PIONEERS PASS AWAY
Gaming loses more talented individuals that shaped the business
In 2021, we celebrated 50 years of the commercial videogame industry, and with that milestone comes the sobering reality that many of the pioneering creators that have built the games we love have reached an advanced age. We recently learned of three major figures in the industry that have passed away. Hiroshi Ono passed away on 16 October at the age of 64, Masayuki Uemura passed away on 6 December aged 78, and Ian Hetherington passed on 14 December at 69.
Hiroshi Ono was an artist who joined Namco in 1979, and became known as Mr Dotman for his skill in creating pixel art. Many of the company’s early arcade hits featured his work, including the likes of Dig Dug, Galaga and Xevious. Ono would remain with Namco until going freelance in 2013, after which he contributed to a variety of games including Cosmic Cavern 3671. In 2020 Ono revealed that an illness had taken most of his mobility, and that many of his early Namco artworks had been stolen in a burglary at his storage facility. A Japanese crowdfunding effort was set up earlier in 2021 in order to create a documentary about Ono’s life and work, and successfully reached its goal. The producers have since confirmed that the project will continue. Many of Ono’s colleagues in the industry have paid tribute, including Yuzo Koshiro, who posted some of Ono’s work on Twitter with the message, “My daughter found this and said with a smile a while back, ‘I love the red cat. So cute!’ I was impressed his pixel arts didn’t only inspire my generation strongly but also stood the test of time. I know they will all miss you too… RIP Hiroshi Ono-san aka Mr Dotman.”
Masayuki Uemura joined Nintendo from Sharp in 1971, where he initially worked on lightgun games for the arcade and home markets. He became the head of the company’s R&D2 division, where he would work on the early Color Tv-game systems. However, Uemura’s most influential products would be Nintendo’s cartridge-based home videogame consoles. Despite a shaky start due to » »
Photo credit: Matt Taylor
I was impressed his pixel arts didn’t only inspire my generation strongly but also stood the test of time YUZO KOSHIRO
hardware problems, the Famicom would go on to dominate the Japanese console market for years following its 1983 release. After a redesign aimed at making the system look less like a console, the 8-bit hardware was test launched as the Nintendo Entertainment System in the USA in 1985, and soon drove a revival of a market that retailers and other businesses had written off as a passing fad. That success led to the creation of a 16-bit successor, the SNES, which would go on to achieve great success of its own and played host to an incredible library of games. Combined, the two consoles would sell over 110 million units.
Uemura would remain with Nintendo until 2004, although he had an advisory role with the hardware team in the years that followed. He would go on to become a professor by special appointment at Ritsumeikan University, where he served as the director of its Centre For Game Studies. Tributes to Uemura have come from far and wide, including the National Videogame Museum in Sheffield. “The team at the National Videogame Museum is devastated to hear the news today that Masayuki Uemura has passed away,” read a statement on the museum’s Twitter account. “Uemura-sensei generously dedicated so much of his time to the museum, most recently visiting us at our launch of the Videogame Heritage Society in February 2020.”
Ian Hetherington was a cofounder of Imagine Software in 1982, where he served as the company’s financial director. Although that company suffered a swift and highly public downfall in 1984, Ian was undeterred and cofounded Psygnosis. The company went on to be highly successful, publishing games including
Shadow Of The Beast, Lemmings and
Wipeout, and was purchased by Sony in 1993. Ian would leave Psygnosis in 1998 and cofounded Evolution Studios with Martin Kenwright. Evolution Studios was primarily known for developing the World Rally Championship games for Playstation 2, and had launched Motorstorm for the Playstation 3 when Ian left in 2007. He would subsequently hold senior roles at other gaming companies including Real Time Worlds.
Tributes to Ian have been plentiful since the news of his passing. Wipeout designer Nick Burcombe tweeted, “Sad news today about the passing of UK development legend, Ian Hetherington. He steered so many of my Psygnosis friends and colleagues through the 16 and 32-bit eras and into the arms of Playstation. #wipeout fans, it was Ian’s leadership that made it happen. #respect.” Richard Browne of Digital Extremes said, “Absolutely shocked and devastated to hear of the passing of Ian Hetherington today. Thirty years ago he gave me the wonderful opportunity to be a part of the games industry legend that is Psygnosis; it is a time I still look back on as some of the best moments of my life.” Former Bizarre Creations head Martyn Chudley tweeted, “Oh wow – I’ve just heard the news about Ian Hetherington… this is truly shocking. It was Ian who gave me my big break into the games industry back in ’88 – a true legend. Ian can rightly claim to have been a huge piece of gaming history. He’ll be missed…”
Our thoughts go out to the families and friends of all three men.