Masayuki Uemura, creator of Super Nintendo and Nintendo, dies

The main architect of Nintendo (NES) and Super Nintendo (SNES), Masayuki Uemura, passed away on December 6 at the age of 78. Called the Famicon in Japan and Nintendinho in Spain, the Nintendo console was the brainchild of Msayuki and earned the name NES in the West.

Previously, Masayuki Uemura worked as an engineer at Sharp and was hired by Nintendo in 1972, a time when the possibilities of electronic entertainment were being explored. One of Masayuki's first roles at Nintendo was to collaborate on the development of location-based light-gun games.

Nintendo R&D2 - Nintendo's 1st attempt to create video games

When Nintendo R&D2 was created, Masayuki Uemura was named in charge of developing the "Color TV-Game" systems, the company's first attempt at breaking into the world of video games. However these systems were very basic and had crude titles. Masayuki began working on the Famicon (NES or Nintendinho) in 1981 at the request of Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, who asked him to create a device capable of playing arcade games on a TV, but using interchangeable cartridges.

The Famicon (NES or Nintendinho) was a sales success in Japan and worldwide, reaching 61,91 million units sold. In Japan alone, about 20 million consoles were sold.

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Super Famicon (SNES or Super Nintendo)

The Nintendo R&D2 division not only produced the Famicon (NES or Nintendo), but also the famous Super Famicon (SNES or Super Nintendo). In addition to this console, Masayuki Uemura also collaborated in the development of the Famicom Disk System and the Super Famicom Satellaview, models available only in Japan, in addition to the popular NES Zapper.

Masayuki Uemura also collaborated on game development

Masayuki Uemura collaborated not only in the creation of the NES and SNES, but also in the development of several titles such as, for example, Ice Climber, Clu Clu Land and a trilogy of football, baseball and golf sports games. But unfortunately Masayuki retired in 2004 and became a professor at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto.

In 2020 the Nintendo Life website interviewed Masayuki Uemura during his visit to the UK. During his speech, he said about one of the highlights of his career:

"The best time I can remember was when we completed development on the Famicom. At that time we didn't know if it was going to be popular or not, but the fact that we were able to finish the product was very satisfying. That was the first mission; to make sure we completed it. the development of the device and I did it, so I was happy."

The creator of the Smash Bros. games. and Kirby, Masahiro Sakurai, says on Twitter:

"It has been announced that Masayuki Uemura, the creator of the Family Computer, has passed away. I pray for his soul... NES is the video game console that I was most influenced by. Without that, I wouldn't be there."

It has been announced that Masayuki Uemura, the creator of the Family Computer, has passed away.I pray for your soul ...
NES is the game console that I was most influenced by.Without this, it wouldn't be there.

— Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) December 9, 2021

It's likely that Nintendo would be completely different from what it is today if it weren't for Masayuki Uemura's contributions to the world of video games. Techlifers sympathize with the feelings of friends and family at the loss of Masayuki.