Minoru Arakawa
Minoru Arakawa | |
|---|---|
荒川 實 | |
| 1st Nintendo of America | |
| In office April 23, 1980[1] – January 8, 2002 | |
| Succeeded by | Tatsumi Kimishima |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 3, 1946 Kyoto, Japan |
| Spouse |
Yoko Yamauchi (m. 1973) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Kyoto University (B.S., M.S) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.S) |
| Signature |  |
Minoru Arakawa (荒川 實, Arakawa Minoru, born September 3, 1946) is a Japanese businessman best known as the founder and former president of
Biography
Minoru Arakawa was born on 3 September 1946 in Kyoto, Japan, the second son of Waichiro Arakawa and Michi Ishihara.[2][3] His elder brother, Shoichi, later took over the family business. His sister married a professor of medicine.[4] Waichiro was the manager of Arakawa Textiles, and was more concerned with maintaining positive relationships with suppliers and customers than growing the company.[5] Michi was an artist, who spent afternoons in the family garden or her studio; her paintings were hung at their family home.[4] Arakawa's family was wealthy; the total real estate of Arakawa's family combined was about one-fifth of the downtown district in Kyoto.[2]
Arakawa began studying at Kyoto University in 1964, taking general classes for the first two years before focusing on civil engineering.[6] He graduated with a master's degree in 1969,[2] before moving to Boston in 1971 to continue studying civil engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He witnessed several protests against the United States involvement in the Vietnam War, but did not participate.[7] Arakawa graduated MIT with a second master's degree in 1972. Following a conversation on campus with a group of young Japanese businessmen, he decided to try to find work with a trading company. Upon returning to Japan, he was hired by Marubeni, a company in Tokyo that developed hotels and office buildings.[8] At a Christmas party in Kyoto, Arakawa met Yoko Yamauchi, daughter of Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi.[9] They married in November 1973.[10] Arakawa, along with his wife and three-year-old daughter Maki, moved to Vancouver, Canada in 1977 for work.[2][11] A second daughter, Masayo, was born in 1978.[12]
Hiroshi Yamauchi offered Arakawa the job of establishing
In January 2006, Arakawa co-founded Tetris Online, Inc. with Henk Rogers and Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov, which developed various games for Nintendo DS, Wii, iOS, and Facebook. Arakawa served as the president of Tetris Online, Inc. until March 2013.[19] He is also an advisor to Avatar Reality.[20]
Arakawa is played by Ken Yamamura in the 2023 movie Tetris.
References
- ^ "Informational Message". appext20.dos.ny.gov. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
- ^ a b c d Taiyoung 2012, p. 26.
- ^ a b "Profile: Minoru Arakawa". IGN. 25 June 2004. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
- ^ a b Sheff 1993, p. 81.
- ^ Sheff 1993, p. 80.
- ^ Sheff 1993, pp. 81–82.
- ^ Sheff 1993, p. 82.
- ^ Sheff 1993, p. 83.
- ^ Sheff 1993, p. 84.
- ^ Sheff 1993, p. 88.
- ^ Sheff 1993, p. 89.
- ^ Sheff 1993, p. 90.
- ^ Sheff 1993, p. 94.
- ^ Sheff 1993, p. 95.
- Imagine Media. November 1995. p. 58.
In 1985 when Nintendo entered the US home videogame market, there was no home videogame market, just the spectacular remnants of an industry that left everyone wary. With Arakawa and Lincoln at the helm and the odds stacked against them, Nintendo of America brilliantly laid the foundations for the sprawling, multifaceted beast that now likes to be known as the interactive entertainment business.
- ^ Cifaldi, Frank (11 December 2012). "Nintendo Power: Remembering America's Longest-Lasting Game Magazine". Gamasutra. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
- ^ "Nintendo Of America President Retires, Replaced By Pokemon USA Exec". Gamasutra. 8 January 2002. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
- ^ "Former Nintendo execs honored for lifetime achievements". Joystiq. 20 December 2006. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
- Businessweek. Archived from the originalon September 29, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- ^ Purchese, Robert (8 March 2007). "GDC: CryEngine for virtual world". Eurogamer. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
Bibliography
- Beuscher, Dave. "Minoru Arakawa Biography". Allgame. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
- ISBN 0-966 9617-0-6.
- Taiyoung, Ryu (2012). "Minoru Arakawa (1946–)". In Wolf, Mark (ed.). Encyclopedia of Video Games, The Culture, Technology, and Art of Gaming. Santa Barbara: ISBN 978-0-3133-7936-9.
