Nintendo chief: man behind casual game boom

When Satoru Iwata became the president of Nintendo Co Ltd six years ago, the video game world was ruled by Sony Corp's PlayStation 2 and populated by young men.

Iwata knew the market could be much bigger than that. Under his watch, Nintendo started inventing products for an unlikely crowd of gamers from pensioners eager to train their memory to yoga students perfecting their poses.

"Today there are people who play and who don't. We'll help destroy that wall between them," Iwata said in May 2006 ahead of the year-end launch of the Wii console.

Unlike most consoles, the Wii is meant to appeal to everyone, whether their idea of entertainment is a tranquil round of golf or a battle with fantasy warriors.

"Regardless of age, gender or game experience, anyone can understand Wii," Iwata said at the time.

His prediction proved accurate: The Wii turned into a bestseller and has consistently outsold its rivals. Global Wii sales came to 34.6 million units as of the end of September, against 16.8 million for the PlayStaion 3 and 22.5 million units for Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360.

Iwata's knack for unconventional solutions has marked his career, including his rise to the top at Nintendo, the world's largest video game maker and creator of the well-loved game characters Mario and Donkey Kong.

He became president at 42, in a country where executives at major listed corporations tend not to make that step until their late 50s or early 60s, if not later.

Iwata's predecessor, Hiroshi Yamauchi, a member of the founding family, picked him for the top job only two years after he joined the company. Yamauchi himself had held that position for more than half a century.