Shinji Mikami facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shinji Mikami
三上 真司
Mikami in 2013
Born	(1965-08-11) August 11, 1965 (age 59) Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan
Alma mater	Doshisha University
Occupation	Video game designer director producer
Years active	1990–present
Employer	Capcom (1990–2006) Clover Studio (2004–2006) PlatinumGames (2006–2010) Tango Gameworks (2010–2023) KAMUY (2024–present)
Notable work	Resident Evil Dino Crisis God Hand Vanquish The Evil Within Ghostwire: Tokyo Hi-Fi Rush

Shinji Mikami (三上 真司, Mikami Shinji, born August 11, 1965) is a famous Japanese video game designer, director, and producer. He started his career at Capcom in 1990. He has worked on many of the company's most successful games.

Mikami directed the first Resident Evil game in 1996. He also directed the first Dino Crisis game in 1999. Both of these were survival horror games, which means they focus on scary situations and limited resources. He returned to Resident Evil to direct a remake of the first game in 2002. He also directed the popular survival horror third-person shooter Resident Evil 4 in 2005.

In 2006, he directed his last Capcom game, God Hand, which was an action-packed beat 'em up game. Mikami then started PlatinumGames in 2006. There, he directed the fast-paced third-person shooter Vanquish in 2010. Later that year, he left PlatinumGames and started a new studio called Tango Gameworks. He directed the survival horror game The Evil Within in 2014. He also worked as a producer for many other games. In 2023, he left Tango Gameworks and started a new studio called KAMUY in 2024.

In 2009, the gaming website IGN named him one of the top 100 game creators of all time.

Early Life and Education

Mikami grew up in the Yamaguchi Prefecture on Honshū island in Japan. He had a normal childhood filled with outdoor play. He often had to be creative to invent games because there were no video games back then. His dream was to become a Formula One race car driver.

As a teenager, Mikami became very interested in horror films. He also enjoyed studying karate and kendo. After trying for two years, Mikami got into and graduated from Doshisha University. He studied merchandise there.

Career in Video Games

Starting Out at Capcom (1990–1993)

Mikami got into the video game industry by chance. A friend told him about a job fair at Capcom. He went mainly for the free food, but he found the work at Capcom interesting. He applied to both Capcom and Nintendo. He chose Capcom because the interviews were on the same day.

He joined Capcom in 1990 as a junior game designer. He was given a leadership role quickly, even though he knew little about making games. He learned by watching older, more experienced designers.

His first game was a quiz game for the Game Boy called Capcom Quiz: Hatena? no Daibōken. It was made in just three months. After that, he worked on three games based on Disney characters. These included Who Framed Roger Rabbit for Game Boy. He also worked on Aladdin and Goof Troop for the Super NES. Aladdin was his first big success, selling over 1.75 million copies worldwide.

Creating Resident Evil (1993–1996)

After Goof Troop, Mikami started working on a horror-themed adventure game for the PlayStation. It was set in a haunted mansion and called Resident Evil. The game was originally planned as a remake of an older Capcom game called Sweet Home.

Mikami was chosen for the project because he understood what makes things scary. He wanted to make a game that avoided the mistakes he saw in some horror movies. The game, known as Biohazard in Japan, combined 3D characters with pre-rendered backgrounds. It featured zombies and other monsters.

Resident Evil was released in Japan and North America on March 22, 1996. It quickly became one of the PlayStation's first big hits. Capcom even created the term "survival horror" to describe and promote the game. It was later released on the Sega Saturn.

Resident Evil became a very important game for the survival horror genre. It helped make the genre popular. Its control style and the challenge of managing limited items became common in many games that followed. The game's success also helped the PlayStation become a leading game console. It even led to a series of Resident Evil movies. Mikami helped with the first movie's script to make sure fans would be happy. He later left the movie series because he felt they were going in the wrong direction.

Leading Capcom Production Studio 4 (1997–2002)

After Resident Evil became a hit, Capcom reorganized its development teams. Mikami became the general manager of Capcom Production Studio 4. This meant he focused more on being a producer, overseeing many projects. He found this time challenging because he couldn't spend all his time on creative game design.

In his new role, he oversaw the creation of Resident Evil's sequel, Resident Evil 2. This game aimed to make ordinary city settings scary after a viral outbreak. Resident Evil 2 sold over five million copies, showing how popular survival horror had become. After its release in 1998, he oversaw Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. He also directed another survival horror game, Dino Crisis, both released in 1999.

Studio 4 then started creating new game series. Mikami was an executive producer for games like the first Devil May Cry. In 2000, Mikami produced a new Resident Evil game, Resident Evil – Code: Veronica, for the Dreamcast. This console was more powerful than the PlayStation, allowing the team to use full 3D environments for the first time. Resident Evil Code: Veronica sold 1.14 million copies. That same year, Mikami's Dino Crisis 2 was released, selling 1.19 million copies.

In 2001, an updated version of Code: Veronica was released for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. This version, called Resident Evil - Code: Veronica X, added new scenes. The PS2 version sold 1.4 million units. In 2001, Mikami made a big decision to make an exclusive deal with Nintendo. This meant that the main Resident Evil games would only be sold for the GameCube. The GameCube received ports of older games, plus three new ones: a remake of the original Resident Evil, Resident Evil Zero, and Resident Evil 4. Both the remake and Resident Evil Zero were released in 2002.

The remake of Resident Evil was released on March 22, 2002. It was meant to be the best version of the game. It sold 1.24 million units in its first year. Resident Evil Zero was released on November 12, 2002. It sold 1.12 million copies.

Capcom Five and Resident Evil 4 (2002–2004)

Even though Resident Evil Zero didn't sell as much as expected, Mikami continued to support Nintendo. He announced four more exclusive GameCube games from Production Studio 4, in addition to Resident Evil 4. These games were P.N.03, Viewtiful Joe, killer7, and Dead Phoenix. This group of games became known as the Capcom Five.

The first of these games to be released was P.N. 03, which Mikami directed. This game was not very successful, receiving mixed reviews and selling poorly. Because of this, Mikami stepped down as manager of Production Studio 4. He remained a head producer within the team. After P.N.03, Mikami decided to focus more on the creative parts of the Capcom Five games. He eventually took over as director for Resident Evil 4. Under his direction, Resident Evil 4 changed a lot.

Resident Evil 4 was released in 2005 and became one of the GameCube's best-selling games. It sold 1.25 million units worldwide within a year. The game received high praise and won many "Game of the Year" awards.

Resident Evil 4 is seen as one of the greatest and most important games ever made. It changed how at least two video game genres were played: survival horror and third-person shooter. It made survival horror more action-focused, requiring quick reflexes and precise aiming. It also helped define the third-person shooter genre by introducing the "over the shoulder" camera view. This camera angle is now standard in many third-person shooters, like Gears of War and Batman: Arkham Asylum. It also became a common feature for aiming in many action games, such as Dead Space, Grand Theft Auto, and Uncharted.

Mikami had strongly promoted Resident Evil 4 as a GameCube exclusive. He even made a strong statement about it. In a 2017 interview, he apologized for the game later being released on other platforms.

Clover Studio and God Hand (2004–2007)

After the success of Resident Evil 4, Mikami moved to Clover Studio. He helped establish this studio in July 2004. It brought together many talented Capcom developers. At Clover, Mikami directed God Hand, a funny beat 'em up game that made fun of American and Japanese pop culture. It was released in Japan in September 2006 and in North America in October 2006.

Clover Studio closed in 2007. Mikami then joined Seeds Inc., which is now known as PlatinumGames. This new company was formed by many of Mikami's former Capcom colleagues. While at Seeds, the company was short on staff. Mikami sent his entire team to help another team. This left him with little to do for a while, which he found difficult. This experience reminded him how much he loved being directly involved in making games.

PlatinumGames and Vanquish (2007–2010)

Mikami started a small development studio called Straight Story in 2006. Their games were released under the PlatinumGames name. He also worked with Grasshopper Manufacture on Shadows of the Damned. Mikami later revealed that Straight Story would close after Vanquish was finished. This was because he had already started his new studio, Tango.

The third-person shooter game Vanquish, released in 2010, also became an important game for action games. It greatly improved the cover system. Unlike older games, cover in Vanquish could be easily destroyed. The game also encouraged players not to hide too much. Its most important new feature was the power-slide mechanic. This allowed players to slide into and out of cover very quickly. They could also slide in bullet time when their health was low. Vanquish won an award for its rocket-sliding game mechanic. This feature made shooter games faster and opened up new ways to play.

Tango Gameworks and The Evil Within (2010–2023)

On March 18, 2010, a teaser website called "Mikami Project" appeared with a countdown. The website later became a job page for Mikami's new studio, "Tango". On October 28, 2010, ZeniMax Media, the company that owns game publisher Bethesda Softworks, announced that Mikami had joined them after they bought Tango Gameworks.

In April 2012, Mikami revealed the codename Zwei for his studio's new survival horror game, The Evil Within, which he directed. The game was released in October 2014. Bethesda published the game for Xbox 360, PS3, PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Mikami said this would be the last game he directed. He wanted it to be a "true" survival horror game where players face and overcome fear. He felt that recent survival horror games had become too much like action games.

In 2019, it was announced that his studio was working on a new project called Ghostwire: Tokyo. On February 23, 2023, Bethesda Softworks announced that Mikami would leave Tango Gameworks. Mikami said he had planned to leave Tango Gameworks eight years earlier but stayed due to ongoing projects. He wanted to create a place for young developers to gain experience. He also wanted to move away from the survival horror genre, which he was often linked to.

Games Shinji Mikami Worked On

See also

In Spanish: Shinji Mikami para niños