Nagi Nemoto (根本 凪, Nemoto Nagi; born 15 March 1999) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actress, and VTuber, affiliated…
Nagi Nemoto (根本 凪, Nemoto Nagi; born 15 March 1999) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actress, and VTuber, affiliated with DearStage. After becoming interested in Dempagumi.inc, she later joined Niji no Conquistador in 2014 and eventually Dempagumi.inc itself in 2017, remaining with both of them until 2022. She began working as a VTuber that year, has released two EPs: Lume di Spica (2022) and Due Stelle (2023), and joined Kiyoshi Ryujin 25 in 2024. She has also done some work in acting, including a starring role as Yutori Kokorogi in the 2017 drama adaptation of Tomodachi Game, as well as in songwriting, gravure modeling and costume design.
Famous Japanese People: Creator
Creator: 86 people
Miyu Takeuchi (竹内 美宥, Takeuchi Miyu; born January 12, 1996, in Tokyo, Japan), known professionally as MiyuMiyu, is a…
Miyu Takeuchi (竹内 美宥, Takeuchi Miyu; born January 12, 1996, in Tokyo, Japan), known professionally as MiyuMiyu, is a Japanese singer and YouTuber. She is a former member of AKB48.
Hiroaki Nakabayashi (Japanese: 中林宏明; born September 5, 1988) better known as Bayashi or Bayashi TV, is a Japanese…
Hiroaki Nakabayashi (Japanese: 中林宏明; born September 5, 1988) better known as Bayashi or Bayashi TV, is a Japanese YouTuber and TikToker. Known for his short-form mukbang and cooking videos, he has garnered a large following on social media with millions of followers across various platforms. He first joined YouTube in early January 2021 and TikTok in February 2020, uploading cooking tutorials and food ASMR videos on both.
Tatsuo Nomura (野村 達雄, Nomura Tatsuo; born 1986) is a Japanese software developer. Born in China with partial Japanese…
Tatsuo Nomura (野村 達雄, Nomura Tatsuo; born 1986) is a Japanese software developer. Born in China with partial Japanese descent, he moved to Japan as a child and studied computer science. He worked in the Google Maps development team before moving to Niantic Labs, where he directed the augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go.
Bingo Morihashi (森橋 ビンゴ) is a Japanese novelist. He also contributed to writing the video game franchise Devil May Cry…
Bingo Morihashi (森橋 ビンゴ) is a Japanese novelist. He also contributed to writing the video game franchise Devil May Cry, its television anime series, as well as two light novels based on it.
Kazutaka Kodaka (Japanese: 小高 和剛, Hepburn: Kodaka Kazutaka; born July 8, 1978) is a Japanese video game designer…
Kazutaka Kodaka (Japanese: 小高 和剛, Hepburn: Kodaka Kazutaka; born July 8, 1978) is a Japanese video game designer, writer, and manga artist. His work is known for recurring themes of contrasting hope and despair, luck and talent, truth and lies, and mixing tragedy with dark humor, as well as using numerous plot twists. He was an employee of Spike Chunsoft (formerly Spike) and is widely known as the creator and writer of the Danganronpa franchise. He left the company in 2017 and founded Too Kyo Games with other ex-employees.
Noizi Ito (いとうのいぢ, Itō Noiji; born August 9, 1977) is a Japanese light novel and video game artist. She is employed by…
Noizi Ito (いとうのいぢ, Itō Noiji; born August 9, 1977) is a Japanese light novel and video game artist. She is employed by the H-game maker UNiSONSHIFT and is a part of the circle Fujitsubo-Machine. Unlike most romanized Japanese words and names, Noizi Ito's name uses the Kunrei-shiki romanization form. Ito is well known for her work as the character designer and artist for the Shakugan no Shana novel series which spawned a manga and anime series. She has also worked on the Haruhi Suzumiya novel series along with its author Nagaru Tanigawa. Their work has also led to an anime television series titled after the first book in the series, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. She is also the character designer for the 2012 anime series Another and for the Virtual YouTuber Tenjin Kotone.
Masayoshi Yokoyama (横山 昌義 Yokoyama Masayoshi, born June 30, 1976) is a Japanese game producer, director and writer for…
Masayoshi Yokoyama (横山 昌義 Yokoyama Masayoshi, born June 30, 1976) is a Japanese game producer, director and writer for Sega, more specifically Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, a studio within Sega Development Division 1, where he's been the head of the division and studio since 2021. He is mainly known for his work on the Yakuza series, where he has been working since the very beginning as a writer, and later on as a producer.
Jun Maeda (麻枝 准, Maeda Jun; born January 3, 1975) is a Japanese writer and composer. He is a co-founder of the visual…
Jun Maeda (麻枝 准, Maeda Jun; born January 3, 1975) is a Japanese writer and composer. He is a co-founder of the visual novel brand Key under Visual Arts. He is considered a pioneer of nakige visual novels, and has mainly contributed as a scenario writer, lyricist, and musical composer for the games the company produces. After graduating with a degree in psychology from Chukyo University, Maeda contributed to the scripts and scores of games released under the Tactics brand of Nexton: Moon and One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e. He has contributed both to writing music and scripts to most games released under the Key brand, notably writing the majority of Air and Clannad. He also served as a screenwriter and composer for several anime series produced by P.A. Works, such as Angel Beats! and Charlotte.
Minoru Kawakami (川上稔, Kawakami Minoru) is a Japanese author of light novels, best known as the author of the Horizon in…
Minoru Kawakami (川上稔, Kawakami Minoru) is a Japanese author of light novels, best known as the author of the Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere and The Ending Chronicle light novel series.
Motoi Okamoto is a Japanese video game producer, programmer and writer. He joined Nintendo in April 1999. Initially, he…
Motoi Okamoto is a Japanese video game producer, programmer and writer. He joined Nintendo in April 1999. Initially, he provided library support on Luigi's Mansion (2001), subsequently assisting other projects like Pikmin (2001), Pikmin 2 (2004), The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002), and Super Mario 64 DS (2004). In 2006 he directed Wii Play. He left the company in May 2008 and founded Entersphere, an independent studio which developed Army Corps of Hell (2011) for the PlayStation Vita. In June 2019 he joined Konami and was put in charge of the Silent Hill series. He subsequently served as series producer for Silent Hill: Ascension, director, producer, designer and writer for Silent Hill: The Short Message (2024), producer for Silent Hill 2 (remake), Silent Hill f, and Silent Hill: Townfall. He also worked on Return to Silent Hill alongside Akira Yamaoka as executive producers.
Hidetaka Miyazaki (Japanese: 宮崎 英高, Hepburn: Miyazaki Hidetaka; born September 19, 1974) is a Japanese video game…
Hidetaka Miyazaki (Japanese: 宮崎 英高, Hepburn: Miyazaki Hidetaka; born September 19, 1974) is a Japanese video game director, designer, writer, and president of the game developer FromSoftware. He joined the company in 2004 and was a designer for the Armored Core series before receiving wider recognition for creating the Dark Souls series. Miyazaki was promoted to company president in 2014 and also serves as its representative director. Other similar games he has directed include Demon's Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring. Miyazaki's influences range across the works of various novelists, manga artists, and game designers such as Fumito Ueda and Yuji Horii. His games often invoke the use of high difficulty and narratives presented largely through flavor text and environmental cues as opposed to dialogue. Regarded as an auteur of video games, Miyazaki's works have been cited as among the greatest in the medium, leading to the creation of the Soulslike subgenre.
Daisuke Watanabe (渡辺 大祐, Watanabe Daisuke) is a Japanese video game writer employed by Square Enix. He is mostly known…
Daisuke Watanabe (渡辺 大祐, Watanabe Daisuke) is a Japanese video game writer employed by Square Enix. He is mostly known for his work on the role-playing video game series Final Fantasy and the action RPG series Kingdom Hearts.
Ryozo Tsujimoto (辻本良三, Tsujimoto Ryozo) (born October 18, 1973) is a Japanese video game producer and game designer. He…
Ryozo Tsujimoto (辻本良三, Tsujimoto Ryozo) (born October 18, 1973) is a Japanese video game producer and game designer. He is currently an Executive Corporate Officer at Capcom. He is also the son of Capcom founder and CEO Kenzo Tsujimoto, and the younger brother of President and COO Haruhiro Tsujimoto.
Hiroyuki Gotō (後藤 裕之, Gotō Hiroyuki) recited pi from memory to 42,195 decimal places at NHK Broadcasting Centre, Tokyo…
Hiroyuki Gotō (後藤 裕之, Gotō Hiroyuki) recited pi from memory to 42,195 decimal places at NHK Broadcasting Centre, Tokyo on 18 February 1995. This set the world record at the time, which was held for more than a decade until Lu Chao beat it in 2005. Goto was born in Tokyo, Japan. He is a game designer at Namco. He is the creator of word puzzle video game Kotoba no Puzzle Moji Pittan, which was released as an arcade game in 2001 and later become available for various console and portable gaming systems.
Kunichi Nomura (野村 訓市, Nomura Kun'ichi; born April 10, 1974) is a Japanese writer, actor, radio personality, book…
Kunichi Nomura (野村 訓市, Nomura Kun'ichi; born April 10, 1974) is a Japanese writer, actor, radio personality, book editor, interior designer, creative director, and DJ from Tokyo, Japan.
Hideki Sakamoto (坂本 英城, Sakamoto Hideki) is a Japanese music composer, best known for his contributions in video games.…
Hideki Sakamoto (坂本 英城, Sakamoto Hideki) is a Japanese music composer, best known for his contributions in video games. He serves as the representative director of Noisycroak, a Tokyo-based sound design company focused on game soundtracks. Echochrome II holds the Guinness World Record for the longest single musical track in a video game, lasting 75 minutes and 7 seconds.
Tsuyoshi Shinjo (新庄 剛志, Shinjō Tsuyoshi; January 28, 1972), also known during the 2022 Nippon Professional Baseball…
Tsuyoshi Shinjo (新庄 剛志, Shinjō Tsuyoshi; January 28, 1972), also known during the 2022 Nippon Professional Baseball season as BIGBOSS (ビッグボス, Biggubosu), is a former Japanese professional baseball outfielder and the current manager for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Shinjo began his playing career with the Hanshin Tigers, and moved to the United States to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets. He is the second Japanese-born position player to play an MLB game, as well as the first in the National League. In 2002, he joined the San Francisco Giants and was the first Japanese-born player to appear in the World Series. He had a second stint with the Mets in 2003, and returned to Japan to play for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, with whom he won the Japan Series in his final season.
Yoshihisa "Kowloon" Kurosawa (黒沢 喜久, Kurosawa Yoshihisa) (born 1971) is a Japanese businessman, essayist, and…
Yoshihisa "Kowloon" Kurosawa (黒沢 喜久, Kurosawa Yoshihisa) (born 1971) is a Japanese businessman, essayist, and nonfiction writer from Tokyo, Japan. He is best known for being the designer of Hong Kong 97 on the Super Famicom, which is considered to be one of the worst video games ever made. Currently, he writes underground travel journals and computer books in Asia, and resides in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Junya Inoue (井上 淳哉, Inoue Jun'ya; born 1971 in Shimanto, Kochi) is a Japanese manga artist. He is also known by the…
Junya Inoue (井上 淳哉, Inoue Jun'ya; born 1971 in Shimanto, Kochi) is a Japanese manga artist. He is also known by the name Joker Jun. In 1991 he replied to a recruitment ad for Toaplan. Along with some other staff Inoue was transferred to Gazelle before he left to join Cave, where he worked as character and graphic designer, sound producer, and a video game director. ESP Ra.De. was his first title as graphic director. He debuted as a manga artist in 2002, with his work Otogi Matsuri (おとぎ奉り; lit. Dark Offering). He is best known in the West for his manga Btooom!, which was serialized from 2009 to 2018.
Atsushi Inaba (稲葉 敦志, Inaba Atsushi; born August 28, 1971) is a Japanese video game producer. He was the former CEO and…
Atsushi Inaba (稲葉 敦志, Inaba Atsushi; born August 28, 1971) is a Japanese video game producer. He was the former CEO and producer of the Capcom subsidiary Clover Studio, who developed the games Viewtiful Joe, Ōkami, and God Hand. He is currently the head producer at the development division at PlatinumGames and the CEO since 2021, after years being vice-president in the company.
Shu Takumi (巧 舟, Takumi Shū; born 2 May 1971) is a Japanese video game designer, director, and writer at Capcom. He is…
Shu Takumi (巧 舟, Takumi Shū; born 2 May 1971) is a Japanese video game designer, director, and writer at Capcom. He is best known for his work on the Ace Attorney series, serving as director and scenario writer for the original trilogy. In addition, he provided the Japanese voice of Phoenix Wright for the first four games. He then served as director and scenario writer for Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective in 2010.
Yasuyuki Honne (本根 康之, Honne Yasuyuki; born March 5, 1971) is a video game artist, director and producer. He was…
Yasuyuki Honne (本根 康之, Honne Yasuyuki; born March 5, 1971) is a video game artist, director and producer. He was employed by Square from 1993 to 1999 and is now working at Monolith Soft. He is known for his work on the Chrono series, Xeno games and Baten Kaitos series.
Yusuke Naora (直良 有祐, Naora Yūsuke) (born January 9, 1971) is a Japanese video game art director and character designer…
Yusuke Naora (直良 有祐, Naora Yūsuke) (born January 9, 1971) is a Japanese video game art director and character designer who worked for Square Enix (formerly Square). A former member of Toaplan, Naora served as the art director for several Final Fantasy and Compilation of Final Fantasy VII titles. He also served as the producer of the Code Age franchise. On October 1, 2016 he announced on Twitter that he had left the company, but would continue to contribute to Square Enix games as a freelancer.
Hiroshi Matsuyama (Japanese: 松山洋), born in November 23, 1970 in Fukuoka, is a Japanese game designer. He is the CEO of…
Hiroshi Matsuyama (Japanese: 松山洋), born in November 23, 1970 in Fukuoka, is a Japanese game designer. He is the CEO of the company CyberConnect2. He developed multiple games including the .hack franchise as well as adaptations of the anime series including Naruto and Dragon Ball. Besides developing games, Matsuyama has participated in directing two .hack films as well as voicing a character from the series.
Tetsuya Nomura (野村 哲也, Nomura Tetsuya; born October 8, 1970) is a Japanese video game artist, designer, producer, and…
Tetsuya Nomura (野村 哲也, Nomura Tetsuya; born October 8, 1970) is a Japanese video game artist, designer, producer, and director working for Square Enix. He was hired by Square initially as a monster designer for Final Fantasy V (1992), before being shifted towards secondary character designer alongside Yoshitaka Amano for Final Fantasy VI (1994). Final Fantasy VII (1997) had him working in the original story alongside Hironobu Sakaguchi, and marked his debut as the lead character designer, a capacity he would retain for several future installments of the series, as well as other Square Enix titles such as The Bouncer and The World Ends with You. He also created the characters Cactuar, Gilgamesh, and Tonberry. Nomura created and has led the development as director and character designer of the Kingdom Hearts series since its inception in 2002. He has also been a creative producer in The World Ends with You series. He has directed the 2005 film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, and directed Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020), and served as creative director for the sequels Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (2024) and Final Fantasy VII Revelation (2027).
Masahiro Sakurai (桜井 政博, Sakurai Masahiro; born August 3, 1970) is a Japanese video game director and game designer…
Masahiro Sakurai (桜井 政博, Sakurai Masahiro; born August 3, 1970) is a Japanese video game director and game designer best known as the creator of the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series. Apart from his work on those series, he also led the design of Meteos in 2005 and directed Kid Icarus: Uprising in 2012. Formerly an employee of HAL Laboratory, Sakurai left the company in 2003 and in 2005 with his wife Michiko Sakurai (also ex-HAL Laboratory) founded their company Sora Ltd., under which they work on a freelance basis. He was also an author of a weekly column for Famitsu magazine from 2003 to 2021, and has done voice acting work in some of his games, most notably providing the voice of King Dedede in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards and the Super Smash Bros. series. From 2022 to 2024, Sakurai ran an educational YouTube channel, Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games, which discussed various topics in game design and his career.
Chiyomaru Shikura (志倉千代丸, Shikura Chiyomaru; born July 3, 1970) is a Japanese video game writer, lyricist and composer.…
Chiyomaru Shikura (志倉千代丸, Shikura Chiyomaru; born July 3, 1970) is a Japanese video game writer, lyricist and composer. He is the executive producer and former chairman of Mages. He planned and wrote the 2008 visual novel Chaos;Head, and subsequently other works in the Science Adventure series including Steins;Gate. He has also been credited with composing the opening and ending songs of the Science Adventure series.
Yoko Taro (横尾 太郎, Yokoo Tarō; born June 6, 1970) is a Japanese director and scenario writer for video games. Starting…
Yoko Taro (横尾 太郎, Yokoo Tarō; born June 6, 1970) is a Japanese director and scenario writer for video games. Starting his career at the now defunct game developer Cavia, his best-known work is on the action role-playing video game series Drakengard, and its spin-offs, Nier and Nier: Automata. Yoko was born in Nagoya, Aichi, and studied at the Kobe Design University in the 1990s. While he did not initially intend to pursue a career in video games, after working at Namco and Sony, he joined Cavia and became the director and scenario writer for the first Drakengard game. He has since worked extensively on every game in the series (except Drakengard 2), and on mobile titles after becoming a freelancer following Cavia's absorption into AQ Interactive. Furthermore, Yoko Taro has been assigned as the writer of the upcoming Neon Genesis Evangelion series teased in 2026. Critics have noted Yoko's unconventional game design and writing style. One of the main aspects of his work is exploring the darker aspects of humanity, such as why they are motivated to kill each other, although he typically does not share a common opinion on his story's dark natures. His writing technique, described as "backwards scriptwriting", involves outlining the ending of the story first and building the narrative backward from that point. Due to his disdain for being photographed, he generally wears a mask when giving interviews or presenting games.
Kenji Eno (飯野賢治, Japanese pronunciation: [iꜜːno̞ ke̞ꜜɲd͡ʑi], Iino Kenji; May 5, 1970 – February 20, 2013) was a…
Kenji Eno (飯野賢治, Japanese pronunciation: [iꜜːno̞ ke̞ꜜɲd͡ʑi], Iino Kenji; May 5, 1970 – February 20, 2013) was a Japanese musician and video game designer. He gained a reputation as a maverick during the mid-1990s for creating unorthodox games like Real Sound and is perhaps best remembered today for his rebellious marketing techniques. Outside of his homeland he was best known for his survival horror video games, D and Enemy Zero. Apart from creating video games, Eno was also a well-regarded electronic musician and he created the scores for several of his games. Eno founded the video game development companies EIM, Warp (later called Super Warp), and From Yellow to Orange. He also worked in a variety of fields apart from video games and music including the automotive, cellphone, tobacco, and hotel industries.
Takashi Iizuka (飯塚 隆, Iizuka Takashi) (born March 16, 1970) is a Japanese video game director, producer, designer and…
Takashi Iizuka (飯塚 隆, Iizuka Takashi) (born March 16, 1970) is a Japanese video game director, producer, designer and screenwriter. Since 2008, Iizuka has been the lead producer for the Sonic the Hedgehog series at Sega, as well as the head of Sonic Team. Iizuka has been credited on most mainline games in the Sonic series since 1992.
Takayuki Ohira (大平 貴之, Ōhira Takayuki; born March 11, 1970) is a Japanese engineer and the creator of the Megastar, a…
Takayuki Ohira (大平 貴之, Ōhira Takayuki; born March 11, 1970) is a Japanese engineer and the creator of the Megastar, a planetarium projector which was recorded in Guinness World Records as the planetarium projector that can project the highest number of stars in the world. Ohira has also designed the Sega Homestar, a home planetarium projector for Sega. According to the Japan Planetarium Association, the popularity of this educational toy has contributed to an increase in visitors to full-sized planetaria in Japan. The newest model, released in 2019, is called Homestar Flux.
Keiichirō Toyama (外山 圭一郎, Toyama Keiichirō; born 1970) is a Japanese video game director and designer. He is the…
Keiichirō Toyama (外山 圭一郎, Toyama Keiichirō; born 1970) is a Japanese video game director and designer. He is the creator of the Silent Hill, Siren and Gravity Rush franchises.
Dance Dance Revolution (ダンスダンスレボリューション, Dansu Dansu Reboryūshon) (abbreviated DDR; also called DanRevo, Dance Revo, or…
Dance Dance Revolution (ダンスダンスレボリューション, Dansu Dansu Reboryūshon) (abbreviated DDR; also called DanRevo, Dance Revo, or DanceRevo; stylized as DanceDanceRevolution since SuperNOVA) is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, Dance Dance Revolution is the pioneering series of the rhythm and dance genre in video games. Players stand on a "dance platform" or stage and hit colored arrows laid out in a cross with their feet to musical and visual cues. Players are judged by how well they time their dance to the patterns presented to them and are allowed to choose more music to play to if they receive a passing score. Dance Dance Revolution has been met with critical acclaim for its originality and stamina in the video game market, as well as popularizing the use of videogames as a medium for fitness and exercise. There have been dozens of arcade-based releases across several countries and hundreds of home video game console releases, promoting a music library of original songs produced by Konami's in-house artists and an eclectic set of licensed music from many different genres. The game is also known for its passionate fanbase, as well as its growing competitive tournament scene. The DDR series has also inspired similar games such as Pump it Up by Andamiro and In the Groove by Roxor Games. The series' current arcade version is Dance Dance Revolution World, released on June 12, 2024.
Akihiro Hino (日野 晃博, Hino Akihiro; born July 20, 1968) is a Japanese video game designer, producer, scriptwriter, and…
Akihiro Hino (日野 晃博, Hino Akihiro; born July 20, 1968) is a Japanese video game designer, producer, scriptwriter, and businessman. He is the founder, president, and chief executive officer of Level-5. Hino has held multiple roles in game development, including programming, scenario writing, directing, and executive production.
Kenji Ito (伊藤 賢治, Itō Kenji; born July 5, 1968), also known by the nickname Itoken (イトケン), is a Japanese video game…
Kenji Ito (伊藤 賢治, Itō Kenji; born July 5, 1968), also known by the nickname Itoken (イトケン), is a Japanese video game composer and musician. He is best known for his work on the Mana and SaGa series, though he has worked on over 30 video games throughout his career as well as composed or arranged music for over 15 other albums, concerts, and plays. He learned to play several instruments at a young age, and joined Square directly out of college as a composer in 1990 at the advice of a professor. He worked there for over a decade, composing many of his best-known scores. In 2001, he left Square to become a freelance composer, but has since continued to collaborate with the company. Since leaving Square, Ito has composed soundtracks to over a dozen games, and has branched out into composition and production of music for plays and albums for other performers. Ito's work has been performed in a concert dedicated to his pieces as well as general video game music events, and he has played the piano in additional concerts. Pieces of his from the SaGa and Mana series have been arranged as piano solos and published in sheet music books.
Yoshiaki Koizumi (小泉 歓晃, Koizumi Yoshiaki; born April 29, 1968) is a Japanese video game designer, director, producer…
Yoshiaki Koizumi (小泉 歓晃, Koizumi Yoshiaki; born April 29, 1968) is a Japanese video game designer, director, producer, and business executive. He is a senior executive officer at Nintendo and a senior general manager at Nintendo EPD, where he is known for his work within their Mario and The Legend of Zelda series, and as the General Producer of the Nintendo Switch. In 2009, he was chosen by IGN as one of the top 100 game creators of all time. Koizumi is also on the board of directors of Nintendo Pictures.
Junichi Masuda (増田 順一, Masuda Jun'ichi; born January 12, 1968) is a Japanese video game composer, director, designer…
Junichi Masuda (増田 順一, Masuda Jun'ichi; born January 12, 1968) is a Japanese video game composer, director, designer, producer, singer, programmer and trombonist, best known for his work in the Pokémon franchise. He was a member of Game Freak where he was an employee and executive at the company since 1989 after Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori founded it, starting as a music composer. In 2022, Masuda was appointed to be Chief Creative Fellow at The Pokémon Company. With the development of new Pokémon games, Masuda took new roles in future projects. He began to produce and direct games, starting with Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and became responsible for approving new character models. His style seeks to keep games accessible while still adding increasing levels of complexity. His work sticks to older mainstays of the series, including a focus on handheld game consoles and 2D graphics. His music draws inspiration from the work of celebrated modern composers like Dmitri Shostakovich, though he used the Super Mario series as a model of good video game composition.
Akira Nishitani (西谷 亮, Nishitani Akira), also known as "Nin-Nin" or simply "Pom G", is a Japanese game director, game…
Akira Nishitani (西谷 亮, Nishitani Akira), also known as "Nin-Nin" or simply "Pom G", is a Japanese game director, game designer and character designer. Nishitani started working for Capcom in 1986, where he became mostly known for designing Street Fighter II and Final Fight alongside Akira Yasuda, aka Akiman. In 1995, he left Capcom to found his own company, Arika, whose first works were on the Street Fighter EX series that they developed for Capcom.
Kazunori Yamauchi (山内 一典, Yamauchi Kazunori; born August 5, 1967), nicknamed "Kaz", is a Japanese game designer for…
Kazunori Yamauchi (山内 一典, Yamauchi Kazunori; born August 5, 1967), nicknamed "Kaz", is a Japanese game designer for Sony Interactive Entertainment and racing driver. He is the CEO of Polyphony Digital and producer of the Gran Turismo sim racing series.
Tomonobu Itagaki (板垣 伴信, Itagaki Tomonobu; April 1, 1967 – c. October 2025) was a Japanese video game designer best…
Tomonobu Itagaki (板垣 伴信, Itagaki Tomonobu; April 1, 1967 – c. October 2025) was a Japanese video game designer best known for creating the Dead or Alive series and also reviving the Ninja Gaiden franchise in 2004. In 2009, he was chosen by IGN as one of the top 100 game creators of all time. Joining Tecmo in 1992, Itagaki produced two video game franchises that were critical and commercial successes, earning him several promotions; he headed Tecmo's development team, Team Ninja, and sat on the executive board. He left the company in June 2008 after 16 years of service, filing a lawsuit against its new president for withholding bonus pay. He formed a new company, Valhalla Game Studios, with several Team Ninja members and released Devil's Third. The company was dissolved in December 2021, although he had formed Itagaki Games earlier in 2021. Itagaki died in October 2025 at the age of 58.
Jiro Ishii (イシイジロウ, Ishii Jirō) is a Japanese video game developer and television and anime producer. He is best known…
Jiro Ishii (イシイジロウ, Ishii Jirō) is a Japanese video game developer and television and anime producer. He is best known for directing the live-action visual novel 428: Shibuya Scramble, producing the adventure video game Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, and creating the original concept for the anime short Under the Dog which was funded on Kickstarter.
Takaya Imamura (今村 孝矢, Imamura Takaya; born April 10, 1966) is a Japanese video game designer, manga artist and…
Takaya Imamura (今村 孝矢, Imamura Takaya; born April 10, 1966) is a Japanese video game designer, manga artist and educator. From 1989 to 2021, Imamura worked at Nintendo, where he designed the characters and story of F-Zero, including Captain Falcon, and most of the supporting characters from the Star Fox series of video games. He also played a role in designing games in the Legend of Zelda series, such as The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, invented the character Tingle, and served as supervising producer for F-Zero GX.
Ken Sugimori (Japanese: 杉森 建, Hepburn: Sugimori Ken; born January 27, 1966) is a Japanese video game designer…
Ken Sugimori (Japanese: 杉森 建, Hepburn: Sugimori Ken; born January 27, 1966) is a Japanese video game designer, illustrator, manga artist, director, and co-founder of Game Freak alongside Satoshi Tajiri. He is best known as the primary character designer and art director for the Pokémon franchise. Sugimori is also credited with the art direction for other titles, including Pulseman. Sugimori drew and finalized most of the original 151 Pokémon. He also co-directed Ruby and Sapphire, Diamond and Pearl and Black and White, as well as worked on various Pokémon films, trading cards, and other games like the Super Smash Bros. series.
Takashi Tokita (時田 貴司, Tokita Takashi) (born 24 January 1965) is a Japanese video game developer working for Square…
Takashi Tokita (時田 貴司, Tokita Takashi) (born 24 January 1965) is a Japanese video game developer working for Square Enix. He has worked there since 1986 and has worked as the lead designer for Final Fantasy IV as well as the director of Live A Live, Parasite Eve and Chrono Trigger.
Yasumi Matsuno (松野 泰己, Matsuno Yasumi; born 1965) is a Japanese video game designer and writer. Matsuno was first…
Yasumi Matsuno (松野 泰己, Matsuno Yasumi; born 1965) is a Japanese video game designer and writer. Matsuno was first introduced to video games in arcades while waiting for the train, and first played Space Invaders and Xevious there. He attended Hosei University for foreign policy but dropped out, and after working for a time as an economic reporter, he joined Quest Corporation. As an employee at video game companies Quest in 1989 and later Square in 1995, Matsuno became well known for his work in the tactical role-playing game genre, specifically the Ogre Battle (1993) and Final Fantasy Tactics (1997) series, in addition to Vagrant Story (2000) and Final Fantasy XII (2006). After disruptions from staff leaving his development team, he resigned from Square Enix due to prolonged illness. During a freelance period, he worked on games for Nintendo's Wii such as MadWorld (2009). He joined Level-5 in 2011 where he helped create Crimson Shroud for the Nintendo 3DS. In 2016, he created his own company called Algebra Factory, and during this period was asked by Square Enix to create a scenario for Final Fantasy XIV's expansion Stormblood (2017). He created a raid called "Return to Ivalice", the land of Ivalice being a setting from previous Final Fantasy games he had worked on. Matsuno was subsequently asked to create another scenario, which was titled "Save the Queen: Blades of Gunnhildr" and included in Shadowbringers, another expansion for the game.
Hirokazu Yasuhara (安原 広和, Yasuhara Hirokazu; born October 12, 1965), also credited as Carol Yas, is a Japanese video…
Hirokazu Yasuhara (安原 広和, Yasuhara Hirokazu; born October 12, 1965), also credited as Carol Yas, is a Japanese video game designer. He is best known for designing the gameplay and stages of the initial Sonic the Hedgehog video games for Sega Genesis in the 1990s, based on technical demos and engines programmed by Yuji Naka. Yasuhara stayed with Sega until 1999. He then worked for Naughty Dog from 2002 to 2008, working on the Jak and Daxter series and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, collaborating again with former Sega employee Mark Cerny. He was the senior design director at Namco Bandai Games America from 2008 to 2012. In April 2012, Yasuhara joined Nintendo where he accepted a position at the Nintendo Software Technology division. He left Nintendo in 2016 and has since worked for Unity Technologies.
Satoshi Tajiri (Japanese: 田尻 智, Hepburn: Tajiri Satoshi; born August 28, 1965) is a Japanese video game designer and…
Satoshi Tajiri (Japanese: 田尻 智, Hepburn: Tajiri Satoshi; born August 28, 1965) is a Japanese video game designer and director who is the creator of the Pokémon franchise and the co-founder and president of video game developer Game Freak. A fan of arcade games in his youth, Tajiri wrote for and edited his own video gaming fanzine Game Freak with Ken Sugimori, before evolving it into a development company of the same name. Tajiri claims that the joining of two Game Boys via a link cable inspired him to create a game which embodied the collection and companionship of his childhood hobby, insect collecting. The game, which became Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green, took six years to complete and went on to spark a multibillion-dollar franchise which reinvigorated Nintendo's handheld gaming scene. Tajiri continued to work as director for the Pokémon series until the development of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, when he changed his role to executive producer, which he holds to this day. Tajiri has also worked for other Game Freak projects.
Kazuhiro "Kaz" Ayabe (綾部 和弘, Ayabe Kazuhiro; born 1965) is a Japanese video game developer. He is the founder of the…
Kazuhiro "Kaz" Ayabe (綾部 和弘, Ayabe Kazuhiro; born 1965) is a Japanese video game developer. He is the founder of the video game company Millennium Kitchen and is best known as the creator of the video game series Boku no Natsuyasumi.
Toshihiro Nagoshi (Japanese: 名越 稔洋, Hepburn: Nagoshi Toshihiro; born June 17, 1965) is a Japanese video game producer…
Toshihiro Nagoshi (Japanese: 名越 稔洋, Hepburn: Nagoshi Toshihiro; born June 17, 1965) is a Japanese video game producer, director, and designer. He was the chief creative officer for Sega until 2021 when he became creative director. He went on to be the general director of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, and later became a member of the board of directors for Atlus. He joined Sega in 1989 as a graphic artist and later transitioned into director and producer roles. After working at Sega for thirty years, Nagoshi became the owner of Nagoshi Studio in 2021. In 2026, Nagoshi Studio was supposedly gone and shut down according to sources.