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Hiroshi Yamauchi dies at 85 (Nikkei)
- Thread starter bernardobri
- Start date
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Entryhazard
Banned
Today a legend of the entire game industry dies.
Today the shogun of the videogames dies.
RIP Yamauchi, "Leave luck to heaven"
Today the shogun of the videogames dies.
RIP Yamauchi, "Leave luck to heaven"
LonelyGreyWolf
Banned
RIP.
E-Cat
Member
Found it!
A 2004 BBC documentary sheds some light on the mysterious character of Yamauchi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4rMchIAvdA#t=3m29s
Some bits:
- In 1950, after having inherited the family business from his grandfather, Yamauchi's first act as head of Nintendo was to sack his own cousin.
- People acquainted with Yamauchi refuse to talk about him on camera because he's such a powerful man, "like an emperor". Everybody in the company shudders in Mr. Yamauchi's presence, and they don't speak without his permission.
- Left by his father when he was five years old. They would never meet again, but Yamauchi did attend his funeral.
- Said to be a very strong Go player, "tough as nails". Absolutely serious, like he is trying to win a championship game every time.
- When presented with a Go videogame, Yamauchi had an assistant play the game for him by pointing where we wanted to move on the screen.
- Involved in the taxi, love hotel, and electric "love tester" businesses
- Was grooming his son-in-law, Minoru Arakawa, to take over the company. For this, Arakawa needed to become "more like Yamauchi, tougher." However, their differing opinions on what direction Nintendo should take next made the succession an impossibility.
A 2004 BBC documentary sheds some light on the mysterious character of Yamauchi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4rMchIAvdA#t=3m29s
Some bits:
- In 1950, after having inherited the family business from his grandfather, Yamauchi's first act as head of Nintendo was to sack his own cousin.
- People acquainted with Yamauchi refuse to talk about him on camera because he's such a powerful man, "like an emperor". Everybody in the company shudders in Mr. Yamauchi's presence, and they don't speak without his permission.
- Left by his father when he was five years old. They would never meet again, but Yamauchi did attend his funeral.
- Said to be a very strong Go player, "tough as nails". Absolutely serious, like he is trying to win a championship game every time.
- When presented with a Go videogame, Yamauchi had an assistant play the game for him by pointing where we wanted to move on the screen.
- Involved in the taxi, love hotel, and electric "love tester" businesses
- Was grooming his son-in-law, Minoru Arakawa, to take over the company. For this, Arakawa needed to become "more like Yamauchi, tougher." However, their differing opinions on what direction Nintendo should take next made the succession an impossibility.
Madrugador
Member
Rest in peace Yamauchi. Thanks for all the good memories.
Dr. Zoidberg
Member
A pioneer and legend if there ever was one. RIP, Yamauchi.
captmcblack
Member
RIP, Mr. Yamauchi.
Your company and its products have been part of my life for, well...my entire life. I can't imagine a world without Nintendo. Gaming will miss you - thanks for the memories.
Your company and its products have been part of my life for, well...my entire life. I can't imagine a world without Nintendo. Gaming will miss you - thanks for the memories.
Cygnus X-1
Member
I'm not so sure if this article can be reliable or not - but it may be the last thing Yamauchi did at Nintendo.
http://www.p4rgaming.com/former-nintendo-president-hiroshi-yamauchi-criticizes-wii-u-launch-says-would-rather-buy-a-ps3/
Edit: confirmed it's made up. Well, just read it for fun.
http://www.p4rgaming.com/former-nintendo-president-hiroshi-yamauchi-criticizes-wii-u-launch-says-would-rather-buy-a-ps3/
Edit: confirmed it's made up. Well, just read it for fun.
The Horror the horror
Banned
Is it too early for someone to start a topic related to Nintendo's immediate and long-term future in light of this sad news? This would be an inappropriate forum to discuss that, but I'd love to discuss the now-uncertain future of the legacy this great man left behind.
Calamari41
41 > 38
The chances of that being real approach 0%.
Of course it's fake.
fyi P4R gaming is a parody site
Cygnus X-1
Member
RIP
Might have to make a new account.
I think Yamauchi has it in him to terrorize competitors and his workers beyond his grave.
TheLastCandle
Member
RIP, legend.
Come on man, a simple Google search for "p4rgaming" will reveal it's a fake news site. Do a little research before littering this thread with such trash.
Come on Cygnus...
Dr.Thunder
Member
The man played a large role in so many joyous moments throughout my life and for that, I Thank you.
R.I.P.
R.I.P.
Chû Totoro
Member
Sad day for video games fans and especially for every Nintendo fan.
Yamauchi had a good life, making people happy playing tons of games. He's not the only one who made Nintendo the quality video game enterprise it is but he's been the leader in many many good years of Nintendo products so thank you for that
Nintendo is still here though, after more than a century, and just thinking about this is making all Nintendo's employees' work (both still here and gone) worth so much.
RIP.
Yamauchi had a good life, making people happy playing tons of games. He's not the only one who made Nintendo the quality video game enterprise it is but he's been the leader in many many good years of Nintendo products so thank you for that
Nintendo is still here though, after more than a century, and just thinking about this is making all Nintendo's employees' work (both still here and gone) worth so much.
RIP.
Chief Icaroc
Banned
Holy cow! That's 2 GIANTS of Japanese industry in like one week! Eiji Toyoda on the 12th and now Hiroshi Yamauchi....
Was there any detail on *what* direction Arakawa was promoting?
I don't think there's a single person on the business end of the industry that has had as much of an impact as he has, and I don't think anyone else ever will be able to.
I don't agree with every decision the guy made and I think some of the things the company did under him were pretty questionable ethically, but you can't argue against his impact or results. A legend in the truest sense of the word, were it not for him the industry would be vastly different if it even still existed without him.
I don't agree with every decision the guy made and I think some of the things the company did under him were pretty questionable ethically, but you can't argue against his impact or results. A legend in the truest sense of the word, were it not for him the industry would be vastly different if it even still existed without him.
Do we really know how much influence he had over modern day Nintendo? In guessing it wasn't much.
And considering the industry is pretty young... This has gotta be the biggest death in gaming probably... Ever? I don't file things too closely anymore, but the only other death I can even think of is the Occulus Rift guy.
Valjean Lafitte
Banned
That's the part I could never get. Iwata is *nothing* like Yamauchi. I don't mean that in a bad way--the man is infinitely more approachable and understanding of the difficulties of game development, having come from that background himself. Between the time he decided that Arakawa wasn't fit to lead Nintendo and when he gave it over to Iwata he must have had a serious change of heart.
E-Cat
Member
No, sadly not. It should be taken with a grain of salt, in any case.
RIP
He was certainly a controversial figure, but his contribution to the entire video game medium is incalculable and I don't even dare speculate as to what would have happened if he didn't steer Nintendo into the direction that was able to birth the Famicom, or his aggressive push to adapt it for western audiences. One of the very few figures in gaming that deserves to be called a titan of the industry.
He was certainly a controversial figure, but his contribution to the entire video game medium is incalculable and I don't even dare speculate as to what would have happened if he didn't steer Nintendo into the direction that was able to birth the Famicom, or his aggressive push to adapt it for western audiences. One of the very few figures in gaming that deserves to be called a titan of the industry.
primasaurus
Member
Rest in Peace
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