Nintendo chief executive Satoru Iwata's death mourned by gamers around the world

Japanese video-game company Nintendo announced on the weekend that its CEO, Satoru Iwata, had died of cancer at the age of 55. 

For those of you who aren't gamers, think of it like this. Iwata's impact was much the same as Steve Jobs, and his loss is being felt as deeply by fans around the world.

In a presentation at the Game Developers Conference in 2005, he said, "On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. In my heart I am a gamer."

Iwata was responsible for Nintendo's Wii game system, which was released in 2006 to compete with the PS3 and Xbox 360. While the competing consoles were high-powered with amazing graphical fidelity, the Wii instead featured motion-sensing controllers with family-friendly game titles and became one of the best-selling game consoles in history.

He also directed the development of the Nintendo DS, a disruptive gaming console that helped establish gaming as a portable entertainment.

Tributes are everywhere, but the best is this one from game developer Simogo, in the form of a simple game experience that honours Iwata's game Balloon Fight, which he made in 1985.