Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto has released a statement following the death of his longtime friend and colleague Satoru Iwata

In a statement issued to IGN, Miyamoto said: "I am surprised at this sudden news and overcome with sadness."The entire development team at Nintendo will remain committed to our development policy which Mr. Iwata and we have been constructing together and to yield the development results which Mr. Iwata would appreciate."While there's no news on who will become the president of Nintendo following Iwata's death, Miyamoto is already being considered a front-runner. In the interim, he and Genyo Takeda will run the company.Nintendo of Europe president Satoru Shibata also released a statement, which reads: "It is difficult to put into words the sadness we feel at this time. Mr. Iwata was a strong leader, a unique figure in the gaming industry and an important part of Nintendo's history. He was a visionary in every sense of the word and we will miss him dearly."Just as Mr. Iwata challenged us to always push forward, we will ensure his legacy lives on through our ongoing work to always surprise and delight our fans. At this time our thoughts are with his family."

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK News Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on Twitter