Yoshiki Okamoto (born June 10, 1961 in Ehime Prefecture, Japan) is a video game designer credited with designing a number of the most popular games in the industry. June 10 is the 161st day of the year (162nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... Ehime agency Ehime Prefecture (愛媛県; Ehime-ken) is a prefecture in northwestern Shikoku, Japan. ... A game designer is a person who designs games. ...

Early career

Okamoto's early games such as Gyruss and Time Pilot set new and innovative standards in the shoot 'em up genre during the golden age of arcade games. Although these games turned out to be successful titles for Konami, Okamoto's employer was not too happy as apparently Okamoto had been told to create a driving game instead. Internal disagreements, financial and credible, caused his termination from Konami. Gyruss is a shoot-em-up video arcade game developed by Konami, and released in 1983. ... Time Pilot is a 1982 arcade game by Konami and distributed in the US by Centuri, designed by Yoshiki Okamoto. ... It has been suggested that Scrolling shooter be merged into this article or section. ... In Space Invaders, the player controls the firing and horizontal position of the green cannon at the bottom, fending off constant attack by echelons of eponymous enemies. ... Konami Corporation ) (TYO: 9766 NYSE: KNM SGX: K20) is a leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines and video games. ... Konami Corporation ) (TYO: 9766 NYSE: KNM SGX: K20) is a leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines and video games. ...

Joining Capcom in 1984, Okamoto continued to direct innovation. His first game for Capcom was 1942. He also created the Street Fighter series which remains one of the most important and successful video game franchises ever. Of course, the idea of two players fighting each other was hardly a new idea, having always been an integral part of arcade, home, and computer games. Indeed, PONG, Combat, and Computer Space pioneered such competitive formats in their respective video game genres, while Karate Champ and Yie-Ar Kung Fu predated Street Fighter by many years in terms of employing a martial arts theme. Nonetheless, Street Fighter and its more successful sequel Street Fighter II (in fact the first incarnation is largely forgotten) elevated graphics and gameplay to a worldwide phenomenon and established the fighting game genre as an institution within the industry. For the original NASA meaning, see capsule communicator. ... Year 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar). ... For the original NASA meaning, see capsule communicator. ... 1942 is a vertically scrolling shoot em up made by Capcom that was released for the arcade in 1984. ... Street Fighter ), or commonly abbreviated as SF, is a popular series of fighting video games in which the players pit combatants from around the world, each with his or her own special moves, against one another. ... A video arcade (known as an amusement arcade in the United Kingdom) is a place where people play arcade video games. ... Four different video game consoles from different generations. ... PONG helped bring computerized video games into everyday life. ... Computer Space is a video arcade game released in November, 1971 by Nutting Associates. ... Karate Champ (original title: 空手道 Karate Dô, The Way of Karate) is a 1984 arcade game developed by Technos Japan Corporation for Data East. ... Yie-Ar Kung Fu is a game where some guy named Oolong fights martial arts masters. ... Street Fighter ) is a 1987 arcade game developed by Capcom. ... Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ... Street Fighter II: The World Warrior is a 1991 competitive fighting game by Capcom. ... Computer graphics is a sub-field of computer science and is concerned with digitally synthesizing and manipulating visual content. ... Gameplay includes all player experiences during the interaction with game systems, especially formal games. ... This article describes fighting games in which opponents face off in a battle. ...

Later career

Okamoto continued to develop video games for Capcom through Flagship, including Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japan). Additionally, he produced the movie and its sequel. In 2004, he resigned from Capcom to form his own video game company. Flagship was an independent developer funded by Capcom, Nintendo and Sega that was founded by game designer Yoshiki Okamoto. ... Resident Evil , Biohazard) is a survival horror video game by Capcom and is the inaugural title in the Resident Evil series. ... Resident Evil is a 2002 science fiction / horror film adaptation of Capcoms survival horror series Resident Evil which was first released in theaters on March 15, 2002. ... Resident Evil: Apocalypse is the sequel to the 2002 film Resident Evil from Screen Gems, written by Paul W. S. Anderson and directed by Alexander Witt. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 2005, Okamoto's new independent game company, Game Republic, released its first game Genji: Dawn of the Samurai. Genji is a game set in Feudal Japan, plays a lot like Onimusha and is hailed for its graphics and gameplay. A sequel, Genji: Days of the Blade, was released on the PS3 in late 2006. A new Game Republic game called 'Folklore' (Folkssoul in Japan) is due for release in 2007. Game Republic are the developers of Genji: Dawn of the Samurai and its sequel, Genji: Days of the Blade. ... The written history of Japan began with brief appearances in Chinese history texts from the first century CE. However, archaeological research indicates that people were living on the islands of Japan as early as the upper paleolithic period. ... PlayStation 3 , trademarked PLAYSTATION®3,[7] commonly abbreviated PS3) is Sony Computer Entertainments third video game console. ...

Okamoto also developed a typical party game called Every Party, which was a launch title for the Xbox 360 in Japan. Every Party is a party videogame developed by Game Republic and published by Microsoft. ... Super Mario Brothers, a launch title for the NES A launch title is a video game that has been made available to consumers synchronously with its respective video game console, meaning they are the only available games at the time of the consoles launch. ... The Xbox 360 is the successor to Microsofts Xbox video game console, developed in cooperation with IBM, ATI, Samsung and SiS. Information on the console first came through viral marketing campaigns and it was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information divulged...

External links

• Yoshiki Okamoto personal website
• Yoshiki Okamoto at MobyGames
• Yoshiki Okamoto at IMDB
• Game Republic homepage (Japanese)
• E3 2001: The Yoshiki Okamoto Interview, IGN
• Yoshiki Okamoto: The Clown Prince of Gaming , Gamers Today
• FAQ: Yoshiki Okamoto, EDGE