Junichi Masuda moving to new role in TPC as “Chief Creative Fellow”
He will no longer be serving as a General Director for Game Freak.
Junichi Masuda, involved in the Game Freak Pokémon titles from the first generation as a composer to the likes of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl as Director, is now changing positions. This was announced on the coporate Pokémon website.
The Pokémon Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Junichi Masuda as its Chief Creative Fellow, effective June 1, 2022.
Junichi Masuda has served as the Managing Director at GAME FREAK inc., the original creator of Pokémon, until May 31. As one of the founding members of GAME FREAK, he was involved in the development of “Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Green Version,” supporting the development of the subsequent Pokémon video game series for many years. Masuda will utilize his deep understanding of the Pokémon brand to develop new services and products at the Pokémon Company, tapping into his years of experience and creative thinking.
The site also offered these comments from the man himself:
I have served as the director of the Pokémon video game series, starting with “Pokémon Ruby Version and Pokémon Sapphire Version” up until “Pokémon X and Pokémon Y,” and was involved in the development of many video games, including Pokémon GO. I would like to express my heart-felt thanks to all Pokémon fans.
Going forward, I hope to transcend the boundaries of video games by trying to offer greater surprises, fun and excitement to people all over the world, while doing my utmost to connect people, expand the circle of “play” and to help bring about a richer world for us to share. I appreciate your continued support in my new role.
It’s been quite the involved career, but also not the first time Masuda had indicated he would retire as Director with comments on that during development of Let’s GO, Pikachu and Eevee!, only to a few years later co-direct the Sinnoh remake titles.
It’s an interesting time – we’ll see how his new role pans out. What are your opinions of Masuda’s efforts to Game Freak both recently and overall?
