--- description: Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata died Saturday due to a bile duct growth, the company announced Sunday. title: Nintendo President Satoru Iwata Dies at 55 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9816f4571df25e7b/69885a8e0a4a22f10d9c51cf/satoru-iwata-nintendo1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Nintendo](/tag/nintendo/) ## Nintendo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Nintendo President Satoru Iwata Dies at 55 by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 4:50 AM CUTPublished: Jul 13, 2015 12:14 AM CUT  Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo Co., speaks to reporters as he leaves a news conference in Osaka, Japan, on Jan. 28, 2015. Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo Co., speaks to reporters as he leaves a news conference in Osaka, Japan, on Jan. 28, 2015.Yuzuru Yoshikawa—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 4:50 AM CUTPublished: Jul 13, 2015 12:14 AM CUT Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata died Saturday due to a bile duct growth, the [company announced](http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2015/150713e.pdf "undefined") Sunday. Iwata, 55, was appointed president of the gaming company in 2002, overseeing [the launch of the hugely successful Wii console](http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune%5Farchive/2007/06/11/100083454/index.htm "undefined"), the [Nintendo DS handheld](http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1204187,00.html "undefined") and its line of [Amiibo interactive figurines](http://time.com/3749061/nintendo-mobile-gaming/ "undefined"). In March, he [spoke to TIME](http://time.com/3748920/nintendo-mobile-games/ "undefined") about the company’s plans to move into the smartphone gaming market. When he replaced longtime president Hiroshi Yamauchi, Iwata became only the fourth president in the history of the company and the first from outside the Yamauchi family. **Read Next:** [_Inside Nintendo’s Bold Plan to Stay Vibrant for the Next 125 Years_](http://time.com/3749061/nintendo-mobile-gaming/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3954906/nintendo-president-satoru-iwata-dies/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3954906/nintendo-president-satoru-iwata-dies/"},"headline":"Nintendo President Satoru Iwata Dies at 55","datePublished":"2015-07-13T00:14:04.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T04:50:28.000Z","description":"He was only the company's fourth president.","url":"https://time.com/3954906/nintendo-president-satoru-iwata-dies/","keywords":["Nintendo"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9816f4571df25e7b/69885a8e0a4a22f10d9c51cf/satoru-iwata-nintendo1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ryan Teague Beckwith","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9816f4571df25e7b/69885a8e0a4a22f10d9c51cf/satoru-iwata-nintendo1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo Co., speaks to reporters as he leaves a news conference in Osaka, Japan, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015. 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