Gunpei Yokoi

Gunpei Yokoi , (横井軍平 Yokoi Gunpei , September 10th 1941 - October 4th 1997) is a multiform personality of the Video game, inventor (amongst other things) of the Game & Watch, Game Boy but also of the Virtual Boy.

Beginnings

He is engaged by Hiroshi Yamauchi, the president of Nintendo, in order to assist the president of the department " Jeux" lately created in the company. As of the Years 1970, Gunpei meets success with the Ultra Hand , arm electronic which is sold to 1,2 million units. Then comes the Ultra Machine , a launcher of balls of Base-ball, the Ultra Scope , glasses of vision to 360 degrees, which are as much of success. Gunpei took part at the time ostentation of Nintendo in the toy, and will direct Nintendo towards Sharp and its Photopile S. Gunpei will use them for optical guns which meet a great success. Meanwhile, Gunpei will invent the Lover To test , which causes a true passion.

Successes

At the beginning of the Years 1980, Hiroshi Yamauchi decides to occupy the field of the video games, in full expansion. Gunpei Yokoi, become a key man at Nintendo, is seen entrusting this task. With its own development team, it creates the Game & Watch, mini plays with posting LCD. Very autonomous, those constitute the first success of Nintendo in the video games. They will be planetary success with Donkey Kong , the creation of Shigeru Miyamoto.

In the middle of the Eighties, the considerable success of the Famicom sees the creation of three research units. Gunpei takes the command of the first. At its head it will develop many plays, for the majority become legendary, on Famicom and its add one the Famicom Disk System: Kid Icarus, Metroid, Excitebike, Clu Clu Land, Ice Climber, Balloon Fight… In 1989, the Game Boy, project of its invention, is marketed and is a success which impresses all the actors of the industry of the time. The section R & D 1, beside creations of Miyamoto, connect the plays worships on Game Boy and Super Famicom: Super Mario Land, Metroid II, Mario Paint…

In 1993, Gunpei Yokoi starts the design of the Virtual Boy. During its development, Gunpei adopts a severe standpoint with respect to the Nintendo 64, which one still called at the time " Ultra 64" . The commercial failure resounding of Virtual Boy completes to call in question the career of Gunpei within Nintendo.

After Nintendo

In 1996, after the marketing of Game Boy Pocket, it resigns and founds its company, Koto Laboratory, producing plays for Nintendo and collaborating with Bandai in the development of the WonderSwan. He dies one year later, the October 4th 1997, mown by a car after a fixing.

Its career is marked by the taste for danger, but there remains little known today, in spite of a recent homage of Shigeru Miyamoto. The first play of the WonderSwan, created by Koto, is called Gunpey, in its honor. Gunpei Yokoi is also quoted on a purely posthumous basis in the credits of end of Metroid Prime.

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