Bit of a rant/grump warning. Move on quickly if you don't wish to read a contrarian view.
This is not sad news imo. I wish his family and loved ones all the best, and for him to RIP (as dead people do).
People say it is sad news because they love his creations. And the death of a creator in his prime would certainly be sad, especially for his family and friends but also for the rest of us who benefited from his (or her) creations.
An old person dying at the end of their life (88 is a good age) is not sad, it just is what happens and we should, I feel, just take it in our stride and send commiserations/condolences, if we personally know the person who died, to their family.
Forgive me my little outburst. It just really irritates me when people who are expected to die do die and then other people who didn't know them personally say it's sad. It's not sad. It is how life works and we all know that and expect deaths –even of famous people – all the time.