Hirofumi Matsuoka

​
Hirofumi Matsuoka (born June 25, 1961 in Hyougo Prefecture) was one of the background designers for Metroid. He later worked on Super Metroid's graphics as well. He was credited as New Matsuoka in Metroid; according to Hip Tanaka, this would have been Matsuoka's nickname at the time.
Besides Metroid, he has also worked on graphics for Famicom Wars. Matsuoka is now employed at Creatures, Inc.
==Claim about Samus's gender==
During a post-development interview in the Japanese Nintendo Official Guide Book for Super Metroid, when asked if there were any secrets about Samus that only he knew, Matsuoka claimed that Samus was actually a "newhalf", a Japanese slang term for a transgender woman. The Metroid Database, in their unofficial translation of the interview, used the English word "shemale", which is roughly the English equivalent.
A later interview with Yoshio Sakamoto would joke about the same quote from said interview, saying that a Metroid game was as likely to come to PlayStation 2 as Samus was to be transgender. Despite this, the claim led to much debate regarding its legitimacy, considering that while Matsuoka was a member of the Metroid development team, the level of involvement which he had in Samus's original character design (if any) is uncertain.
==Interview Description==
*Birthday: June 25, 1961
*Hometown: Hyougo Prefecture
*Masterpieces: Metroid, Famicom Wars, Super Mario Land, Game Boy Wars, Mario Paint
*Duties and Content: Background Production
*Favorite Films and Music: I don't watch too many movies, and also especially music... I listen to FM radio in the car.
*Secret of Samus that only I know: Samus isn't a woman. As a matter of fact, she's actually a shemale.
*Clear Time: 3:30
==External Links==
*Translated interview.
*Translated version of the interview with Sakamoto.
Category:Nintendo people
M
Category:Artists and Designers