Game Freak
From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
Game Freak, Inc. (Japanese: 株式会社ゲームフリーク Kabushikigaisha Game Freak) was founded on April 26, 1989 by Satoshi Tajiri. Originating as a video game magazine, they soon branched into game development as a second-party developer for Nintendo. Satoshi Tajiri is currently the CEO of Game Freak.
The company currently employs a staff of 68, as of October 2009.[1]
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Early history
Game Freak originated as a video game magazine in the early 1980s. The magazine was chiefly run by Satoshi Tajiri, Ken Sugimori, and a few of their friends. Issues typically cost 300 Yen apiece (roughly $3.00) and were around 28 pages long. Originally, the magazine was handwritten, but printing was later outsourced to a professional printing company.
In 1987, Tajiri published his first game, Quinty (Mendel Palace in North America). Two years later, in 1989, he officially founded the company Game Freak, named after the magazine. Development of Mendel Palace, which was released in North America later that year, is credited to Game Freak.
In the early 1990s, Game Freak continued to develop games for Nintendo and rival company Sega. These games included licensed titles such as Yoshi and Mario & Wario as well as original titles such as Pulseman and Jerry Boy (which won the Character Design Award from the Multimedia Content Association of Japan).
Development of Pokémon Red and Green Versions was lengthy and difficult, with many staff members leaving the company when they learned of how tight the financial situation was. Tajiri himself worked long, unpaid hours. Finally, after six years of development, the games were released on February 27, 1996.
Recent work
The unexpected success of the Pokémon games rocketed Game Freak to international success. They have since developed several sequels to the original Pokémon games and have also created remakes of the first two sets of paired versions. After the success of Pokémon, they have created few games which are not related to the franchise, however, they have enjoyed modest success with the 2005 release of Drill Dozer for the Game Boy Advance.
Philosophy
- 良質な『遊び』を継続的に創り出すことによって世界中の人に楽しさ、面白さ、発見を。そして勇気と希望、やさしさ、夢、冒険心を提供していきます
To give the people of the world enjoyment, fun and discovery by continuously creating games of superior quality. And to encourage bravery, hope, kindness, dreams and an adventurous spirit.
Key people
- Satoshi Tajiri (田尻 智), founder, CEO, chairman of the board
- Ken Sugimori (杉森 建), board member, art director
- Jun'ichi Masuda (増田順一), board member, head of development
- Takenori Ōta (太田健程)
- Shigeki Morimoto (森本茂樹)
- Motofumi Fujiwara (藤原基史)
Pokémon games
Game Boy
Game Boy Color
Game Boy Advance
Nintendo DS
In the games
Some of the employees of Game Freak appear in the main series of Pokémon games, usually headquartered in Celadon Mansion, but also found on vacation in the Cove Lily Motel of Lilycove City, Hoenn. In addition, a Game Freak member appears in Sinnoh's Grand Lake Hotel resort area. They are the ones who will present the player with a Diploma upon their completion of a regional Pokédex or the national one. In HeartGold and SoulSilver, they are stationed in Celadon Mansion once again. After receiving all 16 badges, an employee will give the player a GB Player. It is able to change the game's background music to the original 8-bit tracks from Gold and Silver.
