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Satoshi Tajiri Biography

Video Game Designer

Satoshi Tajiri, born on August 28, 1965, is a renowned video game designer. He is best known for his work at Nintendo, particularly for creating the Pokémon series, which has a massive fanbase worldwide.

Years Ideas Inspiration Past Night Three Games Hours Sleep Design Come Up Three Years Schedules Day And Night

Author:Satoshi Tajiri

“I'm part of the first generation who grew up with manga [comics] and anime [animation], you know, after 'Godzilla.' I was absorbed with Ultraman on TV and in manga. The profession of game designer was created really recently. If it didn't exist, I'd probably be making anime.”

Ifs Knows Firsts Games Generations Tvs Grew Grew Up Profession Designer Animation Anime Godzilla

Author:Satoshi Tajiri

“The technology in making games and in making anime is really similar. There are common concepts.”

Games Common Technology Concepts Anime

Author:Satoshi Tajiri

“I was really into Space Invaders in about 1978. It got me more and more interested in video games. There wasn't any media to get information about games, so I came up with Game Freak magazine.”

Games Space Media Information Video Magazines Freak Invaders Space Invaders

Author:Satoshi Tajiri

“When I was 18 I already had a business going.”

Author:Satoshi Tajiri

“The more I learned about games, the more frustrated I became because the games weren't very good. I could tell a good game from a bad game. My conclusion was: let's make our own games.”

Games Very Good Conclusion Frustrated Bad Games

Author:Satoshi Tajiri

“I was really interested in collecting insects.”

Insects Collecting

Author:Satoshi Tajiri

“When you're a kid and get your first bike, you want to go somewhere you've never been before. That's like Pokémon. Everybody shares the same experience, but everybody wants to take it someplace else. And you can do that.”

Want Firsts Kids Can Do Share Bike

Author:Satoshi Tajiri

“What's more important is that the monsters are controllable by the players.Pikachu is like the name of the species. But each player can name their own Pikachu. So kids can relate to it more. They get more attached to them that way.”

Way Important Kids Names Player Species Monsters Relate Pikachu

Author:Satoshi Tajiri

“I had a cat, though. I wanted to name the frogs, because I watched them grow, but there were too many.”

Wanted Names Grows Cat Frogs

Author:Satoshi Tajiri

“Pikachu. 'Pika' is the sound Japanese say an electric spark makes. And 'chu' is the sound a mouse makes. So Pikachu is like an electric mouse.”

Sound Sparks Electric Mice Pikachu

Author:Satoshi Tajiri

“Pokémon was made with Miyamoto-san's advice. Since I was a teenager, playing Donkey Kong, he's always been my role model. He's a mentor for my heart.”

Heart Made Roles Advice My Heart Models Teenager Role Models Mentor Donkey Donkey Kong

Author:Satoshi Tajiri

“In Japan, violence in games is pretty much self-regulated.There's more violence in games in the U.S., in things like Mortal Kombat, where they rip out hearts and cut off heads.”

Heart Self Games Cutting Violence Mortals Japan Rip Mortal Kombat

Author:Satoshi Tajiri

“Japanese people wouldn't come up with ideas of blood splattering all over. Japanese focus more on the intricacies of the actions, the motion.”

People Ideas Action Focus Blood Come Up Intricacy

Author:Satoshi Tajiri

“I'm very careful about violence in games. I'm not interested in creating violent effects.”

Games Violence Effects Creating Careful Violent Not Interested

Author:Satoshi Tajiri

“I was really careful in making monsters faint rather than die. I think that young people playing games have an abnormal concept about dying. They start to lose and say, ‘I’m dying.’ It’s not right for kids to think about a concept of death that way. They need to treat death with more respect.”

People Thinking Way Needs Kids Young Dies Games Loses Dying Concepts Treats Careful Monsters Abnormal Playing Games

Author:Satoshi Tajiri

About the Author

Born: August 28, 1965
Known for: Video Game Designer
Quotes: 16

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