Agreed.

You know, I never stopped to think about this, I always though about it as I kept walking.

I'm pretty sure the OP isn't talking physically, bro 

Don't call me bro, pal.

I actually felt pretty confident in most of the decisions Iwata made. The only thing I didn't really agree with was the cost of the gamepad when it could have went towards beefing up the Wii U. I think that if he went with a pro controller or a SNES style Wiimote/nunchuck instead of the gamepad, Wii U would be in a entirely different situation. Based on his statements leading up to NX, I think that his combining the handheld and console teams for NX might be the biggest thing Nintendo has done game wise in Nintendo history.

I'm not concerned for Nintendo and NX. I'm worried what will happen after NX launches. What direction will the game makers go when its under a new President? This will be the real question.

My biggest fear now is a buyout/acquisition. the company is in a delicated state, with the consoles struggling and a lot of changes going on as of late, but has precious ip that anyone in the industry(and even outside of it) would love to get the hands on. And seriously, i doubt that anyone buying nintendo would make the best use of them, at least for the long days fans...

listen here, buddy, ill refer to you as any derisive term i please. ya got that, champ?

Don't call me pal, mate.

Don't call me mate, buddy.

It's just like that saying.
"You don't realize what you have until it's gone."
Exactly what happened here with Mr. Iwata, may he R.I.P.
I'm definitely the most concerned about where Nintendo goes from here than I ever have before.

Personally, I think the best course of action for them is to find a successor from within the company.
Promote them just like they promoted Mr. Iwata back when Mr. Yamauchi retired in 2002.
The reason I think this is what they should do is because it'll be someone who knows the company and its philosophy inside and out, so it'll be someone they can trust.
It has to be a guy who has the same passion, dedication, and love for the industry, specifically Nintendo, that Mr. Iwata had.
What made Iwata different and special in my view, was that he wasn't your typical business suit wearing CEO looking to make the most money to spread his name and line his pockets.
He was one of us! He was a gamer! He loved making and playing great video games that we all could enjoy above all else. He had the passion for the industry and for the company, which enabled to enjoy doing the job, despite the huge responsibilities that came with it, even to the very end.
So it has to be a guy who is just like that. Part of it is about continuing the legacy he created, as well as moving forward to a future that will stay true to Nintendo's philosophy.
So with that, they need to go with somebody who is young. Someone who can do the job for a very long time and has a great sense of what today's video game market calls for, more specifically the console market.
When Mr. Iwata got the job in 2002, he was relatively young as well, 42 if I'm correct. So he had a good sense of the market back than, which enabled him to lead the company to create the Wii and DS, look how that turned out! Obviously today has different circumstances because 2002 was when the GameCube & GameBoy Advance had just launched and neither the Wii or DS were concepts on a drawing board. Whereas, the NX is most likely well in development and its concept is already decided, so there is no turning back on it most likely.
But hopefully whoever they get will have a good grasp of the market, as well as longevity, to go along with the passion, love, and dedication to the company and the industry in general that made Mr. Iwata so great.

I don't know who that ideal person is, and I would hope that Nintendo already has that person and has made the necessary preparations in case something like this happened, because when you start to think about it. Mr. Iwata had been ill for some time, dating back to last year when he missed E3. Although I don't think anybody thought, and sincerely hoped that it wasn't so serious as it evidently was that it threatened his life. But maybe, he, and the company knew before anyone else even thought of it, that his time was coming.

But that's just my take on it. I knew this situation would come up for the company... but nobody wanted it under these circumstances. The only thing that's for certain is that whoever does get the job, will have massive shoes to fill.