, also credited as Makoto Kanoh pre-1995, is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

game designer and supervisor. He was born in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

, Japan. Kano began working for Nintendo in 1974. He was one of the original designers in Nintendo's creative department. Originally, he designed toys and

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...

s before working on the Nintendo Beam Gun series. Kano eventually became one of the lead designers of the ''

Game & Watch The Game & Watch brand ( ''Gēmu & Uotchi''; called ''Tricotronic'' in West Germany and Austria, abbreviated as ''G&W'') is a series of handheld electronic games developed, manufactured, released, and marketed by Nintendo from 1980 to 1991. C ...

'' series. By 1984, he was heavily involved in several

Nintendo R&D1 commonly abbreviated as Nintendo R&D1, was Nintendo's oldest video game development team. It was known as before splitting in 1978. Its creation coincided with Nintendo's entry into the video game industry, and the original R&D1 was headed by ...

games, including '' Hogan's Alley'', ''

Gyromite R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy) is a toy robot accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was launched in July 1985 as the in Japan, and October 1985 as R.O.B. in North America. Its short lifespan yielded only two games in the ...

'', and more specifically the '' Metroid'', ''

Kid Icarus ''Kid Icarus'' is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan and the Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe and North America. It was released in Japan in December 1986, in Europe in ...

'', and ''

Famicom Wars is a wargame developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Famicom. It was released on August 12, 1988 in Japan. It was later re-released on Virtual Console. It is the first game in the ''Wars'' series. Gamepl ...

'' series. Some other projects he has worked on at Nintendo include ''

Super Metroid is an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. It is the third installment in the ''Metroid'' series, following the events of the Game Boy ...

'', the Super Scope for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and '' Mario & Wario''. Kano is credited with creating several early Nintendo characters during the 1980s. Ultimately, his best known achievement may have been creating the concepts of the Metroid,

, and

universe.Iwata Asks: Game & Watch
/ref>

Works

*Nintendo Beam Gun - Designer (

Toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

s, 1975) *'' Metroid'' - Concept Designer (

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

, 1986) *''

'' - Concept Designer (NES, 1986) *''

'' - Concept Designer (NES, 1988) *'' Famicom Tantei Club Part II: Ushiro ni Tatsu Shōjo'' - Supervisor (

Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redes ...

, 1989) *'' Metroid II: Return of Samus'' - Designer (

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...

, 1991) *'' Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins'' - Designer (Game Boy, 1992) *''

Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru , officially translated as ''The Frog For Whom the Bell Tolls'', is an action role-playing video game developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy exclusively in Japan in 1992. The title is a play on ...

'' - Producer (Game Boy, 1992) *'' Super Scope 6'' - Producer (

SNES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in E ...

, 1992) *''

Battle Clash ''Battle Clash,'' known in Japan as , is a light gun shooter video game developed by TEC and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992. The game supports the Super Scope. It was followed by '' Metal Combat: Falcon ...

'' - Producer (SNES, 1992) *''

'' - Producer (SNES, 1994) *''

Teleroboxer is a game for Nintendo's Virtual Boy video game console. The game is a boxing simulator played in the first-person point of view. Gameplay and premise ''Teleroboxer'' takes place in the 22nd century, when a technology called "Telerobotics" is u ...

'' - Artwork (

Virtual Boy The Virtual Boy is a 32-bit tabletop portable video game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. Released in 1995, it was marketed as the first console capable of displaying stereoscopic "3D" graphics. The player uses the console like ...

, 1995) *''

Pokémon Stadium ''Pokémon Stadium'', known in Japan as is a strategy video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. First released in Japan on April 30, 1999, it was later released as the first ''Stadium'' title in Western regions the foll ...

'' - Artwork (

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...

, 1998)

Interviews

Iwata Asks: Game & Watch Iwata Asks: Game & Watch - Development Staff Interview

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kano, Makoto 1950 births Japanese video game designers Japanese video game producers Living people Metroid Nintendo people Video game artists