GS: I think it’s good to preserve his memory, because he is really important to games, but I think still not a lot of people know who he is. He was always behind the scenes. I mean he made the D-pad, and he made the Game Boy, and those are really important steps, but I don’t think as many people know his name as would even know your name.

Did you see when they dedicated an award to him at GDC, I think it was three years ago?

TM: No, I don’t think so.

GS: It was really moving, because they dedicated a lifetime achievement award to him, and his son came up to accept the award, and everybody was misty, by the end. He was really important after all.

TM: Yes, I think so. He did a really great job. He made history.

GS: Were you ever able to meet him?

TM: Unfortunately no.

GS: I don’t think many people have. He seemed rather quiet.

Gunpei Yokoi (1941-1997)

TM: Yeah, I think so.

GS: Will you be designing the game yourself, or producing?

TM: Producing and game design, the music synthesis part. The director is a young guy from Q Entertainment called Reo Yonaga. He’s kind of a new face. And there are some artists from Q Entertainment. It’s really a fresh team. The next generation.

I’m just executive producing. That means…just watching (laughs).

GS: It seems like in terms of actual creation, you’ve had a more peripheral and observing role, for a while.

TM: Well, this is Q Entertainment, and we have many projects now, and many new talents coming in. And I think that’s good. I want to concentrate on my creations, myself. So last year I went to Phantagram, and we had a collaboration with them, Ninety Nine Nights. And now there’s Lumines 2, and maybe I’ll watch the next step for the next production after Lumines 2. But we should have many facets as Q Entertainment, not only one game, or a few games. So I really welcome the idea of having many young talents become the future of production.

GS: Do you miss the days of designing?

TM: No…it’s impossible to watch everything. But we have very strong overlying concepts though, like interactive music.