Hiroshi Yamauchi, who ran Nintendo Co. for more than 50 years and led the company's transition from traditional playing card maker to video game giant, died Thursday. He was 85.
Kyoto-based Nintendo said Yamauchi, who was also known for owning the Seattle Mariners baseball club, died of pneumonia at a hospital in central Japan.
Yamauchi was Nintendo president from 1949 to 2002, and engineered the company's global growth, including developing the early Family Computer (Famicom) consoles and Game Boy portable devices.