Nihon Falcom has announced that its founder and former president, Masayuki Kato, died on December 15 at the age of 78. The news was first released via a notice uploaded on the official website, which does not specify his cause of death. The man founded the company back in 1981 and chose the name “Falcom” as a reference to the Millenium Falcon ship from the Star Wars series before adding the word Nihon to make it more unique.
Masayuki Kato started his professional career as a computer technician in the auto industry but was later drawn to PCs and the gaming industry. After founding the company, he worked as the president of Nihon Falcom for the following decades and became a pioneer in the action RPG genre. He created landmark RPG series such as Ys, Xanadu, The Legend of Heroes, Sorcerian, and Dragon Slayer. The man is recently credited with producing several Ys and The Legend of Heroes games, such as Ys X: Nordics.
Nihon Falcom initially only focused on creating Japanese PC games, but it started working with PlayStation in the early 2000s. With this cooperation, the studio began to release new titles to the console, such as Ys I & II Complete and The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. After this event, the company has been launching new games worldwide on various platforms.
Kato remained president until 2001 when Shinji Yamazaki took over. Yamazaki held the position until 2007, when the current president of Nihon Falcom, Toshihiro Kondo, succeeded him. After stepping down, Kato continued to work as chairman of the board of directors until his death.
Nihon Falcom announced that a wake and funeral would take place, but only his next of kin would be able to attend. The company respectfully declines any flowers, offerings, and telegrams of condolence. The notice also mentioned a “farewell party,” but it doesn’t share further details.
