Damn, that sucks.

A legend passes. RIP.

Rest in Peace. :'(

To be fair to Nintendo, they are required to put out that memo as soon as possible.

He was such a breath of fresh air from the stiflingly corporate nature of the rest of the games industry.

Holy shit.

This is just incredibly sad. May you rest in peace Iwata-san, you will be sorely missed.

Also, it was over the weekend. I highly doubt that Nintendo had contingency plans for this.

Back to business, this gif (courtesy of Kotaku) is starting to punch me in the gut with every loop.

55 is too young. RIP.

Sheesh this is a shocker. I heard of his health problems keeping him from E3, but this is a surprise. Going to miss his goofyness.

I'm having trouble please understanding this, Mr. Iwata.

God be with his family and friends.

RIP Iwata-san. He always seemed like the nicest man. You'll be missed!

Rest in peace Mr Iwata. Always thought you were a great president for a company to have, one that knew and understood his product because he was intimately familiar with it on a professional and personal level.

I am so fucking sad :'(

55 is so early too. RIP.

I implore everyone watch the Balloon Fight episode of Gamecenter CX in which Iwata was a guest. Hilarious stuff, and really showcased Iwata as a funny and genial person (something that is hard to get across speaking through a translator).

Iwata will be missed, and the years where he was in charge are my personal favorite years of the company. RIP.

Woah. This is unreal. This is freaky. This sucks :(

Wow.RIP.

Very tragic. Wish the best for his friends and family.

In the middle of this sort of loss I hope there's some comfort in remembering that few of us get to touch so many lives in a such a positive way as Mr. Iwata did. I certainly spent a lot of time playing games on the DS, Wii, and WiiU with my kids and wife over the years. That's a lot of positive memories in my life that I would not have without the effort and work of the people over at Nintendo including Mr. Iwata. I deeply appreciate his role in those memories. He will be missed.

Maybe Satoru Shibata (head of NoE) I suppose.

This is very sad.

Unbelievable. Huge blow to the industry. He did a lot of good for the medium and seemed like a genuinely nice guy who loved what he did. RIP Mr. Iwata.

I'm actually speechless, I don't know what to say other than RIP.

Thank you for everything Iwata. RIP.

Wow, that really came out of nowhere...

岩田さんの御家族にお悔やみを申し上げます。御冥福をお祈り致します。

Rest in peace Iwata-san. A devastating loss to the industry.

R.I.P.

His last public act as president was apologizing for their E3 showing and fielding from questions from people who asked why they weren't selling Nintendo-brand bread.

Fuck...

I found this on Twitter, RIP Iwata.

Ugh, this is sickening. RIP Iwata.

It is always a real gut check to see someone who was so joyful, endearing, and full of life ripped from our world due to nothing more than a biological mishap.

Nintendo Directs will never quite be the same.

I know very, VERY little of the man. All I've know of him is what I've seen in Directs and the occasional interview, but he made it seem like being President of a major company to be very, VERY fun. Usually, a president that makes their life seem fun is just throwing money out the window for parties and expensive cars, etc, but with Mr. Iwata, it seemed he brought fun into his work space and used it to share something very real with not just coworkers but the world of video games. It's a damn shame he couldn't have continued to do so, but it has been very fun watching and playing video games from Nintendo. RIP, Mr. Iwata. It has been a privilege.

RIP Iwata T_T

Damn. RIP, Iwata.

@mr_arkadin said:

I'm just going to try to remember him like this. In all seriousness, I cannot think of a single loss as big as this one in video games. The man was a giant. RIP

Yeah this summed up his public persona perfectly. Just horribly too soon for him to go.

Terrible news, RIP.

Rest In Peace, Iwata-Sensei, you brought me so much joy over the years. Thank you.

Where's the 1up guys... where is it :(

Uh oh, getting teary.

I think it's hitting that much harder since E3 wasn't that far back.

Fuck that's really terrible. RIP Iwata-san.

Science, please hurry up and solve death.

Holy Shit - what?!

Damn... RIP

I hope someone Encyclopedia Bombasticas Balloon Fight.

I cannot say I'm a fan, I was always hoping he'd be replaced, but not like this.

RIP

Holy hell. Iwata was a damn treasure. RIP

Damn. This is shitty news. RIP Mr. Iwata.

@p_p_o_d: I had no idea he was only 55. It does seem so young and it seems practically out of nowhere. I was just looking on Polygon before going to sleep then BAM holy shit. RIP Iwata.

Immensely sad right now. Shocked at this, and like all deaths of public figures I like, I just want it to be a hoax.

RIP Iwata. Thank you so much for what you've done for the industry. We'll miss you.

This is terrible. Not just because of how accomplished he was, or because of how unique a figure he was among the industry's upper echelons (what other executive is known for his low-key tendency to pull off miraculous feats of programming, occasionally swooping in to assist engineering staffs even after becoming CEO; or for maintaining a firm no-layoffs policy while myriad other struggling studios slashed payroll left and right; or for cultivating an endearingly idiosyncratic public persona--"Please understand..."--without ever coming across like he was trying too hard), but also because of the timing. It seemed like he REALLY wanted to see Nintendo through to the other side of the rough patch that it's currently in. It's tragic that he was permanently interrupted in the middle of his efforts to do so.

He almost kept on working to the last day of his life, trying to appease both stockholders and the fans. Though I didn't know the man personally, nor was I ever a big Nintendo guy, I take solace in hoping that he died in comfort with his closest family and friends nearby.

Rest In Peace Mr. Iwata.

:( RIP