Fans the world over were devastated to learn of the recent passing of Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata. The beloved executive is said to have died as a result of a bill duct growth, but it's something that fans of the company were blindsided by and many are still distraught in regards to where this leaves the company. While much is still up in the air, Iwata-san's funeral services are already well underway.

Taking place in Kyoto, Japan, gamers appeared in the thousands hoping to pay their respects to a man that radically shaped the gaming industry. While it's our belief that Satoru Iwata's actions have set Nintendo on a clear path with deals that won't come to light for years still, it's still very important to look back and honor the man for his known accomplishments – and that's exactly what fans did this week.

According to the Wall Street Journal, two full days of funeral services were held for the deceased Nintendo President. Held at a temple, gamers lined up by the thousands over those two days to say their farewells to Iwata, with over 2,600 people attending on the first day of services and roughly 1,500 showing up on the following. It's said that those that attended had to bear quite a bit of rain to pay their respects as a result of a typhoon that was raging nearby.

Allegedly, many of those at the funeral were said to have had their Nintendo 3DS handhelds in tow, as they waited and eventually got to walk by the departed's casket. Given how beloved the executive was, it's not surprising to hear that thousands appeared in Kyoto to show their respects for his life and all that's he's accomplished during his time on this planet. From overseeing everything from Kirby to the release of the company's latest hardware, his impact is certainly profound.

While Iwata-san is gone, however, his roadmap for the company is very clearly laid out. With everything from Nintendo's mobile game deal with DeNA set to bear fruit later this year to a myriad of additional partnerships akin to the recently announced deal that'll see Donkey Kong and Bowser appear in Skylanders, there is still a lot of content and business deals yet to come to light that were all overseen by the former CEO. Truly, his absence won't be felt for years to come.

Source: Wall Street Journal (via Polygon)

Image: Kyodo News