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Satoru Okada

b. 1947

Japanese engineer

Engineer Video game director
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About Satoru Okada

Born 1947. Satoru Okada is a Japanese engineer and video game director.

Satoru Okada (岡田 智 Okada Satoru, born January 10, 1947) is a Japanese retired engineer who served as the general manager of Nintendo Research & Engineering, the division designing and developing Nintendo handheld game consoles. He is best known for creating the original Game Boy and its successors. He was also assistant producer and director of and contributor to several Nintendo games, notably Metroid, released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986.

Okada joined Nintendo in 1969 and went on to work as an engineer at Nintendo Research & Development 1 with Gunpei Yokoi, who developed the hugely successful Game & Watch and Game Boy handheld game consoles. In 1996, Yokoi left Nintendo which caused R&D1 to split, its engineers creating a portable hardware division of which Okada became the general manager. His team lacked Yokoi but nevertheless developed hugely successful handheld consoles: the Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP and Nintendo DS. Okada initially opposed the Nintendo DS' dual-screen design but was overruled by Hiroshi Yamauchi.

Okada also participated in the development of several Nintendo games, as the chief director of Metroid, director of Kid Icarus, Solar Striker (along with Keisuke Terasaki) and Super Mario Land and contributed to many other titles.

Okada retired from Nintendo in January 2012.

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Employers
Nintendo

People in Satoru Okada's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Satoru Okada's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Satoru Okada?

Japanese engineer

When was Satoru Okada born?

Satoru Okada was born on 10 January 1947 in Kyoto.

What is Satoru Okada's occupation?

Satoru Okada is an engineer and video game director.

What nationality is Satoru Okada?

Satoru Okada is Japanese.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Satoru Okada

· Wikidata: Q529990

· DBpedia: Satoru Okada

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Satoru Okada. https://biography.guide/satoru-okada/

MLA: "Satoru Okada." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/satoru-okada/.

Chicago: "Satoru Okada." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/satoru-okada/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-22 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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