Gunpei Yokoi

Name: Gunpei Yokoi
Birth/Death: 9/10/1941–10/4/97

Occupation/Title: Game Deigner, Game Producer, General Manager, Founder of KOTO Laboratory

Bio Summary: Gunpei Yokoi was a Nintendo employee who was responsible for a long list of successful toys, video game hardware, and software. He is most notably recognized as the creator of the Game Boy and its predecessor Game and Watch. However, he provided Nintendo with a plethora of unique inventions that allowed the company to gain a strong foothold on the market. Without his designs and ideas, Nintendo would not be where it is today. From the overlooked refinement of the cross-shaped d-pad to the well loved original Game Boy, Gunpei yielded solid products that have shaped the way we see games. Though despite all of his success, his reputation suffered severely after the failure of his 32-bit Virtual Boy console. This led to him resigning from Nintendo and starting his own company with handheld peripherals in mind. Unfortunately, his career came to an abrupt end when he was killed in a car accident, two years before his latest project was released.

Early Life/Family: Little to no information of his personal life before 1965. Born to a wealthy pharmaceutical factory owner during World War II.

Education/Training: Graduated from Doshisha University in Kyoto with a degree in electronics.

Career Outline: -Starts off at Nintendo as an assembly line worker after graduating in 1965. -In 1969 after hearing that Gunpei liked to make gadgets, president of Nintendo Hiroshi Yamauchi asks him to provide a toy for Christmas. Gunpei provides his own personal invention, the Ultra Hand. -Gunpei continues to develop toys for Nintendo after the success of Ultra Hand. -Game and Watch, a small handheld game, is launched in 1980 as Nintendo enters the Video Game Market. -With the help of Shigeru Miyamoto, Gunpei develops Donkey Kong for the Arcade. Shortly afterwards, the pair produced Mario Brothers. -After designing a series of games for the Famicom including Metroid, Gunpei releases the handheld peripheral known as Game Boy in 1989. -After 2 years of development, Nintendo releases Gunpei’s 32-bit Virtual Boy console. It proves to be an utter failure and it crushes Gunpei. -Gunpei resigns from Nintendo on August 15, 1996. -Soon after leaving, he founds Koto Laboratory in Kyoto where he begins developing a new handheld known as the WonderSwan. -Gunpei is killed in a car accident on October 4 1997, two years before the release of the WonderSwan.

Impact on Gaming: Though he is widely unheard of, his contributions to the Video Game Industry is vast, to say the least. Before his successful Game Boy, Gunpei designed the Game and Watch handheld that included a refined cross shaped d-pad. The d-pad would become a standard feature in all the home console controllers. Gunpei also designed the standard controller and ray guns for the Famicom system. The robotic marketing project known as R.O.B was another crafty invention by Gunpei. However, he will always be associated with the handheld triumph of the Game Boy.

Personality: Gunpei Yokoi was humble and passionate about his work and it shows in his impressive list of wonderful contributions to the gaming world. He never pursued credit and fame for his inventions and designs, yet he deserves so much recognition for the legacy he left behind.

Anecdotes: -Gunpei’s Ultra Hand was a gadget that he already invented in his spare time before handing the product over to Nintendo. -Before developing toys for Nintendo, he was the only employee working in the department designated for assembly line maintenance. He was also the head of the department. -His inspiration for Game and Watch came from watching a bored business man playing with a calculator on a train. -Gunpei mentored Shigeru Miyamoto, together they made Donkey Kong and Mario Brothers.

Miscellaneous:

Gameography

Bibliographic References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpei_Yokoi
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_129/2744-Searching-for-Gunpei-Yokoi
http://www.virtual-boy.org/gunpei%20yokoi.htm
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=387069&lastnode_id=124
http://www.igda.org/wiki/Memorials/Gunpei_Yokoi
(Mechanical Toys/ Gadgets and Gameography list came directly from the Gunpei Yokoi memorial link, listed above)

Contributors to this listing: Javier Lazo

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