Tōru Iwatani facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tōru Iwatani
岩谷徹
Iwatani at the 2011 Game Developers Conference
Born	(1955-01-25) January 25, 1955 (age 70) Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
Occupation	Video game designer
Years active	1980–present
Known for	Creator of Pac-Man

Tōru Iwatani (岩谷 徹, Iwatani Tōru) was born on January 25, 1955. He is a Japanese video game designer. He spent most of his career working for a company called Namco. He is most famous for creating the classic arcade game Pac-Man in 1980. In 2009, a gaming website called IGN named him one of the top 100 game creators ever.

Early Life and Education

Iwatani was born in Meguro, a part of Tokyo, Japan, on January 25, 1955. When he was very young, his family moved to the Tōhoku region of Japan. This happened because his father got a job as an engineer for the Japan Broadcasting Corporation.

Later, Iwatani returned to Tokyo for junior high school. He finished high school at Tokyo Metropolitan University High School. After that, he went to Tokai University to study engineering. Iwatani learned about computers by himself. He did not have special training in programming or graphic design. He often drew manga in his school books. He says these drawings helped him design characters for his games.

Creating Video Games

Iwatani joined the Japanese video game company Namco in 1977. He was 22 years old. Before he joined, Namco had bought the rights to distribute games from Atari, Inc. in Japan. This meant Namco could sell popular games like Breakout. These games were very successful for Namco. This made the company want to make its own video games.

Starting at Namco

When Iwatani started at Namco, he was put in the video game development team. He first wanted to make pinball machines. But Namco leaders said no because of legal issues with patents. As a compromise, Iwatani was allowed to make a video game that was similar to pinball.

With help from a programmer named Shigeichi Ishimura, Iwatani created Gee Bee. This game came out in 1978. It was not as successful as Namco hoped. But Gee Bee helped Namco get started in the growing video game market. Two more games, Bomb Bee and Cutie Q, were released in 1979. Iwatani worked on these as a designer.

The Birth of Pac-Man

Near the end of 1979, Iwatani felt disappointed with the video game industry. He thought most games, like Space Invaders (which was about war) or sports games like Pong, only appealed to boys and men. He wanted to create a game that girls and women would enjoy.

He decided to make a game with cute, colorful characters and simple rules. The main idea was about eating. Iwatani worked with a small team of nine people. Together, they created Pac-Man. The game was first tested on May 22, 1980. It was released in Japan in July and in North America in October.

Pac-Man was only moderately successful in Japan. Namco's own game, Galaxian, did better there. But Pac-Man was a huge hit in North America. It quickly sold over 100,000 arcade machines. It became the best-selling and highest-earning arcade game ever. Today, Pac-Man is Namco's most successful video game and its most famous title.

After Pac-Man came out, Iwatani was promoted at Namco. He eventually helped manage the company. Even though Pac-Man was a huge success, Iwatani did not get a special bonus or a raise in his salary. There is a common story that he left Namco because he was angry about this. But he has said that this story is not true.

Later Projects and Teaching

In 1983, Iwatani designed Libble Rabble. This was a puzzle game where you used two joysticks. It was based on a game he played when he was a child. Iwatani says Libble Rabble is his favorite game.

He also worked as a producer for many other Namco arcade games. These include Rally-X, Galaga, Pole Position, Ridge Racer, and Time Crisis.

From April 2005, he taught about Character Design Studies at Osaka University of Arts. He was a visiting professor there. Iwatani left Namco in March 2007. He became a full-time teacher at Tokyo Polytechnic University.

Iwatani returned to his Pac-Man roots in 2007. He helped develop Pac-Man Championship Edition for the Xbox 360. He has said this will be the last game he develops.

Awards and Recognition

On June 3, 2010, Iwatani received a certificate from Guinness World Records. This was for Pac-Man having the most "coin-operated arcade machines" installed worldwide. The record was 293,822 machines. This record was set and recognized in 2005. It was written in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008.

Iwatani was also shown in the 2015 movie Pixels. Actor Denis Akiyama played him. Iwatani himself had a small role in the movie as an arcade repairman.

Games Tōru Iwatani Worked On

See also

In Spanish: Tōru Iwatani para niños