It is a sad day in the geek universe.  Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, has passed at the age of 55 due to a bile duct tumor per an official statement released by Nintendo.

Iwata was unable to attend E3 in 2014 due to a recent operation to remove a tumor from his bile duct.  His absence at this year’s E3 was attributed to the lack of new hardware to present and a general meeting of shareholders planned for the following week, but fans speculated that it might be related to health concerns.  Despite being unable to attend the conference in-person, Iwata was able to provide voiceover for Nintendo’s puppet video that was presented at this year’s E3.

Nintendo has disclosed that Genyo Takeda and Shigeru Miyamoto will manage the company in the interim as Representative Directors.

Takeda is currently the general manager of Nintendo’s Integrated Research Division, a position he was promoted to in 1981.  Takeda joined the company in 1972 and is noted for creating the Punch-Out!! series, as well as Nintendo’s first arcade game, EVR Racing.

Miyamoto is presumably more well-known to the majority of Nintendo fans, as he is famous for creating the Mario, Donkey Kong, Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, F-Zero and Pikmin series.  He joined Nintendo in 1977 and is currently the general manager of Nintendo’s Entertainment Analysis & Development division.

Geek Melee wishes Mr. Iwata’s family and the Nintendo Family our deepest condolences.