Hideki Kamiya is a renowned video game developer and designer of Japanese origin. He worked very successfully for a number of video game companies, including Clover Studio, a subsidiary of Capcom, and then founded his own video game company PlatinumGames.
At Capcom, Kamiya was the designer of the highly successful 1996 Resident Evil video game, the first in the Resident Evil franchise. He was the director of the production of the sequel Resident Evil 2. The Resident Evil franchise has evolved to include several other sequels and is the most successful media franchise in Capcom’s history.
Hideki Kamiya also has the following video game franchises in his account – Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, and Wonderful 101. In 2006, Hideki Kamiya founded PlatinumGames with some former Capcom employees.
Hideki Kamiya Biography
Hideki Kamiya was born on December 19, 1970, in Nagano, Japan. Originally he was attracted to playing because of the digital sounds, the beeps, and echoes generated by the game devices.
At a fairly young age, Kamiya started playing in video arcades. However, when video game companies started to launch their own home consoles, his parents still did not allow him to own one. So he visited an older boy in their neighborhood to play on his console.
The young Kamiya eventually got his own console during his early years in high school. He also bought a personal computer to learn to program, but instead of learning, he spent all his time playing his favorite games. As a result, he had little time for his studies and eventually failed his first high school entrance exam.
Kamiya became interested in video game development after reading an interview with game designer Masanobu Endo-san in a magazine. He was so inspired by the game developer that he decided to follow the same career path.
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After graduating from college, he moved to his hometown in search of a job. He also applied to several video game companies but was rejected by a number of companies. Finally, he received offers from 2 video game companies: Namco and Capcom. At Namco, he was offered a job as an artist rather than a designer, so he chose Capcom, where he was offered a job as a game designer.
Kamiya joined Capcom in 1994 and was the designer of the first episode of the Resident Evil video game series. The talented game designer also played the role of director in the production of the Resident Evil 2 sequel (1998). The original version of the Resident Evil 1.5 sequel was abandoned when it was approximately 70% complete.
While at Capcom, Kamiya also directed the action-adventure game Devil May Cry, which was released for PlayStation 2 in 2001. Devil May Cry began as the fourth entry in the Resident Evil series but was too different from the previous installments, so the developers decided to make it a game in its own right. However, Kamiya did not participate in the creation of the sequel Devil May Cry 2.
Under the auspices of Clover Studio, the talented game designer also led the development of the adventure game Okami (2006). Clover Studio was closed by Capcom a few months after the game’s initial release.
5 Fast Facts You Need To Know About Him
1. Resident Evil
While at Capcom, Hideki Kamiya played the role of designer for the 1996 Resident Evil video game, the first in the highly successful Resident Evil series. Kamiya then led a 50-person group that developed Resident Evil 2. The game was well-received and is widely hailed as one of the best video games ever. Resident Evil 2 is also the most successful of the Resident Evil series on the PlayStation platform.
2. PlatinumGames
Hideki Kamiya started his own video game company in 2006 together with Shinji Mikami and Atsushi Inaba, his former colleagues at Capcom. It was founded on August 1, 2006, under the name Seeds, Inc. The company was renamed PlatinumGames in October 2007 following a merger of the original company with Odd Inc.
3. Bayonetta
At PlatinumGames, Kamiya led the development of the action game Bayonetta. Bayonetta was released in Japan in October 2009 and in other parts of the world in January 2010. The sequel Bayonetta 2 was released in 2014. The animated film adaptation Bayonetta: Bloody Fate was released in Japan in November 2013. At PlatinumGames, Kamiya also directed the creation of The Wonderful 101 (2013).
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4. Hideki Kamiya loves to create only new ideas
He is, without doubt, one of the most original creative directors in the world of game development. However, fans are annoyed that he is not involved in the development of sequels to his original creations. In his defense, Kamiya believes that his talent and position are better suited to develop fresh and unique ideas than to revive old ones.
5. Hideki Kamiya has a badass online personality
The famous game developer is also known for his no-nonsense personality on the Internet. Since joining Twitter in February 2010, Hideki Kamiya has collected over 180,000 followers. However, he is notorious for his incredibly outspoken comments and highly irritable online personality. His setbacks are epic and he has little tolerance for internet trolls. Normally he very quickly blocks any fan that gets on his nerves in any way.