Rainbow over Nintendo HQ following president’s death

The man many of us thank for making our childhoods so sunny got a fitting send-off following his death.

Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata passed away a few days ago due to “a bile duct growth” at the age of 55.

The Nintendo headquarters in Kyoto, Japan, was photographed by Twitter user ‘bakatetu2’ the day after Iwata’s death, showing a cloudy sky with the hint of a rainbow beaming through.

It served as a fitting tribute to the man who made our video game adventures as children (and adults) so memorable.

Iwata was the first Nintendo president outside of the Yamauchi family and started in the industry as a game programmer at HAL Laboratory, CNN reports.

Unlike his predecessors, who never played video games, Iwata was a gamer at heart.

When Iwata took over Nintendo in 2002, times were tough. The company, once the epicentre of the gaming industry, was beginning to get drowned out by Sony and Microsoft.

Taking a risk, Iwata decided that it was time to start creating entertainment for a larger audience, instead of competing over the niche group of hardcore gamers.

And so, the Nintendo DS and Wii were born.

The games were friendly, approachable, simple and extremely fun, and redefined the definition of who a gamer was.

Fittingly, fans dubbed the rainbow over headquarters as Iwata’s “Rainbow Road” to heaven.