Masayuki Kato, the founder of Nihon Falcom, died at the age of 78 on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
The cause of death is not yet known.
Kato founded Ys and Legend of Heroes developer in 1981 at the age of 34, and his games continued to build the foundation of the action RPG genre.
He supposedly came up with the name Nihon Falcom after being inspired by the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars.
He held the position of president from the founding of Falcom until 2001, after which he became the president of its board of directors.
Both Legend of Heroes – better known by its sub-series, Trails – and Ys have risen to great heights under Kat's leadership, with the two series becoming global and multi-platform over the years, finding both critical acclaim and commercial success through them.
In its announcement of his death, Falcom expressed its condolences to the family and said that only close relatives would be allowed to attend the funeral. They also asked people to refrain from sending flowers, incense and other such gifts at this time.
The construction of a monument is planned for the future; details will be announced later.
