RIP Hiroshi Yamauchi, we hardly knew ye.......

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Surprised that this one hasn't been posted yet. This guy took the console video game market to an all-new level. Without him, the video game world might be a much different place.......

Nintendo's Yamauchi dies aged 85 - Yahoo News

[sterlingice]

Certainly a pioneer. Honestly, I didn't realize he was still alive

SI

[dawgfan]

An interesting character for sure. He was talked into saving the Mariners back in '92 when Jeff Smulyan had one foot out the door for Tampa Bay, and while he and his deputies certainly had an impact on how the franchise was run (there's no doubt the influx of Japanese players with the M's was tied to his ownership), he never once attended a game - even last year when they opened the season in Japan - and only granted one interview in his time as owner.

The "we hardly knew ye" convention is especially appropriate in this circumstance.

[SackAttack]

Yeah, I want to say that was when Nintendo found itself in the crosshairs of the anti-Japanese company sentiment on Capitol Hill in the early '90s; the purchase of the Mariners was intended as "hey, let's help the community keep their baseball team," and got painted by certain elements as THERE GO THOSE JAPANESE AGAIN TRYING TO BUY MOM AND APPLE PIE

Fascinating dude.

[dawgfan]

There was definitely some unfortunate xenophobia that surrounded that purchase. I believe MLB insisted on local representation for that ownership group which is what resulted in Howard Lincoln taking on such a prominent role with the club.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

There was definitely some unfortunate xenophobia that surrounded that purchase. I believe MLB insisted on local representation for that ownership group which is what resulted in Howard Lincoln taking on such a prominent role with the club.

Well, Howard Lincoln was the #2 man with Nintendo of America anyway. The #1 was also Japanese, so Lincoln was literally the highest-ranked face in Nintendo who might have been acceptable to the xenophobes.

[fantom1979]

I have spent some time researching and admiring Shigeru Miyamoto, but I had completely overlooked Yamauchi. RIP

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Well, Howard Lincoln was the #2 man with Nintendo of America anyway. The #1 was also Japanese, so Lincoln was literally the highest-ranked face in Nintendo who might have been acceptable to the xenophobes.

Exactly. John Ellis was prominent early on due to his years of public work in the Seattle area, but the Nintendo ownership manifested itself pretty early on as Lincoln quickly superseded Ellis as the primary face of the franchise.