Satoshi Tajiri facts for kids

Satoshi Tajiri (Japanese: 田尻 智, Hepburn: Tajiri Satoshi, born August 28, 1965) is a famous Japanese video game designer. He is best known as the creator of the worldwide hit, Pokémon. He is also the co-founder and president of the video game company Game Freak.

When Tajiri was young, he loved playing arcade games. He even started his own magazine about video games called Game Freak with his friend Ken Sugimori. Later, they turned their magazine into a real game development company with the same name.

Tajiri's childhood hobby of insect collecting gave him the idea for Pokémon. He was inspired by the Game Boy's link cable, which could connect two consoles. He imagined creatures traveling between the two systems, just like he used to collect bugs. This idea grew into the games Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green, which became a huge success and started the multibillion-dollar Pokémon franchise.

Early Life and Inspirations

Satoshi Tajiri was born on August 28, 1965, in a part of Tokyo, Japan, that was still very green and rural. As a boy, he loved exploring the outdoors and insect collecting. His friends even called him "Dr. Bug." He dreamed of becoming an entomologist (a scientist who studies insects).

As cities grew, many of the fields and forests where he collected bugs disappeared. This made Tajiri sad. He wanted to create a way for kids everywhere to experience the fun of discovering and collecting creatures, just like he did. This idea would later become the heart of Pokémon.

A Passion for Video Games

As a teenager, Tajiri became fascinated with arcade games. He spent a lot of time at arcades, especially enjoying games like Space Invaders. His interest in games was so strong that he sometimes missed school to play them. He was curious about how games worked, so he even took apart his Famicom console to study it.

Instead of going to a traditional university, Tajiri went to a technical college for two years. He studied electronics and computer science, which gave him the skills he needed to start making his own games.

The Start of a Career

From 1981 to 1986, Tajiri created a magazine for gamers called a fanzine. He named it Game Freak. He wrote it by hand and stapled the pages together himself. The magazine was filled with tips and secrets for popular arcade games.

A talented artist named Ken Sugimori saw the fanzine and joined Tajiri as its illustrator. Sugimori would later design the first 151 Pokémon. As more people joined their team, Tajiri and Sugimori decided they could make better games than the ones they were playing. In 1989, they officially turned Game Freak into a video game company.

Their first game was an arcade-style puzzle game called Quinty. They pitched it to the company Namco, who agreed to publish it.

The Birth of Pokémon

In 1990, Tajiri had his big idea. He saw two people playing on their Game Boys connected by a link cable. This reminded him of his childhood bug-collecting hobby. He imagined creatures being traded back and forth through the cable. This was the moment the idea for Pokémon was born.

He wanted to create a game where players could not just battle, but also trade their collected creatures with friends. This was a new and exciting idea for handheld gaming.

When Tajiri first showed his idea to Nintendo, the staff didn't fully understand it. But they were impressed by his passion and his past work. The famous game creator Shigeru Miyamoto, who made Mario and Zelda, became a mentor to Tajiri and helped guide him.

The creation of Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green took six long years. The project was very difficult and almost caused Game Freak to run out of money. Tajiri worked without a salary and relied on help from his father. Eventually, another company called Creatures Inc. invested money to help them finish the games.

A Worldwide Success

When the Pokémon games were finally released, they were not expected to be a big hit. But sales grew steadily. A rumor about a secret, hidden Pokémon named Mew made the games even more popular. Players discovered that Mew could only be found through a glitch in the game, which created a lot of excitement.

The Pokémon franchise became a massive success. It helped make Nintendo's handheld consoles popular again. Tajiri made sure the games were kid-friendly. For example, Pokémon don't die when they lose a battle; they just "faint." He believed this was a healthier way for kids to experience losing in a game.

Today, Tajiri continues to work on the Pokémon series as an executive producer. He helps guide the creation of new games and makes sure they stay true to his original vision.

Awards and Recognition

Satoshi Tajiri's work has earned him a lot of respect in the video game world.

• The website IGN named him one of the top 100 game creators of all time. They praised him for turning Pokémon into a "worldwide phenomenon."
• Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine said he was one of the 10 most influential people in modern video games.
• In 2011, he received a Special Award from the Computer Entertainment Developers Conference in Japan.

Works

Satoshi Tajiri has worked on many games throughout his career, mostly as a director, designer, or producer. Here are some of his most famous projects.

See also

In Spanish: Satoshi Tajiri para niños

• Pokémon
• Game Freak
• Ash Ketchum