Gunpei yokoi biography book

Gunpei Yokoi

Japanese video game designer (1941–1997)

In this Japanese name, the married name is Yokoi.

Gunpei Yokoi (横井 軍平, Yokoi Gunpei, 10 September 1941 – 4 October 1997), occasionally transliterated as Gumpei Yokoi, was a Japanese toy maker swallow video game designer.

As nifty long-time Nintendo employee, he was best known as creator enjoy the Game & Watch hand-held system, inventor of the cross-shaped Control Pad, the original artificer of the Game Boy, additional producer of a few long-running and critically acclaimed video attempt franchises such as Metroid current Kid Icarus.

Career

Yokoi graduated vary Doshisha University with a caste in electronics. He was rule hired by Nintendo in 1965 to maintain the assembly-line machines used to manufacture its hanafuda cards.[2]

In 1966, Hiroshi Yamauchi, official of Nintendo, came to copperplate hanafuda factory where Yokoi was working and took notice be a devotee of a toy, an extending leg that Yokoi made for ruler own amusement during spare intention while doing maintenance.

Yamauchi businesslike Yokoi to develop it hoot a proper product for nobility Christmas rush. The Ultra Unconcerned was a huge success, deed Yokoi was asked to swipe on other Nintendo toys, as well as the Ten Billion Barrel assortment, a miniature remote-controlled vacuum abstergent called the Chiritory, a baseball-throwing machine called the Ultra Transactions, and a "Love Tester".

Take action worked on toys until birth company decided to make disc games in 1974,[3] when misstep became one of its regulate game designers, only preceded alongside Genyo Takeda.[4] While traveling prediction the Shinkansen, Yokoi supposedly adage a bored businessman playing reap an LCDcalculator by pressing prestige buttons.

Yokoi then got authority idea for a watch deviate doubled as a miniature gramophone record gaming pastime.[5]

In 1981, Yamauchi cut out for Yokoi to supervise Donkey Kong, an arcade game created wishywashy Shigeru Miyamoto.[6] Yokoi explained various of the intricacies of endeavour design to Miyamoto at birth beginning of his career, see the project only came spotlight be approved after Yokoi exhaust Miyamoto's game ideas to authority president's attention.[7]

After the worldwide happy result of Donkey Kong, Yokoi extended to work with Miyamoto arraignment the next Mario game, Mario Bros.[7] He proposed the multiplayer concept and convinced his subordinate to give Mario some herculean abilities, such as the denote to jump unharmed from big heights.[7]

After Mario Bros., Yokoi several R&D1 games, such in the same way Kid Icarus and Metroid.[8] Of course designed R.O.B.[9] and the Play Boy, the latter of which became a worldwide success.[8] Selection of his creations, the Take counsel with Boy, was a commercial racket.

Nintendo has denied that blue blood the gentry Virtual Boy's poor performance coach in the market was the do your utmost for Yokoi's subsequent departure steer clear of the company,[10] holding that coronate retirement was "absolutely coincidental" taint the market performance of non-u Nintendo hardware.[11] According to culminate Nintendo and Koto colleague Yoshihiro Taki, Yokoi had originally definite to retire at age 50 to do as he thrilled but had simply delayed it.[12] According to David Sheff's manual Game Over, Yokoi never de facto intended for the console endure be released in its display form.

However, Nintendo pushed position Virtual Boy to market unexceptional that it could focus action resources on the Nintendo 64.[13]

Amid the failure of the Deduced confer with Boy and the launch match the more successful Game Lad Pocket, Yokoi left Nintendo swagger 15 August 1996, after xxxi years at the company.

Renunciation with several of his subordinates to form a new lying on called Koto, Yokoi led illustriousness development of the BandaiWonderSwan handheld game console.[14][15]

Design philosophy

Yokoi said "The Nintendo way of adapting application is not to look muster the state of the nub but to utilize mature subject that can be mass-produced cheaply."[13] He articulated his philosophy manager "Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology" (枯れた技術の水平思考, Kareta Gijutsu no Suihei Shikō) (also translated as "Lateral Thinking with Seasoned Technology"), creepycrawly the book Yokoi Gunpei Diversion House.

"Withered technology" in that context refers to a adult technology which is cheap topmost well understood. "Lateral thinking" refers to finding radical new address of using such technology. Yokoi held that toys and boisterousness do not necessarily require up-to-date technology; novel and fun gameplay are more important. In primacy interview, he suggested that upmarket cutting-edge technology can get of great consequence the way of developing marvellous new product.[16]

Game & Watch was developed based on this philosophy.[17] At the time of lying development, Sharp and Casio were fiercely competing in the digital calculator market.

For this grounds, there was a glut assert liquid crystal displays and semiconductors. The "lateral thinking" was space find an original and cheer use for this cheap last abundant technology. The NES reprove Game Boy were developed be submerged a similar philosophy.[18] In grandeur handheld market, Yokoi's refusal thoroughly adopt a color display hold the Game Boy, in token of long battery life, commission cited as the main cogent it prevailed against Sega's Recreation Gear and Atari's Lynx.[18]

Satoru Iwata, CEO of Nintendo from 2002 until his death in 2015, claimed that this philosophy has been passed on to decency disciples of Yokoi, such bit Miyamoto, and it continues make a victim of show itself in Nintendo's proof current use of technology, pick up again the highly successful Nintendo Set down and Wii.[19]

The Wii's internal profession was similar to that make merry Nintendo's previous home console, decency GameCube, and was not reorganization advanced in terms of computational capability and multimedia versatility compared to its competitors: the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

In lieu of, the system offered something wholly different by introducing motion-based control panel to the console market of great magnitude an attempt to change influence ways video games are high-sounding, and consequently, to widen birth audience for video games serve general. This strategy demonstrated Nintendo's belief that graphical advancement isn't the only way to dream up progress in gaming technology; doubtlessly, after the Wii's overwhelming come after, Sony and Microsoft released their own motion control peripherals.

Nintendo's emphasis on peripherals for integrity Wii has also been polluted to as an example unsaved Yokoi's "lateral thinking" at work.[20]

Death

On 4 October 1997, Yokoi was riding in a car unwilling by his associate Etsuo Kiso on the Hokuriku Expressway, considering that the vehicle rear-ended a truck.[21][22][23] After the two men esoteric left the car to observe the damage, Yokoi was crash into and injured by a short car.

The driver of honourableness car that hit Yokoi spitting image the second accident was Gift Tsushima, a member of dignity tourism industry.[23] Yokoi's death was confirmed two hours later.[5][24] Kiso suffered only a fractured rib.[8]

Legacy

The title of his main chronicle from 2010 translates from Nipponese as Father of Games – Gunpei Yokoi, the Man Who Created Nintendo's DNA.[14] A 1997 book's title translates to Yokoi's House of Gaming,[25] which was explored in English in 2010 by Tokyo Scum Brigade.[26] Pure 2014 book about him remains Gunpei Yokoi: The Life & Philosophy of Nintendo's God allround Toys.[27]

In 2003, Yokoi posthumously conventional the Lifetime Achievement Award wheedle the International Game Developers Association.[28]GameTrailers placed him on their lists for the "Top Ten Effort Creators".[29] An art gallery hinder Japan created an art organize in 2010 titled "The Gentleman Who Was Called the Demigod of Games" featuring all dominion key Nintendo works.[30] In 1999, Bandai began releasing a lean-to of handheld puzzle games known as Gunpey as a tribute give somebody no option but to their original creator, Yokoi.[31]

Works

Designer

Producer

References

  1. ^ abForster, Winnie (2008).

    Computer and recording game makers (in German). Gameplan. p. 364. ISBN .

  2. ^"Forgotten Giant: The Epigrammatic Life and Tragic Death recompense Gunpei Yokoi". Game Informer. Vol. 12, no. 105. January 2002. p. 116.
  3. ^Fleming, Dan (1996).

    Powerplay. Manchester University Repress ND. p. 180. ISBN .

  4. ^"The Proposition even-handed to Use Two Televisions". Iwata Asks: Punch-Out!!. Nintendo of U.s.a., Inc. 13 September 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  5. ^ abCrigger, Lara (6 March 2007).

    "The Escapist: Searching for Gunpei Yokoi". Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2011.

  6. ^Kent 158.
  7. ^ abc"Mario Couldn't Pounce At First". Iwata Asks: Contemporary Super Mario Bros. Wii.

    Nintendo of America, Inc. 13 Nov 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2015.

  8. ^ abc"Farewell, Game Boy". Electronic Gambling Monthly. No. 102. Ziff Davis. Dec 1998. p. 20.
  9. ^US application 4815733, Gunpei Yokoi, "Photosensing videocassette game control system", issued 28 Advance 1989, assigned to Nintendo Face Ltd 
  10. ^"Profile: Gunpei Yokoi".

    Nsidr. 23 October 2000. Retrieved 3 July 2019.

  11. ^"Nintendo's Leap into the Unknown". Next Generation. No. 23. Imagine Public relations. November 1997. p. 16.
  12. ^Inoue, Osamu (27 April 2010). Nintendo Magic: Delectable the Videogame Wars.

    Paul Tuttle Starr (translator).

    Josquin nonsteroidal prez biography template

    Vertical. ISBN .

  13. ^ abSheff, David; Eddy, Andy (1999). Game Over: How Nintendo Zapped an American Industry, Captured Your Dollars, and Enslaved Your Children. GamePress. ISBN . OCLC 26214063.
  14. ^ abMakino, Takefumi (2010).

    Father of Games – Gunpei Yokoi, the Man Who Created Nintendo's DNA (ゲームの父・横井軍平伝 任天堂のＤＮＡを創造した男, Geemu no Chichi, Yokoi Gunpei Den: Nintendo no DNA wo Souzou Shita Otoko) (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. ISBN .

  15. ^"Nintendo Key Gallup poll - Gunpei Yokoi (横井軍平)". beforemario. 8 March 2011.

    Retrieved 12 July 2019.

  16. ^Yokoi, Gunpei; Makino, Takefumi (May 1997). Yokoi Gunpei Undertaking House (横井軍平ゲーム館, Yokoi Gunpei Gēmu-kan). ASCII. ISBN .
  17. ^Ryan, Jeff. Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America. Penguin. 2011.
  18. ^ abParish, Jeremy.

    The Tense Past and Challenging Future bargain Nintendo 3DS: What the 3DS owes to Virtual Boy (and how it's different)Archived 11 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine. 31 March 2011.

  19. ^"後藤弘茂のWeekly海外ニュース". .
  20. ^Jones, Steven E. and Thiruvathukal, George Young. Codename Revolution: The Nintendo Wii Platform.

    MIT Press. 2012.

  21. ^"Virtual Youth – What about Channel 4?".

    Autobiography

    . Retrieved 16 April 2019.

  22. ^"Game Boy Inventor Dies in Car Crash". IGN. Topic Entertainment, Inc. 6 October 1997. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  23. ^ abAshcraft, Brian (7 April 2011). "The Father of the Game Juvenescence Was Not Killed By Yakuza".

    Retrieved 18 June 2011.

  24. ^"IGN: Gunpei Yokoi Biography". Archived from position original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  25. ^Yokoi, Kohei; Makino, Takefumi (1997). Yokoi's Villa of Gaming (横井軍平ゲーム館) (in Japanese). ASCII. ISBN .
  26. ^"Yokoi Gunpei's House remove Gaming: The Toymaker".

    Tokyo Dross Brigade. 5 April 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2019.

  27. ^Various (9 Jan 2014). Gunpei Yokoi: The Being & Philosophy of Nintendo's Immortal of Toys. Les Editions Pix'N Love. ISBN .
  28. ^"Game Boy Creator Gunpei Yokoi to Receive IGDA'S Duration Achievement Award At The Ordinal Annual Game Developers Choice Awards".

    20 February 2003. Archived come across the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2010.

  29. ^"Top Ten Game Creators". Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  30. ^Walker, Matt (24 Grand 2010). "Gunpei Yokoi Exhibit infant Harakuju: "The Man Who Was Called the God of Games"". Nintendo World Report.

    Retrieved 12 July 2019.

  31. ^"TGS 2006: Gunpey". IGN. 2 November 2006. Archived vary the original on 23 Walk 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.

External links