Tsunekazu Ishihara

Tsunekazu Ishihara (Tsunekaz also seen; Japanese: Ishihara Tsunekazu, born November 27, 1957) is the president and CEO of The Pokémon Company, a producer of Pokémon, and the founder and former CEO of Creatures, Inc. He manages all aspects of the Pokémon franchise including the , , and the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
==History==
Ishihara graduated from the in 1983 with a master's degree in Art and Design.Mr. Tsunekazu Ishihara wins the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award | Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association While earning his degree, Ishihara studied various mechanisms of visual expression, gravitating toward computer-generated art.Hatakeyama, Kenji; Kubo, Masakazu (December 10, 2000). ポケモン・ストーリー [Pokémon Story]. Nikkei BP. p. 79. ISBN 978-4822241995. After graduation, Ishihara worked at the advertising agency SPN, owned by the , for two years. Following this, he transferred to Sedic (Seibu Digital Communications), a film production company with a background in computer graphics also owned by the Seibu Saison Group. At Sedic, Ishihara produced shows about video games for , including Shigesato Itoi's TV Game Museum and .Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 80-82. During this time, Ishihara, Akihiko Miura, and other Sedic staff developed 's first video game , which released in 1987. While making television programs, Ishihara interviewed various figures in the video game industry, including , , and Satoshi Tajiri. Ishihara was particularly impressed by Tajiri's knowledge of video games as well as his skill in playing them, and the two became close.Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 82-83.Interview: Tajiri and Ishihara on Pokemon’s Beginnings, translated from July 2000 issue of Nintendo Online Magazine
In 1988, Ishihara published Denshi Yuugi Taizen - TV Games, an encyclopedia of video games, with each game documented in a map. To produce the book, Ishihara traveled across Japan, as well as to the Soviet Union and the United States, and conducted interviews with prominent video game developers. Itoi and Tajiri contributed essays to the book.Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 83-88. Ishihara also began playing , which led to him writing How to achieve 100,000 points in Tetris, published in 1989. Ishihara intended to visit the Soviet Union in order to secure the rights to release the game in Japan, but was beaten by , whose company Bullet Proof Software published versions for PCs and the Famicom toward the end of 1988. The limitations of Bullet Proof Software's port inspired him to make his own version of Tetris.すべては『ドアドア』から始まった――チュンソフト30周年のすべてを中村光一氏と振り返るロングインタビュー【前編】 Chunsoft 30th Anniversary Interview, translated by Shmupulations Ishihara and Akihiko Miura pitched different ideas to , who selected "exploding Tetris" as a promising idea. Development took two and a half years, and the Ishihara-produced released in 1991, with puzzles contributed by Miura and Kouichi Ooyama.“I made that!” – 1991 Developer Interviews, from the October 1991 issue of Famitsu, translated by Shmupulations
Ishihara left SEDIC in 1991 to become to vice president of Ape Inc., where he produced titles such as and .Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 98. After Ape Inc. ceased production activity, he founded Creatures, Inc. in November 8, 1995,Creatures Inc. Company Outline with the assistance of Satoru Iwata.社長が訊く『ポケットモンスター ハートゴールド・ソウルシルバー』Iwata Asks : Pokémon HeartGold Version & SoulSilver Version : Just Making The Last Train There, Ishihara continued assisting in the development of . Shortly after, he was inspired to create a trading card game based on the titles, ultimately resulting in the creation of the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
In April 1998, The Pokémon Company was established as Pokémon Center, Inc. and Ishihara was given the position of representative director. In 2001, he was named the president.
Announced in 1997, Ishihara was part of a team developing a game with a working title known as Cabbage (Japanese: キャベツ Kyabetsu) alongside Shigeru Miyamoto, Satoru Iwata, and . Originally intended for release on the Nintendo 64DD, Cabbage was a breeding simulatorThe IGN article discussing Cabbage's appearance in 64Dream. in which a player was able to raise a pet-like creature, known simply as a Cabbage, a name originating from Itoi.64Dream article on Cabbage. It began development in 1996 and was designed around the 64DD, requiring the use of its real-time internal clock. Cabbage would also have compatibility with the Game Boy, where a player could connect to the 64DD and interact with their pets there. No builds or gameplay of Cabbage ever surfaced throughout its development. Ishihara's role in Cabbage's development is incredibly vague; it is unclear what Ishihara actually contributed to the game's development, only that he (along with Itoi) became too busy with other projects, according to Miyamoto in 2006.Article discussing Miyamoto's comments on Cabbage in 2006.
In April 2023, Ishihara stepped down as CEO of Creatures, Inc., being succeeded by Yuji Kitano.Creatures Inc. sees leadership change as CEO and president step down
==Game credits==
* (1989) - Special Thanks
* (1993) - Producer
* (1994) - Special Effects Artist, Line Producer
* (1995) - Director, Screen Graphic Designer
* (1995) - Director, Screen Graphic Designer
* (1996) - Producer
* Pokémon Blue (1996) - Producer
* (1996) - Director
* Game Boy Camera (1998) - Special Thanks
* Pokémon Stadium (Japanese) (1998) - Producer
* (1998) - Producer
* Hey You, Pikachu! (1998) - Producer
* Pokémon Trading Card Game (1998) - Producer
* Super Smash Bros. (1999) - Original Game Staff (Pokémon Products Supervisor; "Pokémon", "EarthBound" Produce)
* Pokémon Snap (1999) - Pokémon Producer
* Pokémon Stadium (1999) - Producer
* (1999) - Producer
* (1999) - Executive Producer
* (1999) - Producer
* (2000) - Co-Producer (with of Nintendo. Attributed to "Spiral" with (Nintendo/Recruit) and )
* Pokémon Puzzle League (2000) - Licensing Supervisor
* Pokémon Puzzle Challenge (2000) - Production
* (2000) - Supervisor
* (2000) - Producer
* Pokémon Stadium 2 (2000) - Producer
* Pokémon Trading Card Game 2: The Invasion of Team GR! (2001) - Producer
* Pokémon Party mini (2001) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Pinball mini (2001) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Zany Cards (2001) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Puzzle Collection (2001) - Executive Producer
* Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001) - Original Game Staff (Product Supervision: Pokémon; Producer: EarthBound)
* Pokémon Tetris (2002) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Race mini (2002) - Executive Producer
* (2002) - Special Thanks
* Pichu Bros. mini (2002) - Executive Producer
* Machop at Work (2002) - Producer
* Kingler's Day (2002) - Producer
* Togepi's Great Adventure (2002) - Executive Producer
* (2002) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Box: Ruby & Sapphire (2003) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Channel (2003) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire (2003) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Colosseum (2003) - Executive Producer
* (2004) - Executive Producer
* (2004) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Dash (2004) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness (2005) - Executive Producer
* (2005) - Special Thanks
* Pokémon Trozei! (2005) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team (2005) - Executive Producer
* (2006) - Executive Producer
* (2006) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Battle Revolution (2006) - Executive Producer
* (2007) - Special Thanks
* Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Darkness (2007) - Executive Producer
* Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008) - Senior Supervisor
* Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia (2008) - Executive Producer
* My Pokémon Ranch (2008) - Executive Producer
* (2008) - Executive Producer
* (2009) - Very Special Thanks
* Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky (2009) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Rumble (2009) - Executive Producer
* (2009) - Executive Producer
* PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure (2009) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs (2010) - Executive Producer
* (2010) - Executive Producer
* Learn with Pokémon: Typing Adventure (2011) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Rumble Blast (2011) - Executive Producer
* PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond (2011) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Conquest (2012) - Executive Producer
* (2012) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Dream Radar (2012) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity (2012) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Rumble U (2013) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon X and Y (2013) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Battle Trozei (2014) - Executive Producer
* The Thieves and the 1000 Pokémon (2014) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Art Academy (2014) - Executive Producer
* Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U (2014) - Senior Supervisor
* Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (2014) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Rumble World (2015) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon (2015) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Picross (2015) - Executive Producer
* (2016) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Sun and Moon (2016) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (2017) - Executive Producer
* (2018) - Executive Producer
* Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018) - Original Game Supervisor
* Pokémon Sword and Shield (2019) - Executive Producer
* New Pokémon Snap (2020) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (2021) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Legends: Arceus (2022) - Executive Producer
* Pokémon Sleep (2023) - Executive Producer (The Pokémon Company)
==Animation credits==
===Executive producer===
* Pokémon animated series
* Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate!
===Production supervisor===
* Pocket Monsters: Advanced Generation TV series
* The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon
* Spell of the Unown: Entei
* Mewtwo Returns
* Pikachu's PikaBoo
* Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias
* Jirachi: Wish Maker
* Destiny Deoxys
* Lucario and the Mystery of Mew
* Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea
===Supervision===
* Mewtwo Strikes Back
* The Power of One
* Pikachu's Island Adventure
==Appearances in games==
Ishihara (Japanese: Ｍｒ．イシハラ Mr. Ishihara) appears in the Game Boy Color spin-off of the Pokémon TCG, , as a Pokémon card collector. Ishihara owns over 10,000 cards. He's also written many books about the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
In the game, Ishihara can always be found in his house on the cape to the northwest after being told by someone in the game where he is. He will trade very rare promotional Pikachu cards to the player for rare colorless cards. In order, he will trade a for a , a for a , and an alternate design for a . After all three trades have been completed, Ishihara will leave in search of someone who will give him the Phantom Cards.
In Pokémon Trading Card Game 2: The Invasion of Team GR!, Ishihara moves between his house and a new area, his villa. He will still trade cards with the player, but this time, he will be available to duel in his villa after all his trades are completed. He uses the , which contains many rare promotional cards.
===Sprites===
 	 	 	 	
Main sprite from	Win sprite from	Loss sprite from	Overworld sprite()	Overworld sprite()
==Appearances in the TCG==
Tsunekazu Ishihara appears in one promotional card.
==Appearances in animated series==
Tsunekazu Ishihara makes a cameo appearance in the Pokémon: Path to the Peak episode Worlds.
==Interviews mentioning Pokémon==
October 26th, 2023
Famitsu (Issue 1819) - "Detective Pikachu has Returned"
feat. Hiroyuki Jinnai
==Videos==
===#Pokemon20: The Pokémon Company's Tsunekazu Ishihara===
==Trivia==
* Images of Ishihara are often incorrectly identified as Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri. The origin of this error is unknown.
* Ishihara's favorite Pokémon is because he used it all throughout the debugging and testing of Pokémon Red and Green Versions.(February 9, 2000). "ABC News Pokémon Chat Transcript." IGN.
** In a November 2002 interview for , Ishihara mentions that his favorite Pokémon is .(November 2002). 1-5. 開発者よりみなさまへのメッセージ。 『ポケットモンスター　ルビー・サファイア』大特集。 Nintendo Online Magazine (N.O.M). No.52.
* A hidden Easter egg in sets the rival's default name to Ishihara as soon as the game is turned on. This name does not appear in the default names list and is overwritten as soon as the player has a chance to choose a name.
* One of the default names in the Japanese Pokémon Blue is Tsunekazu, much as "Satoshi" is for Red and "Shigeru" is for Green.
** Similarly, one of the default rival names in Pokémon FireRed Version is Kaz (Japanese: ツネカズ Tsunekazu).
==References==
==External links==
* Global Information Summit, "Creating Contents that Reach Deeply into Our Lifestyles"
* "Master of the Pocket Monster Universe puts success down to better experience" at Times Online
* "Tsunekazu Ishihara: The Pokémon Interview" at SPOnG
* "ABC News Pokémon Chat Transcript" at IGN
* "Q&A: Head Pokétrainer Tsunekazu Ishihara" at GameSpot
* "E3 2004: The Pokémon Creators Speak" at IGN
* 
==Related articles==
Category:Game staff
Category:TCG staff
Category:TCG GB characters
Category:TCG GB2 characters
Category:Animation cast and crew
Category:People
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