Hiroshi Yamauchi, remembering Mr. Nintendo - Computer Point

Into It ‘died historic president who has radically transformed the Japanese corporation giving way, in one fell swoop, a new era in the gaming market and the creation of timeless characters

Rome – Nintendo announced the death of Hiroshi Yamauchi, former president of the Japanese company that has transformed a manufacturer of card games in a colossus of the then nascent gaming market. Yamauchi has died at age 85 on the morning of September 19.

Became president of Nintendo in 1949, Yamauchi has provided first of all to diversify the company’s business by setting up a taxi company, a network television and even a chain of love hotels before entering the toy industry in 1966.

From toys are then moved to the handheld electronic line Game & Watch, a type of product in vogue in the 80s. It is at this point that Nintendo enters the gaming market with the help of creative designers the likes of Shigeru Miyamoto, achieving milestones such as Donkey Kong – arcade in one shot has introduced two of the most important characters of the team Nintendo (Donkey Kong and Mario) .
A Yamauchi you must then manage the project Famicom, better known outside of Japan as the Nintendo Entertainment System and responsible in the mid-80s, the rebirth of an industry video game that seemed on the verge of collapse with the implosion of the business of the arcade and Atari’s historical failures.

Yamauchi has continued to maintain the role of Nintendo President even after managing the launch of gaming machines such as Super Nintendo, Game Boy, Nintendo 64 and Gamecube. The failure of the latter console marked the end of his long career on May 31, 2002, when Yamauchi-san has passed the baton to the current president Satoru Iwata.

Alfonso Maruccia