RIP Hiroshi Yamauchi

[SuperStingray]

Today we lost a man without which gaming would not be what it is today.

 

 

Hiroshi Yamauchi, the former president of Nintendo, has passed away at the age of 85.  This man took Nintendo from a humble playing card manufacturer to a world famous game developer during his 53 year presidency.  Believing in quality and talent, he was willing to take risk and venture into new territories.  He discovered and invested in important creative minds like Shigeru MIyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi, saw the value of software over hardware and made invaluable decisions that helped end the market crash of 1983.

 

So rest in peace, to one of the most important fathers of gaming.

[Carbo]

Reading this news came as a massive shock to me. It's a devastating blow to the gaming industry as a whole. The man was a legend, and if not for him, the industry wouldn't be where it is today - not just when it comes to Nintendo, but everyone else as well. Everything and every company that surged out of the crash can be traced back to the efforts and the monopoly of this man.

An end of an era for Nintendo so to say the least, as his influence as the top investor would still color a lot of Nintendo's decisions up to this day. He'll sorely be missed.

[SchemingMinor]

Wow. Just, wow. I know he was going to die soon due to his age but things like this always come as a shock when somebody dies.

[Cola]

An incredible man who will sorely be missed. His contributions to the gaming world were staggering.

 

RIP

Edited September 19, 2013 by Cola

[Chaos Warp]

RIP. He must have been an amazing man and I give him gratitude for supporting Shigeru MIyamoto (even if I strongly dislike what he's turned into he made some of the best games of all time back in the day) and probably making Nintendo what it is.

 

However...............

 

Could it be possible that with his passing (and considering he still had quite a bit of influence) that Nintendo might start playing it less safe with certain franchises, take more risks, and not be so stuck in the past with certain things? Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say it's good at all that he's dead, just saying that there might be a silver lining to this incredibly dark cloud. 

 

Either way, it's a saddening occasion that he's dead. RIP.

Edited September 19, 2013 by Chaos Warp

[Solkia]

I... somehow doubt it, but that's an entirely different discussion of it's own.

 

Sad to hear he's gone. Thanks for keeping Gaming alive, Yamauchi.

[Tara]

Even knowing of his age, I didn't see this one coming at all.  This man was responsible for my a great deal of my childhood.  I don't even want to think about how things might have played out differently had he not been president of the company at the time.

 

I can't express my gratitude for all the games and the memories of people and places associated with them.  Even though I'm not a hardcore gamer, video games have been an immeasurable influence on my life.  I may never have met some of my closest friends, both online and off, if not for video games, primarily those from Nintendo.  Rest in peace, and thanks for all you've done for the industry.

[JezMM]

Very sad news indeed.  Iwata taking over as president was the start of Nintendo being a lot more open about behind the scenes stuff, so until now I never really thought about what an influence he had (I only knew who he was because N64 Magazine in the UK used to have running gags about him being a sort of iron-fisted robot of a president as oppose to Shigeru Miyamoto, the other face of Nintendo, being a bubbly, creative, fun loving guy).

 

I wonder if Nintendo will do any kind of dedication to him, in-game or otherwise.

[Mr Loopone]

Due to his personality, have to do this at a neutral point of view so sorry if this sounds harsh to begin with but it is the truth.

 

People who knew him disliked him, people called him miserable, horrible, ruthless and any negative word under the sun due to his practises and policies. Especially since the late 80s with the control regarding 3rd parties and losing them in the mid 90s taking too much control. He even angered people from his dislike of RPGs [bernie Stolar wasn't the only CEO who didn't like them] and calling them depressed people who play in dark rooms. The weirdest thing is that he hasn't even played a game.

 

However, that's not what we want to remember him as. He was a business man who knew what he was doing, took risks from starting the whole home console front in Japan to experiments that either worked [the Game Boy and the DS/Wii to a degree] or didn't [the Virtual Boy] to even owning a baseball team. The NES and SNES are considered to be Nintendo in their prime even though the N64 and the Gamecube had their moments. They were heavily marketed in the US/Japan to the point where people still remember them and buy cartridges... sorry Game Paks becoming collectors. The only time post-Yamauchi Nintendo had marketing like that was the DS and the Wii, both that he was still involved with until he retired. Due to his decisions, he became one of the richest men in Japan. He had responsibilities from high quality control to making sure each of their games was creative. When he left, Nintendo wasn't the same. He certainly wouldn't have approved of the Wii U with the state that it is in, he would have done something about it much quicker than Iwata & co. Without Yamauchi, Nintendo wouldn't be the powerhouse and the gaming industry might be a complete different thing if he wasn't there.

 

So long Mr. Yamauchi, at least you will always be remembered especially seeing your name in older Nintendo games. I'm sure Miyamoto will be upset that his former boss has gone.

[Uraraka]

It is sad to see such a influential person die. Sorry to his family and the members of Nintendo for their loss.

[Chili Dawg]

Without Hiroshi Yamauchi's cut throat, imperialistic business practices, we would not have had hours upon hours of childhood entertainment.

 

RIP to this man, the man who built the empire of the king of video games.

[Mr Useful]

Rest in Piece you magnificent person.

[Dejimon11]

R.I.P.

 

[\Lennox]

Ugh. This week has been the worst--too many good people dying around me. ><

Then again, though, he'd be proud that his company still carries on the philosophy he espoused into the development teams.

[Wraith]

 

Could it be possible that with his passing (and considering he still had quite a bit of influence) that Nintendo might start playing it less safe with certain franchises, take more risks, and not be so stuck in the past with certain things? Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say it's good at all that he's dead, just saying that there might be a silver lining to this incredibly dark cloud. 

 

 

He doesn't have nearly as much influence on the company now as you think he does.

 

I also think this isn't anywhere near an appropriate time to talk about this, but whatever.

[JezMM]

Could it be possible that with his passing (and considering he still had quite a bit of influence) that Nintendo might start playing it less safe with certain franchises, take more risks, and not be so stuck in the past with certain things?

 

His legacy went into action the moment he left the company.  With projects like the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS, they were most certainly following his philosophy of bringing something different to the market from the competitors.

 

I imagine what you're talking about is getting into core game design, worrying about things like Mario not stretching into new grounds much anymore, but really, stuff that far down in detail was probably never his direct concern.

[Sami]

I never really considered him to be much of a "gaming" figurehead - he's a businessman who built an empire on entertainment of all sorts.

 

Regardless of whether or not I was personally fond of him, death is always a sad thing. He was a really smart guy, and I respect him for that. May he rest in peace.

[Swiss]

Such a shame to lose such a huge part of Nintendo's legacy. He'll be remembered more than fondly by me and I'm sure many others. Rest in peace, good sir.

 

Also, this is probably the only comic I've ever seen about a recently deceased person that's in somewhat good taste. Gave me a good little chuckle:

 

 

[Patticus]

 

 

Yamauchi was a real bastard of a businessman; as soon as he got into power (not through his father, but his grandfather, IIRC) he started laying off all of the company's old guard. But despite his draconian rule, it's hard to argue with his results. He had a great eye for talent, and he even had to balls to recall the Famicom on the eve of its release when a defect was discovered, rather than half-arsedly release it and then try to brazen it out. Compare and contrast with Microsoft and the "Red Ring of Death" debacle.