Satoru Iwata: Russian gamers leave flowers in tribute to Nintendo president outside Japanese Embassy

Nintendo fans in Russia have gathered at the Japanese Embassy in Moscow to pay their respects to late company president Satoru Iwata, who died this weekend. Flowers, hand-written notes, candles and a Mario figurine were left outside the building

Gamers also held a one minute silence, after which Ekaterina Kulinich spoke to IGN Russia. "The news in the morning struck me like an avalanche, and I thought it was the least that I could do at the moment," she said in a rough translation. "I hope that such a small action will help people to understand that we remember, and we really, really love him forever."

Embassy staff were eager to help the group in paying their respects. The front lawn of the building was not a suitable place to leave messages and flowers, so they set up the table you see in the photos under an embassy sign.

A picture of Iwata and a drawing bearing the message "Thanks for playing" were also left.

Others in attendance spoke of their love of Nintendo products. Mario and Pokémon games were mentioned, as well as Nintendo consoles like the Wii U and DS. Another fan spoke of Street Pass – a 3DS feature that shares player avatars with other consoles when they pass nearby – and how they had found friends through it.

A tumour on Iwata's bile duct was found and removed in the summer of 2014, but the illness persisted and he died in Kyoto Japan on 11 July. He was 55 and is survived by his wife Kayoko.

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