What horrible news to come out of absolutely nowhere. His legacy and impact on Nintendo and gaming will never be forgotten, he was clearly an extremely decent and ethical man whom I remember took a huge pay cut to protect his staff during hard times. It's hard to think of a more noble and responsible way for a CEO to act than that. As a gamer and lifelong Nintendo fan, I can't say I was always delighted with his decisions, but it was clear how much respect he had for the company and its characters and games, what a charming and charismatic presence he was on the Nintendo Directs and Iwata Asks (two fantastic and forward-thinking ideas for bringing the company closer to its fans) and what a delightful, self-deprecating sense of humour he had. He oversaw the development of some exceptional games, one of the most successful consoles of all time with the Wii, and appeared to be enjoying some success at steadying the ship following the struggles of the Wii U. His absence will be keenly felt in every Direct without him and Nintendo has undeniably lost not only one of its most loveable personalities, but a hugely important figure in the industry as well.
RIP Iwata-san.