The Pokémon Firm’s Tsunekazu Ishihara Accepts The Andrew Yoon Legend Award 

The Pokémon Firm president and CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara has accepted the Andrew Yoon Legend Award, showing in a pre-recorded video that was proven at The fifteenth Annual New York Sport Awards.

The award is called after Andrew Yoon, who was a founding member of the New York Sport Critics Circle, and recognises “trade icons and organisations that exhibited a big, sustained physique of labor demonstrating distinctive creative achievement and innovation.”

Earlier Andrew Yoon Legend Award recipients embody Sam Lake, Neil Druckmann, Reggie Fils-Aimé, Phil Spencer, Tim Schafer, Jerry Lawson, Jade Raymond, Richard Garriott, Todd Howard, Ralph Baer and Hideo Kojima.

“Hiya, everybody. I’m Ishihara from The Pokémon Firm. I began my Pokémon journey because the producer of the Pokémon Pink and Pokémon Inexperienced video video games, which launched in 1996. Since then, I’ve been concerned within the improvement of each Pokémon online game and the manufacturing of all kinds of Pokémon content material, together with the buying and selling card recreation, the animated collection, motion pictures, merchandising, and extra,” Ishihara started in his acceptance speech.

“Right this moment, I’m really grateful to simply accept this prestigious Andrew Yoon Legend Award. I want to lengthen my deepest because of the New York Sport Critics Circle; to the present house owners of Pokémon at Sport Freak, Creatures, and Nintendo; to all of our enterprise companions who’ve been concerned with Pokémon; and, after all, to all of our followers around the globe who take pleasure in Pokémon. Thanks very a lot to your help.

“I consider the true recipients of this award are the entire individuals who have helped to create, nurture, and elevate Pokémon up till now. The fierce ardour and deep love of our followers around the globe helped information Pokémon to the place it’s at the moment, and it goes with out saying that Pokémon as we all know it could not exist with out the unwavering enthusiasm of the event groups who’ve labored tirelessly to create the world of Pokémon.

“I’d wish to take this chance to precise my gratitude to everybody around the globe who has been concerned with Pokémon. It’s been fairly a while since I personally first stepped foot into the world of video video games. Once I began out, I by no means would have imagined that I’d be concerned on this trade for thus lengthy and to such a level.

“Pokémon originated from a small thought from the Sport Freak improvement workforce: Wouldn’t it’s enjoyable when you might catch creatures in a recreation and commerce them with your mates? All the pieces began from that easy idea. The event course of, nonetheless, was not fairly as straightforward. It took an excessive amount of trial and error to determine how one can actualise that concept with the restricted assets we had accessible.

“In the long run, it took six years to finish the primary video games, Pokémon Pink and Pokémon Inexperienced. Nonetheless, all of us felt assured in the principle gameplay parts that will turn into the muse of the Pokémon online game collection: catch, increase, commerce, and battle. We felt this fashion as a result of these parts had been tied to experiences everybody had as kids once we had been out catching bugs and rising vegetation and elevating animals.

“With a powerful need to let many individuals expertise that basic expertise extra deeply by way of Pokémon throughout the recreation, we had been lastly capable of carry it to completion. Whereas we confronted many challenges alongside the best way, one in all our best joys was seeing how Pokémon was embraced outdoors of Japan. To be sincere, I used to be unsure at first – would this recreation, created in Japan, actually be loved by folks abroad? However right here we’re at the moment with the Pokémon World Championships, the place gamers compete in our video video games, the Buying and selling Card Sport, Pokémon GO, and Pokémon UNITE.

“We see Trainers from around the globe battling, buying and selling, and having enjoyable with Pokémon. Once I see so many individuals having fun with Pokémon with smiles on their faces, transcending language and cultural limitations, I actually really feel that Pokémon has the facility to attach the world. That feeling turns into a serious driving pressure for me as I take into consideration how one can produce the following recreation and the way we are able to make it much more fulfilling for everybody.

“I consider that Pokémon has already offered an area the place folks all around the globe can meet, join, and develop collectively. I really feel that many individuals have been capable of join and share widespread experiences with others by way of their experiences with Pokémon. And as soon as once more, I’m satisfied of the richness and depth of the world throughout the authentic video video games, and their common attraction that enables anybody to take pleasure in them.

“This 12 months we’ll rejoice 30 years of Pokémon. We’ll proceed doing our greatest to ship new Pokémon worlds to folks all around the globe, and we hope that you’ll all proceed to take pleasure in Pokémon for a very long time to come back. Thanks very a lot!”