A photograph dubbed "Rainbow Road" has been doing the rounds since Satoru Iwata's sudden passing.

Nintendo president Iwata died from a bile duct growth over the weekend. He was 55 years old.

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Okamoto Kaori


Thousands of fans have shared an image of a rainbow that appeared over Nintendo HQ in Kyoto hours after Iwata's death.

Referencing Nintendo's popular Mario Kart series, fans have dubbed it "Rainbow Road to heaven".

Iwata was appointed Nintendo president in 2002, and would oversee the launch of the hugely successful Wii and DS platforms.

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Iwata had surgery to remove a bile duct growth last year. He missed E3 2014 and the company's annual shareholder meeting as a result.

He returned to work last October, but was absent from this year's E3, although he was said to be in 'constant contact' with fellow employees.