Hiroshi Yamauchi is retiring from Nintendo's board of directors, meaning he will be leaving the company completely after becoming its president in 1949.

Hiroshi Yamauchi joined Nintendo in 1949 as the company's president, and remained in that position for fifty three years until 2002. In that year he stepped down and Satoru Iwata, the then-head of HAL, become Nintendo's president.

For the last three years Yamauchi has remained on Nintendo's board of directors, but has decided to step down. At the shareholders meeting on June 29 the official announcement will be made, and Yamauchi will be leaving Nintendo for good. However, he will still own 10% of Nintendo stock, and remain connected with Nintendo as a consultant for their dealings.

When Nintendo board members retire they are given a retirement pension, but Yamauchi has turned it down, stating he would prefer it goes back to the company. The exact number is not known but it is estimated to be around $9-14 million.

This means for the first time in fifty six years Yamauchi will not have an input into Nintendo, and it shall be interesting to see how this shapes the company's future.