Kirby namesake John Kirby has passed away

John Kirby is a pretty important part of Nintendo history. Kirby represented Nintendo as its lawyer when the company was facing litigation from Universal, which claimed that Donkey Kong was based on King Kong. After Kirby led Nintendo to victory in that case, he was given a $30,000 sailboat known as the Donkey Kong, and also became the namesake of the famous video game character Kirby.

Sadly, John Kirby passed away on Wednesday due to complications of the blood cancer Myelodysplastic syndrome. He was 79. While Kirby is no longer with us, his importance to Nintendo will not be forgotten, and he’ll always be remembered thanks to his namesake.

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