Masayuki Uemura, the man behind two of the greatest video game consoles of all time—the NES and SNES—has passed away.
The sad news has been confirmed by Kyoto’s Ritsumeikan University, which published an obituary today revealing that Uemura died on December 6, 2021, at 78 years old. Uemura had been serving as the director of the university’s Center for Game Studies since his retirement from Nintendo in 2004.
From ANA Global Channel, which shared a video regarding the development of the Famicom (Japan’s name for the NES) with appearances by Uemura:
Born in 1943 in Tokyo. Mr. Uemura joined Hayakawa Denki (now known as Sharp Corporation) after graduating from Chiba Institute of Technology. He transferred to Nintendo in 1971 and was placed in charge of development for Famicom (Family Computer) and Super Famicom. In 2004, he acceded to Development Dept. office at Nintendo as adviser and specially appointed professor in Ritsumeikan University.
Uemura began developing the Famicom in 1981, but his initial work with Nintendo actually related to light-gun games such as the predecessor to the iconic Duck Hunt. His resume also includes classics such as Ice Climbers, Clu Clu Land, Soccer, Baseball, and Golf.
Source: Ritsumeikan University (via Polygon)