Game Development Giant

Gunpei Yokoi resigns!

Game magazine uses such a cover title as the cover of their latest issue. On top of this full-color cover are two photos of Gunpei Yokoi. These two photos divide the cover into left and right parts from the middle of the cover. Half, the one on the left is a full color photo, while the one on the right is a black and white photo.

In that full-color photo, Gunpei Yokoi clenched his arms hard and raised them high. This was the excitement he showed when he saw the endless stream of buyers in the Ginza district when GW was just released. In another photo, he pursed his lips tightly, his eyebrows were furrowed on his forehead, and his face was so gloomy that it seemed like it could drip water. And this one is black and white.

Jester held this issue of Game. He didn't open it, but just looked at the cover.

Jester informed Game magazine of the news as soon as he got it. When Jester learned the news, he had an extremely unbelievable expression on his face, and then he shouted that it was impossible, because He knew the human being Yokoi Gunpei very well.

But obviously, the news from Game magazine is not false.

Nintendo is a listed company, and changes in the top management of their company must be notified to the public. Gunpei Yokoi, who served as the head of Nintendo's first hardware development department, applied to resign due to disagreements with his ideas, while company president Hiroshi Yamauchi repeatedly failed to retain him. Next, he agreed to Yokoi Gunpei's resignation. The reason was not very clear, just using the words ideal disagreement. Then various gossips spread from within Nintendo, and Jester also heard many rumors related to this. Then, he drew his own reasoning from many rumors that were both true and false.

First of all, it is certain that Yokoi Gunpei's resignation this time must be related to the major events that happened at Nintendo before. The big thing that happened to Nintendo before was undoubtedly their alliance with Sony, and what does this matter have to do with Gunpei Yokoi...

When he thought of this, Jester's eyes suddenly lit up.

Although the details of the cooperation between Nintendo and Sony have not been leaked, but again, as a listed company, large-scale transfers within the company must be announced to the outside world, and this time they established a brand new one with Sony. The game console development team, with Ken Kutaragi from Sony as the team leader, was naturally announced to the public.

But when Jester saw the news for the first time, he had a strange feeling.

It's not because of Jiuda being the leader of the development team. With Nintendo's current needs for Sony and Kudo's ability, it is natural for him to serve as the team leader. It is not because of Uemura Masayuki being the chief designer, because Uemura Masayuki himself is the chief designer of FC and NES. In terms of home game console development, there is probably no one in the world who has more experience than Uemura Masayuki. And although Sony is world-renowned for its R\u0026D capabilities, after all, they have only been engaged in the development of home appliances and developers of home game consoles. Their experience is definitely not as good as Nintendo's.

As for Goto Seisuke, Jester has no doubts. He was a fan of Sony games in his previous life, and he was naturally very enthusiastic about Goto Seisuke's Ming Dynasty. This young industrial design designer is the soul of Sony's industrial design field. In the field of industrial design, his name represents the number one in the world.

However, he did not find another crucial name in it.

That is Gunpei Yokoi.

Regarding Yokoi Gunpei's status. Jester knows it very well. Generally speaking, in a design group that gathers almost all Nintendo's hardware developers. It is extremely inappropriate to exclude the soul of Nintendo's hardware development. Even if Yokoi Gunpei is not as suitable as Uemura Masayuki for the development of home consoles, then according to the old tradition of a Kyoto company.

It is impossible to exclude a person of such status.

Of course, if it was his own wish, then that would be another matter. At that time, Jester thought it was Yokoi Gunpei's own intention. But now judging from the news of Yokoi Gunpei's resignation, I am afraid that he was excluded and it was not Yokoi Gunpei. own meaning.

As for the differences in concepts announced to the outside world...

Jester set his sights on one of the many messages he had collected.

The development of handheld mobile phones.

After thinking of this, some things that I didn't understand or couldn't figure out before were instantly understood. If Gunpei Yokoi had been insisting on the development of handheld mobile phones before, it was contrary to the ideas of Hiroshi Yamauchi and Masayuki Uemura who were fully committed to the development of home consoles. It is not difficult to understand why Nintendo’s statement in the news is inconsistent with a concept.

When he thought of this, Jester couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief.

Only he knows that if Yokoi Gunpei is really allowed to make Gameboy in advance, and if Nintendo has talent in handheld games that they have not discovered yet, then the future is really hard to say.

You know, in the future, Nintendo will rely on their handheld consoles to firmly control part of the market even in their most difficult period.

Even for a period of time, handheld games have become the mainstay of Nintendo.

Then, Jester's mind became active. Since Gunpei Yokoi has resigned from Nintendo, can he invite him to Mars Entertainment? In what name is it best to invite? Do you want to go by yourself? These are all issues that Jester needs to consider immediately, otherwise, it is very likely that someone will get there first.

After Gunpei Yokoi resigned from Nintendo, he suddenly felt relaxed.

You don’t need to think about so many messy things all the time. You just need to get up early every morning, go out for a run, go home and eat some breakfast cooked by your wife, and then read some newspapers or other books, or write something that interests you. Things, the day passed so easily.

Simple and enjoyable.

However, you still need to find a job, but Gunpei Yokoi this time just wants to find a company that agrees with his philosophy to cooperate. Therefore, he has declined several people who contacted him when the news of his departure from Nintendo was just announced. A friend invited me.

The doorbell rang, and Yokoi Gunpei put down the game in his hand. He was writing the content of a new game he had conceived. As soon as he wrote the beginning, his inspiration was interrupted by the sudden ringing of the bell.

However, Yokoi Gunpei was not angry. Instead, he stretched, stood up from the tatami, and walked towards the door.

There were two people coming, one of whom he knew was a friend of Namco named Shan Mu.

The other one was very unfamiliar. He was wearing a spotless suit. The moment he saw Yokoi Gunpei, he bowed to Yokoi Gunpei and said, Take care of me.

His friend named Yamaki immediately introduced him, and he was accompanied by a minister from Nippon Electric.

Specifically responsible for the research and development of pc-e game consoles.

PC-e is the product that Nippon Electric is preparing to enter the electronic game market this time. It is an eight-bit host, but it is a very special eight-bit computer, because although their CPU is still eight-bit, they are here This game console will use a 16-bit display chip, and the research and development of this game console has been basically completed. They can launch it at any time in the first half of this year.

After Yokoi Gunpei knew that the other party was from nec, he immediately knew the other party's purpose.

However, he did not show any expression that could reveal his inner thoughts. Instead, he welcomed the other party in and poured tea for him.

Then, he listened to the other party's persuasion.

To be honest, the conditions given by nec are very sincere. They plan to hire Gunpei Yokoi as the development director of PC-e's subsequent improved models and next-generation models. He will be fully responsible for this matter and guarantee that they will never interfere. , and nec also guarantees that their development capabilities will never be inferior to Sony, and they are even better in this aspect.

However, Yokoi Gunpei just listened calmly, and none of this moved him.

If he wants to develop a next-generation home console, then as long as he expresses this idea to Nintendo, they will not be kicked out, and Masayuki Uemura will not be able to compete with him for the chief designer's qualification.

But now, NEC still wants to recruit him with a position that he is not even interested in at Nintendo. This is simply impossible to be effective.

Therefore, after the Nippon Electric executive spoke earnestly for a long time, he only received a very plain reply from Gunpei Yokoi: Thank you for your kindness. Yokoi understands it, but I do lack enough experience in developing home game consoles. I'm interested, please forgive me.

Such a straightforward refusal left the people from Nippon Electric unable to explain.

After sending away Nippon Electric's lobbyist just now, Gunpei Yokoi showed a slightly disappointed look on his face, but it only passed briefly.

But before he could write a few words, the doorbell rang again.

Opening the door, Yokoi Gunpei saw a very familiar face, but he usually didn't have the opportunity to see this face in person, and could only see it in newspapers or TV.

The man in front of me is very young, but in terms of detailed status, he is indeed incomparable.

Hello.

Jester looked at Gunpei Yokoi standing in front of him, took the initiative to extend his palm, and said hello at the same time. (.)