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Difference between revisions of "Gunpei Yokoi"

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'''Gunpei Yokoi''' (September 10, 1941 – October 4, 1997) was one of [[Nintendo]]'s most famous developers, responsible for famous things such as the [[Game Boy]], [[Game & Watch]], and D-Pad. He was the producer of the famous video game series {{ser|Metroid}}. He also produced ''[[Super Mario Land]]'', ''[[Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins]]'', and ''[[Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3]]''.  Yokoi was also [[Shigeru Miyamoto]]'s mentor.
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'''Gunpei Yokoi''' (September 10, 1941 – October 4, 1997) was a former [[Nintendo]] employee and video game developer, working as the manager for the company's former [[Nintendo Research & Development 1|Research & Development 1]] division, as well as being known as the mentor of [[Shigeru Miyamoto]]. Working at the company for over thirty years, Yokoi is most well-known as the inventor of products such as the [[Game & Watch]] and [[Game Boy]], and as the producer for franchises such as {{ser|Metroid}} and {{ser|Kid Icarus}}.
  
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==History==
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==Biography==
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Born on September 10, 1941, Yokoi was raised in Kyoto, Japan. He began working for [[Nintendo]] in 1965, at the age of 24. He had just graduated from Doshisha University, and got his electronics degree. He wanted to test what he had learned. His original job was the Janitor of Nintendo. However, in 1970, his life would change. While looking around the Nintendo Headquarters, [[Hiroshi Yamauchi]], president of Nintendo at the time, noticed an extending arm toy that Yokoi had made in his spare time called the Ultra Hand. Interested in the product, he told Yokoi to mass-produce and sell it. The Ultra Hand was a huge commercial success, and Yokoi was upgraded to product developer.
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Born on September 10, 1941, Gunpei Yokoi was raised in Kyoto, Japan. After graduating from {{wp|Doshisha University}} with an electronics degree, Yokoi was hired by [[Nintendo]] in 1965 as a maintenance worker. In 1966, while looking around the Nintendo headquarters, president at the time [[Hiroshi Yamauchi]] noticed an extendable arm toy that Yokoi had created in his spare time. Interested in the product, he told Yokoi to mass-produce and sell it. The Ultra Hand was a huge commercial success, and Yokoi worked on a number of additional successful toys, such as the [[Ultra Machine]] and [[Love Tester]].
  
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He continued his toy production, and he became one of the most well-known figures in Nintendo. He then proceeded to use his experience to tutor Miyamoto on the many skills he had learned. In the 1980's, when Nintendo started making video games, Yamauchi wanted to make a handheld system from Nintendo, to make the company more well-known. He gave the project to Gunpei Yokoi, who spent a long time coming up with a console. He noticed a man in a train playing with the buttons on his calculator, and Yokoi got a brilliant idea. He made a small handheld console, with an LCD screen. He called it the [[Game & Watch]]. It became a best-seller, and the games sold more than 40-million worldwide. Gunpei Yokoi eventually became the head of the first-party company, [[Nintendo Research & Development 1|Nintendo R&D1]], which was responsible for the game ''[[Mario Bros.]]''. He eventually created the [[Game Boy]], and he also made the entire line of Game Boy handhelds after that (excluding the [[Game Boy Advance]]), and he also created the characters {{smw|Princess Daisy}}, {{smw|Wario}}, and Pit from ''[[Kid Icarus]]'' to name a few.
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When Nintendo decided to enter the video game market in 1974, Gunpei Yokoi was made one of the company's first video game designers. As a game designer, Yokoi created the [[Game & Watch]] LCD game series, as well as assisting [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] with several of his first projects, such as {{ga|Donkey Kong}} and ''[[Mario Bros.]]'' Yokoi would later be the producer for several of [[Nintendo Research & Development 1|Nintendo R&D1]]'s games, as well as helping in creating the [[Game Boy]] line.
  
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He left Nintendo after the unsuccessful [[Virtual Boy]] console (he was very upset and took very personally the failure of that system), and started working for Koto Laboratory. Sadly, 250 miles northeast of Tokyo, Yokoi died in a car accident while stopping to look at a car accident (which is actually quite a common way to die in a car accident) on October 4, 1997.  His death was broadcast worldwide.  Without Yokoi, gamers around the globe might not have the handheld consoles they know and love today. In 2003, Yokoi posthumously received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards.
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Following the commercial failure of the [[Virtual Boy]], Yokoi left the company in August 1996, after he had completed work on the more successful [[Game Boy Pocket]]. Yokoi had originally wanted to retire at age 50, but work on the Virtual Boy and its failure had pushed his plans back. Yokoi, along with several other former Nintendo employees who had worked under him, went on to found his own company, Koto Laboratory. Under Koto, he worked with {{wp|Bandai}} to create the {{wp|WonderSwan}} handheld console.
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On October 4, 1997, Yokoi rear-ended a truck driving on the {{wp|Hokuriku Expressway}}, 250 miles northeast of Tokyo. While inspecting the damages, he was hit and fatally injured by two passing cars, resulting in his death.
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In 2003, Yokoi posthumously received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards.
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==Products==
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===Toys===
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*[[Ultra Hand]] (1966)
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*[[Ultra Machine]] (1967)
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*[[Ultra Scope]] (1968)
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*[[N&B Block]] (1968)
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*[[Love Tester]] (1969)
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*[[Ele-Conga]] (1970)
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*[[Light Telephone LT]] (1971)
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*[[Lefty RX]] (1972)
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*[[Jet Launcher]] (1974)
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*[[Punchbuoy]] (1975)
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*[[Kôsenjû]] (1975)
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*[[Chiritorie]] (1979)
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*[[Ten Billion]] (1980)
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===Games===
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{{stub|type=section}}
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{| class="wikitable" width="40%"
 +
!Game
 +
!Year
 +
!Console
 +
!Role / credit
 +
|-
 +
|{{ga|Donkey Kong}}
 +
|1981
 +
|Arcade / [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]]
 +
|{{hover|Produced By|Arcade version only}}
 +
|-
 +
|{{ga|Donkey Kong}}
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|1983
 +
|Arcade / NES
 +
|{{hover|Produced By|Arcade version only}}
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Mario Bros.]]''
 +
|1983
 +
|Arcade / NES
 +
|Producer
 +
|-
 +
|{{ga|Metroid}}
 +
|1986
 +
|NES
 +
|Produced By
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Super Mario Land]]''
 +
|1989
 +
|[[Game Boy]]
 +
|Producer
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Dr. Mario]]''
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|1990
 +
|NES / Game Boy
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|Game Designer, {{hover|Producer|Game Boy version only}}
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|-
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|''[[Metroid II: Return of Samus]]''
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|1991
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|Game Boy
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|Producer
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Yoshi's Cookie]]''
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|1992
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|NES / [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]] / Game Boy
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|{{hover|Producer|NES and Game Boy versions only}}
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|-
 +
|''[[Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins]]''
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|1992
 +
|Game Boy
 +
|Producer
 +
|-
 +
|''[[Mario & Wario]]''
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|1993
 +
|SNES
 +
|{{hover|Executive Producer|Credited as "Gumpei Yokoi"}}
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|-
 +
|''[[Super Metroid]]''
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|1994
 +
|SNES
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|{{hover|General Manager|Credited as "Gumpei Yokoi"}}
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|-
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|''[[Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3]]''
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|1994
 +
|Game Boy
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|{{hover|Producer|Credited as "Yokoi Gumpei"}}
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|-
 +
|''[[Tetris & Dr. Mario]]''
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|1994
 +
|SNES
 +
|Design consultant
 +
|-
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|''[[Mario's Tennis]]''
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|1995
 +
|[[Virtual Boy]]
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|{{hover|Producer|Credited as "Yokoi Gumpei"}}
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|-
 +
|''[[Mario Clash]]''
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|1995
 +
|Virtual Boy
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|Producer
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|-
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|''[[Virtual Boy Wario Land]]''
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|1995
 +
|Virtual Boy
 +
|Producer
 +
|-
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|''[[Panel de Pon]]'' / ''[[Tetris Attack]]''
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|1996
 +
|SNES
 +
|{{hover|Executive Producer|Credited as "Gumpei Yokoi"}}
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|-
 +
|''[[3-D Tetris]]''
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|1996
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|Virtual Boy
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|Producer
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|-
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|''[[Dr. Mario 64]]''
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|2001
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|[[Nintendo 64]]
 +
|Original Concept
 +
|-
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|''[[Nintendo Puzzle Collection]]''
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|2003
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|[[Nintendo GameCube]]
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|{{hover|Conception|Dr. Mario}}
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|-
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|}
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==External links==
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{{Otherwikis|Icaruspedia=1|Fire Emblem Wiki=1|Metroid Wiki=1|Super Mario Wiki=1}}
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*{{wp|Gunpei Yokoi|Gunpei Yokoi on Wikipedia}}
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{{-}}
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{{Nintendo staff}}
 
[[Category:People]]
 
[[Category:People]]
 
[[Category:Deceased people]]
 
[[Category:Deceased people]]
 
[[Category:Nintendo of Japan]]
 
[[Category:Nintendo of Japan]]

Latest revision as of 18:41, 3 April 2017

Gunpei Yokoi (September 10, 1941 – October 4, 1997) was a former Nintendo employee and video game developer, working as the manager for the company's former Research & Development 1 division, as well as being known as the mentor of Shigeru Miyamoto. Working at the company for over thirty years, Yokoi is most well-known as the inventor of products such as the Game & Watch and Game Boy, and as the producer for franchises such as Metroid and Kid Icarus.

Biography

Born on September 10, 1941, Gunpei Yokoi was raised in Kyoto, Japan. After graduating from Doshisha University with an electronics degree, Yokoi was hired by Nintendo in 1965 as a maintenance worker. In 1966, while looking around the Nintendo headquarters, president at the time Hiroshi Yamauchi noticed an extendable arm toy that Yokoi had created in his spare time. Interested in the product, he told Yokoi to mass-produce and sell it. The Ultra Hand was a huge commercial success, and Yokoi worked on a number of additional successful toys, such as the Ultra Machine and Love Tester.

When Nintendo decided to enter the video game market in 1974, Gunpei Yokoi was made one of the company's first video game designers. As a game designer, Yokoi created the Game & Watch LCD game series, as well as assisting Shigeru Miyamoto with several of his first projects, such as Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. Yokoi would later be the producer for several of Nintendo R&D1's games, as well as helping in creating the Game Boy line.

Following the commercial failure of the Virtual Boy, Yokoi left the company in August 1996, after he had completed work on the more successful Game Boy Pocket. Yokoi had originally wanted to retire at age 50, but work on the Virtual Boy and its failure had pushed his plans back. Yokoi, along with several other former Nintendo employees who had worked under him, went on to found his own company, Koto Laboratory. Under Koto, he worked with Bandai to create the WonderSwan handheld console.

On October 4, 1997, Yokoi rear-ended a truck driving on the Hokuriku Expressway, 250 miles northeast of Tokyo. While inspecting the damages, he was hit and fatally injured by two passing cars, resulting in his death.

In 2003, Yokoi posthumously received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards.

Products

Toys

Games

NintendoWiki logo.png This section is a stub. You can help NintendoWiki by expanding it.


Game Year Console Role / credit
Donkey Kong 1981 Arcade / NES Produced By
Donkey Kong 1983 Arcade / NES Produced By
Mario Bros. 1983 Arcade / NES Producer
Metroid 1986 NES Produced By
Super Mario Land 1989 Game Boy Producer
Dr. Mario 1990 NES / Game Boy Game Designer, Producer
Metroid II: Return of Samus 1991 Game Boy Producer
Yoshi's Cookie 1992 NES / SNES / Game Boy Producer
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins 1992 Game Boy Producer
Mario & Wario 1993 SNES Executive Producer
Super Metroid 1994 SNES General Manager
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 1994 Game Boy Producer
Tetris & Dr. Mario 1994 SNES Design consultant
Mario's Tennis 1995 Virtual Boy Producer
Mario Clash 1995 Virtual Boy Producer
Virtual Boy Wario Land 1995 Virtual Boy Producer
Panel de Pon / Tetris Attack 1996 SNES Executive Producer
3-D Tetris 1996 Virtual Boy Producer
Dr. Mario 64 2001 Nintendo 64 Original Concept
Nintendo Puzzle Collection 2003 Nintendo GameCube Conception

External links

Niwalogo.png
Gunpei Yokoi on other NIWA Wikis:
Fire Emblem Wiki logo.png
 Fire Emblem Wiki
Icaruspedia logo.png
 Icaruspedia
Metroid Wiki logo.png
 Metroid Wiki
Super Mario Wiki logo.png
 Super Mario Wiki


Nintendo Staff
Related NIWA Wiki
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