Masayuki Uemura, the Nintendo developer who was the lead designer of the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo Entertainment System, passed away on Dec. 6, 2021. He was 78 years old.
Uemura had a long and prosperous career at Nintendo, joining the company in 1971 and working with them until his retirement in 2004. He later became a professor at Ritsumeikan University, who broke the news about his death.
No cause of death was announced at this time. According to Ritsumeikan University, a private funeral was held by Mr. Uemura’s family; there currently hasn’t been any decision on a memorial service.
Remembering the life and work of Masayuki Uemura
Masayuki Uemura graduated from the Chiba Institute of Technology in 1967. He worked at the electronics company Sharp for a time before joining Nintendo in 1971. In his early days at the company, he created Nintendo’s early light-gun games like the Laser Clay Shooting System. When Nintendo formed its Nintendo Research & Development No. 2 Department (or Nintendo R&D2), Nintendo put Uemura in charge of the team.
It’s at R&D2 where Masayuki Uemura would help redefine the gaming industry. Uemura was the lead developer behind Nintendo’s first-ever console line, the Color TV-Game, which debuted in 1977. From there, he spearheaded the creation of the Nintendo Famicom, eventually released abroad as the Nintendo Entertainment System. The console revived the Western video game industry after the infamous video game crash of 1983, and it would soon put Nintendo at the top of its game. Uemura’s next major console, the Super Famicom / Super Nintendo Entertainment System, followed suit in the early 90s.
But Masayuki Uemura was not just a hardware developer. At R&D2, Uemura also acted as producer to several software titles for the Famicom; his credits include Ice Climber, NES Open Tournament Golf, and the NES port of Donkey Kong.
After Nintendo
Uemura continued to lead Nintendo R&D2 until he retired from the company in 2004. R&D2 would then fold into Nintendo’s Software Planning & Development division.
After leaving Nintendo, Uemura joined Ritsumeikan University as a professor of game and software design, and also directed its Center for Game Studies. He held various positions at the university, and also still remained in contact with Nintendo as an advisor until his death.
We here at Mega Visions are saddened by the passing of Masayuki Uemura and celebrate his legacy with the rest of the gaming world today. Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this time.
Via Destructoid.
