo during those times.  The Virtual Boy was a complete failure.  The Gamecube also have a difficult life-span.  But despite all those hard times, the Nintendo Wii was a revolutionary hit and had changed the game industry in terms of their target audience.  Many would argue that it had ruined Nintendo's reputation within the community, but change and risks must be taken if any sort of innovation is to be made.  Yamauchi made many decisions for change and took lots of risks, some of which were pretty bad.  But Nintendo probably wouldn't be where it is today as one of the most influential, if not THE most influential, company within the Videogame industry were it not for those decisions.  Hiroshi Yamauchi certainly made his mark in the industry and world and his legacy will continue in the name of Nintendo.  R.I.P. Hiroshi Yamauchi, thank you for your contributions.

Yamauchi passed away earlier this morning after a battle with pneumonia. He was 85. -Kotaku

Sources:
-Huffington Post - Hiroshi Yamauchi Dead: Former Seattle Mariners Owner And Nintendo President Dies At 85
-Kotaku - Longtime Nintendo President Dies Aged 85
-Kotaku - Nintendo President: We Will Carry On The Spirit Of Hiroshi Yamauchi