The Legacy of Gunpei Yokoi
Gunpei Yokoi is a name that is surrounded by myth. Until recently with the release of Gunpei for DS and PSP, many Americans have only overheard his name as a faint whisper at a loud party. He passed away ten years ago, but his presence is felt throughout Nintendo’s products and legacy. Yokoi was a prolific inventor who is responsible for some of the most radical and profitable contributions to Nintendo such as the Game and Watch series of handheld games and the Gameboy.
He invented the Directional Pad for the Game and Watch system, which was two major breakthroughs at once, the birth of the handheld, and the D-pad being the standard control interface for every controller for every console that has come since. Gunpei was responsible for pushing the NES onto store shelves during the video game crash of the 80's with the help of the Robotic Operational Buddy (R.O.B.). He not only invented hardware, but was responsible for some of the most successful franchises in history including Donkey Kong, Mario Bros., Kid Icarus, Fire Emblem and Metroid.
Not all of his inventions were successful, his career took a serious blow when the Virtual Boy flopped. He spent the rest of his time trying to reclaim the success of his past. He left Nintendo in 1996 to start a development firm called Koto Laboratories. Koto partnered with Bandai to work on a Gameboy competitor named the WonderSwan.
His passing was sudden, as he was hit by a truck on the freeway at the age of 56 in 1997. In 2003, he received a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developers Conference.
Yokoi was a visionary inventor and influential thinker who shaped the philosophy of Nintendo. He believed that customers prefer affordable products with fun gameplay over cutting edge technology which he named, "Lateral Thinking of Withered Technology." When you look at the current gen systems, his philosophy can be felt post-mortem with the release of the DS and the Wii.
For a fascinating look into his life as a designer, check out the Lara Crigger's essay at the Escapist on Gunpei's life.
Searching for Gunpei Yokoi [The Escapist]
Toots
Posted to Video Games on 7 March 2007
· Comments (1)
Other stuff like this: gameboy, Gunpei Yokoi, icon, inventor, nintendo, virtual boy
Man, 10 years... It seems like only yesterday when I got the news. This man was one of the few who believed in our industry when nobody else did. Him and Miyamoto should be credited for ending the video game recession. Damn I miss him.
Somebody had to take the bullet for the Virtual Bore though, he *is* japanese after all. I kid, I kid...