GUNPEI YOKOI: Humility in the World of Video Games

Written by Mattia Gravili

Most likely, in the collective imagination, the Japanese city of Kyoto brings to mind ancient temples and the more traditional part of Japan but, far from the decidedly more futuristic lights of Tokyo, in 1940, this city was the birthplace of one of the people considered among the most important in the history of video gaming: Gunpei Yokoi.

Gunpei Yokoi

His name may tell you nothing, and Gunpei Yokoi's personal story may border on the ordinary if read in a passive, superficial way: a degree in electrical engineering and first job as a maintenance worker at a company that manufactured playing cards and toys. But perhaps the story is to be read in a different light if you knew that the company was Nintendo and that Gunpei Yokoi revolutionized the world of video game entertainment forever.

Gunpei Yokoi

The mere stages of Gunpei Yokoi's rise as an employee within Nintendo (he would be employed by the company for more than thirty years from 1965) turn out to be little compared to the more human and ingenious aspects of his entire career. Gunpei Yokoi can be considered a true inventor; in the digital revolution that Japan was going through from 1970s to 1990s , Gunpei Yokoi's mind worked ceaselessly to give birth to innovations that revolutionized the world of video games and launched Japan into the future.

It is said that one day on a train, observing a man fiddling boredly with a calculator, the ideas of the directional cross and the Game Boy (which would become the standard in motion management within video games and their portability, respectively) came to his mind.

When we think about what Gunpei Yokoi's inventions have meant not only to the world of video games but to entire generations finding joy in his creations, we can only thank him. With his perseverance, dedication and his humility Gunpei Yokoi gave birth to something special that has gone beyond the borders of Japan (for sure we all know, just to mention one of his most famous inventions, Super Mario) and he has undoubtedly contributed to shaping and stimulating the imagination and the ability to create imaginary worlds (and get lost in them) of entire generations.

Gunpei Yokoi with the Gameboy

It is peculiar how much a personality like Gunpei Yokoi's has acted as a bridge, a glue between a corporate mentality, the Japanese one, devoted to rigidity and the desire to innovate. The mix of commitment typical of the Japanese work environment, its pragmatism and Gunpei Yokoi's ingenious ideas created a perfect balance to give the company products that were at the same time technologically advanced but also spoke to people's hearts and their desire for diversion and fun.

Furthermore, Gunpei Yokoi's story is a story of Japanese society and in which one can distinctly recognize a peculiar characteristic that has come down to the present day: working for the community without imposing himself and finding in humility the key to success knowing that it might even come quietly. Gunpei Yokoi, in fact, never wanted his name to resonate everywhere, never sought public endorsements or blatant incensations; he worked hard following his ingenious intuitions as moved by a duty to his customers and, who knows, to the young gamers of the future to whom he gave milestones by entering, on tiptoe, into world history.

About author Mattia Gravili

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