There wasn't any media to get information about games, so I came up with Game Freak magazine. It got me more and more interested in video games. Tajiri: I was really into Space Invaders in about 1978. TIME: We heard you were a Space Invaders junkie. Tajiri: The technology in making games and in making anime is really similar. TIME: Do anime and games require a similar creativity? If it didn't exist, I'd probably be making anime. The profession of game designer was created really recently. Tajiri: I'm part of the first generation who grew up with manga and anime, you know, after 'Godzilla.' I was absorbed with Ultraman on TV and in manga. TIME: How did you get started designing games? I usually get inspiration for game designing by working this schedule. It's better to stay up day and night to come up with ideas. I've worked those irregular hours for the past three years. TIME: Are you O.K.? You look pretty tired. He looked like he needed a good long sleep. His eyes were bloodshot, there were dark circles under his eyes and his hands and lips trembled while he spoke. Tajiri had just finished work on the new series of Pokémon games for Nintendo's Game Boy, to be released in Japan Nov. These are external links not endorsed by TIME Asia and will open in a new windowĪll about the first feature-length Pokémon movie to hit the U.S.Īn anti-Pokémon advocate shares his views of doom and gloomĬNN's Rick Lockridge reports on the video game turned cultural phenomenon known as Pokémon.Ĭhild psychiatrist, John Lochridge claims Pokémon brainwashes kids TIME speaks with Pokémon's creator Satoshi Tajiri Online Exclusive: The Ultimate Game Freak First Look: A sneak preview of the new characters Strategy: A teenager explains the appeal Psychology: Should Children Play with Monsters? Their creator thinks of them as inner monsters, but the Pokémon have gone far beyond his mind to sweep Japan-and now the rest of the world Sandwiched between the Game Freak floors is a "cram school" for junior high school students who are taking extra paid-for lessons in hopes of improving their next entrance exam scores. His company occupies two floors in a nondescript office building. Spinoffs include trading cards as closely held as stock options, a TV series and, now, a movie.Ī person who usually shuns the limelight, Tajiri talked about his labor of love with Larimer and TIME intern Takashi Yokota at the offices of his small company, Game Freak, in Tokyo's Setagaya neighborhood, a youth-culture hub with several colleges and universities. Pokémon swept Japan and is now doing the same in the U.S. Now 34, he based it partly on things he remembered as a kid. That's like Pokémon." Shuzo Ogushi for TIMEĪfter first coming up with the idea for Pokémon in 1990, Satoshi Tajiri labored for nearly six years over the original game. Satoshi Tajiri: "When you get your first bike, you want to go somewhere you've never been before. In this extended interview, Tajiri explains, among other things, the logical trajectory from bugs to Pikachu. TIME Tokyo bureau chief Tim Larimer speaks with Satoshi Tajiri, the quiet, complex man who created a video game in which no one dies-and who in the process launched the worldwide phenomenon known as Pokémon. Subscribe to TIME! Get up to 3 MONTHS FREE! Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori clings to power as dissidents in his party finally decide not to back a no-confidence motionĪfter Florida's controversial ballot recount, Bush holds a 537-vote lead in the state, which could give him the election The American Express black card is the ultimate status symbol
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |