Tributes are flooding in for former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, after his death was confirmed in an emailed statement.
The Japanese businessman, 85, was praised for transforming games company Nintendo.
Mr Yamauchi, great-grandson of Nintendo founder Fusajiro Yamauchi, ran the firm for 53 years from 1949 until 2002. Under his tenure, the company introduced legendary game franchises including Mario, Donkey Kong, Pokémon and The Legend of Zelda.
Rob Crossley, associate editor of Computer and Video Games magazine, told the BBC:
"This man was the president of Nintendo during the NES, the SNES, the N64 and the Gamecube - the first two were transformative pieces of electronic entertainment."
It's a sad day for all gamers. Here's what Nintendo fans had to say:
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments