 | |
Native name | 株式会社ゲームフリーク |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Gēmu Furīku |
| Company type | Private KK |
| Industry | Video games |
| Genre | Video game development |
| Founded | April 26, 1989; 35 years ago (1989-04-26) in Tokyo, Japan |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters | Kanda Square, 2-2-1 Kandanishiki-cho,
,
Japan
|
Number of locations | 1 Kanda Square (2020) |
Key people |
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| Products | Games |
| Brands | Pokémon |
Number of employees | 207 (2024) |
| Website | www |
| Footnotes / references [1][2] | |
Game Freak Inc.[a] is a Japanese video game developer, best known as the primary developer of the Pokémon series of role-playing video games, and as one of the co-owners of the Pokémon series.
Predating the video game company, Game Freak was a self-published video game magazine created by Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori in the 1980s. The first issue was published in 1983 by Tajiri.[3] Sugimori would join the magazine at a later date as an illustrator after finding the magazine in a shop and liking it.[4] Tajiri also used "Game Freak" as his pen name when he wrote as a freelance writer to publications such as Family Computer Magazine and Famicom Tsūshin.[5][6]
On April 26, 1989, Tajiri, Sugimori and Junichi Masuda started a video game development company with the same name.[7][8] One of Game Freak's first games was the Nintendo Entertainment System action and puzzle game Quinty, which was released in North America as Mendel Palace. Its most popular series, Pokémon—the romanized portmanteau of the Japanese brand Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター, Poketto Monsutā)[9]—is published and distributed respectively by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo worldwide.
In October 2015, Game Freak acquired Koa Games, a mobile development company.[10] The company was subsequently merged into Game Freak on December 1, 2015.[11]
In May 2019, Game Freak director Masayuki Onoue revealed that Game Freak is increasingly prioritizing original game creation, in order to grow the experience of its staff.[12] The company's Gear Project initiative, which encourages creators to pitch original game ideas during quiet periods, has so far resulted in original games HarmoKnight, Pocket Card Jockey, Tembo the Badass Elephant and Giga Wrecker.[13]
In February 2020, Game Freak transferred from its building in Tokyo to a much larger office owned by Nintendo, which planned to relocate four other divisions, plus other companies based in Kanda-Nishikicho, Tokyo. With this move, Game Freak is currently in the same building as Nintendo EPD Tokyo, Nintendo PTD Tokyo, HAL Laboratory and 1-Up Studio.[14]
Dr Lava's notes: Before it was a video game company, Game Freak was a gaming magazine Tajiri hand-wrote and stapled together from home in the early 1980's.
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