The man who transformed Nintendo from a company that made playing cards to a gaming giant has died in Japan at age 85. Hiroshi Yamauchi was the president of Nintendo from 1949 to 2002 and was celebrated for his bold moves, like hiring Shigeru Miyamoto, a global game-design star who masterminded Super Mario and Donkey Kong. Yamauchi was a college dropout but became one of the richest men in Japan. He also was the first foreign owner of a major-league baseball team, owning the Seattle Mariners until he sold them to Nintendo in 2004.
