Tsunekazu Ishihara facts for kids

Tsunekazu Ishihara (born November 27, 1957) is a Japanese video game designer and producer. He is best known as the president and CEO of The Pokémon Company. This is the company that manages the popular Pokémon games, shows, and products.

Before his work with Pokémon, Ishihara worked at a company called Ape Inc.. There, he helped create games like EarthBound. Later, he started his own company, Creatures Inc.. He was involved with Pokémon from its very early days in the 1990s. He helped produce the games and also focused on other Pokémon products, like the Pokémon Trading Card Game. He even helped create The Pokémon Company to handle all these different parts of the Pokémon business. Ishihara also played a big role in making Pokémon Go a reality. He really supported the idea of a Pokémon game you could play using your location in the real world.

Ishihara's Journey in Gaming

Tsunekazu Ishihara was born on November 27, 1957, in Toba, Japan. In 1983, he finished his studies in Art and Design at the University of Tsukuba. After graduating, he joined Ape Inc. in 1991. At Ape Inc., he worked on several video games. These included Mario & Wario (1993) and EarthBound (1994). In 1995, he left Ape Inc. and started his own game development company, Creatures Inc.. He got help from Satoru Iwata to do this.

Creating the World of Pokémon

The planning for the Pokémon series began in 1990. Ishihara worked with Game Freak as a producer at Creatures Inc. to develop the first games, Red and Green. Creatures Inc. even helped Game Freak with money when they faced financial problems. This support helped them finish making the games.

After Red and Green were released, Ishihara started the development of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Satoru Iwata once called Ishihara "The King Of Portable Toys." This was because Ishihara was so involved in many Pokémon products. These included the trading cards, the anime TV show, and the movies. Ishihara said he focused on these products to make sure the next games, like Gold and Silver, would be successful.

Growing the Pokémon Brand

Ishihara first thought that Gold and Silver would be his last Pokémon games. He planned to leave the series after they were finished. However, these games became very popular. People wanted more and more Pokémon products. Because of this, Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures Inc. worked together. They created The Pokémon Company in 2000. This new company was made to handle all the licensing and brand management. This way, Game Freak could focus on making new games. Ishihara became the president and CEO of this new company.

During the making of FireRed and LeafGreen, Ishihara and Iwata convinced Game Freak to use the Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter. This allowed players to trade Pokémon without using cables. Ishihara also helped with the "Pokéwalker" device for HeartGold and SoulSilver.

Pokémon Go and Beyond

In 2014, Google Maps had an April Fools joke where users could "catch" Pokémon. After this, Ishihara started talking with Niantic Labs. He wanted to license Pokémon characters for an augmented reality game. Ishihara really liked Niantic's game Ingress. He supported the idea for the new Pokémon game, and Iwata also agreed.

When Pokémon Go came out in 2016, it was a huge success. Ishihara called its big impact a "Pokédemic." He compared it to how popular Pokémon was in the late 1990s.

Ishihara was not sure if the Nintendo Switch console would do well at first. He thought smartphones might be too popular. But, The Pokémon Company, as a Nintendo partner, naturally started making games for the Nintendo Switch. In 2019, Ishihara announced Pokémon Sleep. This game was planned for release in 2020. He said it was made to make "players look forward to waking up every morning."

In April 2023, Ishihara stepped down as CEO of Creatures Inc. He had held that position for many years. However, he still works as the president and CEO of The Pokémon Company.

Games and Other Works

Tsunekazu Ishihara has been involved in many video games and other projects. Here are some of them:

Video Games

Other Projects

Awards and Recognition

Ishihara has received several awards for his work:

• CEDEC Awards 2011 – Special Award.
• Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award 2011.
• Japan Innovators Award 2016 – Soft Power Award (shared with John Hanke).