Voting Station

Gunpei Yokoi

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Inventor

The Resume

    (September 10, 1941-October 4, 1997)
    Born in Kyoto, Japan
    Video game designer for Nintendo
    Created the Game Boy, Virtual Boy, Game Watch, Ultra Hand, Light Gun
    Assisted in the design of the Metroid and Donkey Kong series
    Died when struck by a car on a freeway

Why he might be annoying:

    Despite coming up with many groundbreaking designs, one of his first inventions, the Lover Tester, used to test a couples love compatibility, had no real accuracy.
    His design of the Virtual Boy featured a black and red screen and required its users to take regular breaks to prevent headaches and eyestrain.
    The Virtual Boy became Nintendo’s biggest failure and lead to his resignation.
    He designed the R.O.B, a robot for the NES, which was mainly for marketing purposes. It had a short lifespan and only supported two games.
    He ended his career with Nintendo because of the failure of the Virtual Boy, yet all his other designs were a success.
    Some of his game devices were known to break easy.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Many of his designs are credited with the success of Nintendo and set many standards for video games.
    He insisted that his designs make good use of battery life, which is one of the main reasons behind the success of the game boy.
    He and Nintendo were criticized for not making the original Game Boy in color.
    They refused to do it because it would cost more for people to buy and use more batteries, and therefore sold way more than colored handheld devices by competitors like Sega, Atari and NEC.
    He created the D-pad, which has been featured on just about every video game control since.
    He came up with the idea for a hand held gaming device when he saw a board commuter on a bullet train playing with a pocket calculator.
    The invention of the Game Boy was so ingenious that a group working on portable devices for Sony got a scolding from the company’s executives who felt that it should have been a Sony invention.
    He was described as a warm and wonderful gentleman who was loved by everyone he came in contact with.
    With the exception of the Virtual Boy, nearly all of his designs were a successes.
    He received a ‘Lifetime Achievement Honor’ at the Game Developers Choice Awards posthumously (2003).

Credit: ash5667


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 20 Votes: 55.00% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 13 Votes: 38.46% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 17 Votes: 47.06% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 11 Votes: 72.73% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 7 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 17 Votes: 58.82% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 17 Votes: 41.18% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 84 Votes: 59.52% Annoying