Industry Video games Headquarters Chiyoda, Tokyo Number of employees 84 | Website creatures.co.jp Founded 8 November 1995 Type of business Private | |
Key people Tsunekazu Ishihara
(Chairman)
Hirokazu Tanaka
(President) Products Various video game titles Video games Great Detective Pikachu, EarthBound, PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's, Chee‑Chai Alien, Pokémon Ranger Profiles | ||
Creatures Inc. (株式会社クリーチャーズ, Kabushiki-gaisha Kurīchāzu) is a Japanese video game development company affiliated with The Pokémon Company. It was founded by Tsunekazu Ishihara in November 1995, with the assistance of Nintendo's Satoru Iwata, as a successor to Shigesato Itoi's company Ape Inc. It is well known for producing Pokémon trading cards and toys, as well as developing many video games. Its current president is Hirokazu Tanaka, who was previously known for producing and composing various other Nintendo games. The company has its headquarters on the second floor of the Gobancho KU Building (五番町KUビル, Gobanchō KU Biru) in Chiyoda, Tokyo, in proximity to the Ichigaya Station.
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History
Ape Inc. was founded in March 1989 and Shigesato Itoi became its chief executive officer. Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi had wanted to support new talent in game design. Liking Itoi's work, he proposed the idea of the company to Itoi and invested in it. Ape's staff included Tsunekazu Ishihara, who later became the Pokémon Company's CEO, and Ashura Benimaru Itoh, a renowned illustrator. They began work on Mother, which released in July. Its music was composed by Hip Tanaka, who later became the second CEO of Creatures. The team continued with work on Mother 2. When the project began to falter, Satoru Iwata of HAL Laboratories was brought in to help the project. The game was released in August 1994 and the Ape team dismantled.
Creatures, Inc. was established on November 8, 1995 under CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara and former staff from Ape.
Previously Creatures had its headquarters on the 7th floor of the Nintendo Kanda Building (任天堂神田ビル, Nintendō Kanda Biru) in Sudachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo. At a later point it was headquartered in the fifth floor annex of the kawasakiteitoku Building (川崎定徳ビル, kawasakiteitoku Biru) in Nihonbashi, Chūō, Tokyo. Creatures are also well known for making Pokémon card games and toys for the Pokémon Franchise.