Gunpei Yokoi passed 10 years ago today

by Justin McElroy on Oct 4th 2007 9:20AM

If you think of it today, take a moment to remember Gunpei Yokoi, who passed away 10 years ago on this date after a car accident. The only man responsible for draining more AA batteries than Phillip J. Remotecontrol, Yokoi was the creator of the Game Boy, and the father of some of the portable console design tenets that still appear to govern Nintendo today.

Though he followed it up with the Virtual Boy (a misstep by anyone's approximation) Yokoi's legacy lives on. The only tragedy is that the tech wizard never saw the Game Boy's progeny not just play second fiddle to home consoles, but become a true force of gaming.

[Thanks, Samuel]

Source

Tags: DS, gameboy, gunpeiyokoi, nintendo

Reader Comments (51)

*pours some Gamefuel on the ground*

...and everything it touches on the gound dies.

But, it's got what plants crave, it's got electrolytes.

LOL

I know, I hate that shit.

Don't forget he also produced my favorite game series, Metroid.

He also created me, Wario.

And... Uh... The... Virtual Boy...

Also the Gameboy so it's all good : D

Yeah, the Virtual Boy would have been good if he actually was ABLE to create it. Nintendo had grown impatient with the amount of time that he had taken with the project and quickly rushed the Virtual Boy to market. As a result, he didn't get to finished making it, just start. Then when it did poorly, they blamed him and he left the company to start the Wonderswan. Because if there's anyone who doesn't deserve to put up with guff, it's Gunpei MF'ing Yokoi, Slayer of Gods and Men, Destroyer of Worlds, Defender of the Universe and tender lover. So tender. So sweet.

Man.. i havent used a AA battery in a long time.

You must not have a Wii then, LOL

Those stupid things die when your not using them....

3rd-party wii rechargeable batteries ftw

He looks like a Japanese Tim Robbins.

That picture should therefore be captioned, "Y'know...for kids!"

Tim Robbins = The Shoveler. ;D

As for GY, RIP. You're missed. Though in speaking of the Virtual Boy... it always lead me to wonder just how far along the SEGA VR concept was. Or hell, if VR'll ever make a comeback in videogaming other than random arcade games as of recent(the WWII gun turret sim).

Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'

Virtual Boy was a huge flop because it was only half finished when they decided to launch. Yamauchi wanted all his engineers working on the N64, so the VB project was halted before they could work out all the kinks (like the headache inducingness, or the collossal weight, or the battery suckingness). You know, all the stuff that they work out in the final portion of design.

The VB we got was the alpha 2 VB. Maybe the Beta 1.

Ah, bless his kindly soul. May he smile upon Nintendo, knowing that they have done well.

I believe he also invented the D-pad when he worked on Game and Watch devices.

Hail!

If it weren't for him we probably wouldn't have Wii as it is today. The GB was made for cheap but quality hardware, and projects with tight budget control lead to financial success and even critical success for the timeliness of their releases.

And the original Wonder Swan, don't forget that!

Guy's a legend.

It's sad though.. When you think that after the VB incident Nintendo pretty much shoved him into the closet. They gave him a "window-seat" job, and he had no say in anything, conceptional or otherwise, up to the day he died. I wonder what he could've thought up, had he been given the chance...

It really is sad. He was a great man, as far as I can tell. I hope these ten years have begun to heal the wounds of his family and friends.

Yeah, Nintendo shoved him in a closet when the VB failed, which wasn't his fault (Nintendo was too cheap to spring for the blue LEDs that wouldn't cause seizures and headaches.) and then when he went to work for a direct competitor...Nintendo killed him off.

(Read about exactly how suspicious the accounts of his death are, and then realize that Nintendo started as a company that sold gambling cards to the yakuza, and tell me that that it all doesn't add up.)

Never forget! You were the man, Gunpey.

RIP

Is Phillip J. Remotecontrol any relation to Phillip DeBrassiere?

The man was originally a janitor. And he eventually created the best selling line of game systems ever. Incredible.

Source?

I heard the same rumor about Harrison Ford before Star Wars.

eye lyke yur pick

Good night, sweet prince

10 years ago, wow that makes me feel old.

I totally agree that it feels like after virtual boy nintendo just refused to mention him again.

I think he created metroid and kid icarus too.(and the ultrahand that awesome extendable arm thing)

We made an ode to him last year check the video here:

Bring Back the Eggplant Wizard (song for Gunpei Yokoi)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6Ka9hmpcXs

Rock on Gunpei, Virtual Boy 4-eva!

One of the truly tragic figures in gaming, and would make a great subject for a biopic.

Rest in peace. He is the Orson Welles of gaming.

god bless the maker of the most durable piece of technology that i have ever owned, they should make the black boxes on airplanes out of recycled gray bricks

man the gameboy was awesome

Ultra Hand
Love Tester
THE D-PAD
Game & Watch
Game Boy
Kid Icarus
Metroid
Super Mario Land
Daisy
Wario
Virtual Boy
WonderSwan

His idea to use cheaper technology in innovative ways (Game Boy lasted 9 years without color, toppling countless colorful systems like the Game Gear and the Lynx, etc., making it the longest lasting system ever) led to Nintendo's current philosophy behind the unstoppable DS and the Wii.

And let's not forget he was Miyamoto's mentor and produced his first arcade games, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and Mario Bros. before they were even super.

I love this man. Let's all play Metroid Prime 3 in his honor today.

R.I.P.

Oh come on Joystiq. These double posts are 4 minutes apart. I even closed and reopened Firefox and reloaded this page and it still wasn't there. I'm sick of this crap.

Word.

On both accounts.

I remember getting my Game Boy fondly. I think I still have it somewhere in my apartment. Thanks Mr. Yokoi.

My mother thanks you, Mr. Yokoi, for providing her with countless hours of silence in the car.

I remember when he passed away. He was with a friend, if I remember correctly, and was in a minor traffic accident. When he exited his vehicle to inspect the damage, he was struck by another passing motorist. This was a very very sad event, made even more so by the way Nintendo treated him before he passed away (apparently creating one of the most beloved portable consoles known to man in addition to the d-pad were not enough to garner respect.) He is truly missed. I wonder what the VB would be like with today's tech behind it?

PS1 level graphics with true stereoscopic vision. Maybe N64 level.

In other words: Freakin Sweet!

I believe that is kosher for Japanese business

Remember Ken Kutaragi?

"Yeah, we're grateful for the PS1 and PS2 and all, but after the bad early reception of the PS3..."
(Throws him out of the front door)
"Yeah..."

Legacy indeed: my future children and grandchildren shall know what the Gameboy was, to know their roots!

Nowadays, out with the Gameboy and in with the DS...

If I have kids I'd make such an evil parent. I have every Game Boy, and I'd make my kids play games on each in chronological order. The first games my kids play will be Pong, Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong. I won't even let them play a 3-D game until they can beat Ninja Gaiden, Mega Man 2, Sonic 2, and SMB3! Then we're on to arcade fighters, then Doom 2, Quake, and then the intense StarCraft training. THEN I might let them touch a 6th gen system. They'll get to touch 7th gen systems when the 9th gen systems are out. Stupid hypothetical brats.

I think Walkman-San was still responsible for more battery drainage than this gentleman (or Phillip J. Remotecontrol).

Dude, I can't even beat Ninja Gaiden NOW. The last boss is brutal, and theirs a near impossible jump in one of the later levels.

Not cool man. Everything else, though, I'm with you.

Once again, in response to Rubang.

Fix.
Your.
Broken.
Comment.
System.
PLeaZ.
KTHX.
Bye.

I made a wave.

I've got female friends who think John P. Vibrator is responsible for more AAs being used - personally, that's a debate I don't want to get involved in.

To the man who gave us the NES controller... Metroid... the Game Boy... Kid Icarus... the Zapper... we miss you, man.

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Gunpei Yokoi passed 10 years ago today

Reader Comments (51)

Posted: Oct 4th 2007 9:25AM (Unverified) said

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