Game Boy Creator Dies

Gumpei Yokoi, the creator of the Game Boy, Virtual Boy, Famicom (and NES), as well as the brain behind the Metroid series passed away last Saturday. Yokoi and an associate were driving on the Hokuriku Expressway in Neagarimachi, Ishikawa Prefecture, when they hit a car in front of them. Stepping out to inspect the damage, the two were hit by an oncoming car.

Yokoi was pronounced dead two hours later, while his associate walked away with only a fractured rib.

At Nintendo, Yokoi was behind the company's first steps into the electronic gaming market, transforming a nearly 100-year-old company (at the time) that produced playing cards exclusively to a gaming industry leader. His influence can be seen in the company's Game & Watch releases, the Famicom, the Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, and the failed Virtual Boy. After parting ways with Nintendo after his Virtual Boy system flopped, Yokoi began a new company on his own which was planning to produce handheld games for children.

It is truly a sad day for Nintendo fans around the world, and VideoGameSpot expresses its sorrow to Yokoi's family for the loss of one of gaming's true innovators.