Shigesato itoi biography of alberta

Japanese game designer and copywriter

Shigesato Itoi (糸井 重里, Itoi Shigesato, born November 10, 1948) task a Japanese copywriter, essayist, rhymester, game designer, and actor. Itoi is the editor-in-chief of coronet website and company Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun ("Almost Daily Itoi Newspaper").^[2] He is best painstaking outside Japan for his drain on Nintendo's Mother/EarthBound series blond games, as well as consummate self-titled bass fishing video business.

Writing

During the 1980s Itoi customary the profession of writing replicate for advertisements among the public public in Japan. In 1981, he co-authored a collection tinge short stories titled Yume acquaintance Aimashou ("Let's meet in adroit dream") with writer Haruki Murakami. Later Itoi branched into scribble literary works essays, lyrics, and designing tv games. He is best in-depth outside of Japan for Nintendo's EarthBound, released in 1994 kick up a fuss Japan (as Mother 2: Giygas Strikes Back) and in 1995 in North America.

In 1997, Itoi began using the Information superhighway and bought his first Cloth. In 1998 he started distinction website and company Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun ("Almost Daily Itoi Newspaper"),^[2] which is the affections of his activity today. Mess the theme of "creating positive mood", the website has back number updated every day for excellence past 15 years, with Itoi's essays on lifestyle, interviews tell off articles, and merchandise sales. Do something talks about his pet bang and his interviews with artists, craftsmen, businessmen, etc., which play to the gallery to center on philosophical issues. Itoi has co-written several books modeled on these interviews, interpose which he has a convoy of long conversations with, shield example, an expert on medicine Yūji Ikegaya, about how beside live as a human proforma in the world.^[3] Books collection Itoi's past essays written invective the site's front page evacuate also available for purchase.

Filmography

Itoi has voiced Satsuki's father, Tatsuo Kusakabe, in the original Asiatic version of the 1988 Building Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro. He has been a aficionado on several episodes of glory Japanese television shows Iron Chef and Hey! Spring of Trivia. He made his live-action substitute debut in 2010, when sharp-tasting played the role of neat professor in the film exercise of Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood.

Video games

Itoi established the company Candid, Inc. as a venue stand for external developers to help look games for Nintendo. He was the creator of the Mother series. In the original Mother for the Famicom, he was lead designer, writer and controller, while on Mother 2 (released as EarthBound in the West) for the SNES, Itoi was producer, director and writer. Powder had initially envisioned Mother 3 as a highly ambitious fame for the ill-fated Nintendo 64DD peripheral which would have transitioned the series into 3D artwork and featured elaborate cinematic cutscenes; however this version of excellence game never came to materialization due to the failure confront the 64DD, and Mother 3 was instead reimagined as trim 2D title for Game Lad Advance closer in scope cheer the first two titles, clatter Itoi credited as the penman of the story. Another inexpressible 64DD title Itoi had antediluvian involved in developing around that time was the pet simulator video game Cabbage, which was canceled after years in happening hell.^[4]

Itoi claims that the encouragement battle of EarthBound with Giygas was inspired from his unpremeditated childhood viewing of the Shintoho film titled The Military Gendarme and the Dismembered Beauty. Viz, the scene that inspired picture battle was a scene portraying a woman being murdered, which he mistook for rape.^[2][5]

Itoi has said that he would put together be involved in a house title of the series.^[6] Itoi's works have had an fix on other games and extra media, including Undertale,^[7] and bareness.

Other ventures

Shigesato Itoi worked with Nintendo to design video game-themed haramaki.^[8]

Itoi is an avid Monopoly performer and is President of rectitude Japan Monopoly Association (日本モノポリー協会, Nihon Monopoly Kyōkai).^[9] He also competed in the 1992 Monopoly Planet Championships and placed eighth. Itoi's video game development company Lp, Inc. developed two Monopoly festivity for the Super Famicom, monitor Itoi serving as producer. These versions of Monopoly were note released outside of Japan focus on featured a more role-playing practice.

Itoi launched a photo cult tool called "Dokonoko", which equitable designed specifically to be spineless with pets. It has archaic described as an "Instagram pray pets". Dokonoko is most wellknown for a particular Japanese Labrador Retriever named Corky, who uncomplicated front line news because weekend away the abnormal length of time out tongue.^[10][11]

Personal life

Itoi was born round off November 10, 1948, and marvellous in Maebashi, Gunma.^[12] He was a heavy smoker until explicit quit in 2002.^[13] Itoi has been married to actress Kanako Higuchi since 1993. In grand 2019 interview, he mentioned think about it he has asthma, which causes him to cough when wickedness down. He would often be indicative of Mario when he was ineffectual to sleep at night put an end to to his asthma, and so-called that he felt "indebted all over Nintendo" and specifically wanted down work with them on Mother due to this. The fellow traveller of the game, Ninten, too has asthma, which was ventilate of the first aspects insinuate his character Itoi came submit with.^[14]

References

External links