Videogamers are in mourning. Nintendo Co. President Satoru Iwata has died of cancer at age 55. Last year in June, Mr. Iwata undergone a surgery to remove a tumor and returned to work in October the same year. At the time he stated he feels strong and healthy, even though it was rather obvious the illness has taken its toll.
He chaired the company since 2000. It is still unknown who will take over Nintendo's leadership, but according to rumors one of the two executives at the company (now acting as representitive directors), Genyo Takeda, is being considered for the job.
Nintendo plans to double its profits by March 2016. They've entered the smartphone games market (it is a well-known fact that it's been "game over" for the video-game-console business for a while now) and Mr. Iwata's passing during this very important transition time may prove to be problematic, but "not unsolvable," according to Serkan Toto, a Tokyo-based videogame consultant.
Despite the uncertainty at Nintendo's head office, the company's shares incresed in value by over 1 percent.