Sad News. The ‘Konami Code’ Creator Kazuhisa Hashimoto Dies
He developed the game testing aid which became an icon in gaming history
The creator of famous Konami Code (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B A, START), Kazuhisa Hashimoto died this Tuesday. The code he created was successful in allowing players to enjoy cheats in popular games like Gradius, Contra, Castlevania and several others. He was 61, and the news of his demise was shared by a composer Yuji Takenouchi via Twitter.
Gradius became the first video game that used the Konami Code. Hashimoto added it to the game to get help with playtesting and said that he couldn’t beat it. The Konami code was left in the shipped game and was used sometime after to playtest several other games by the same publisher.
The use of Konami Code was popular in Contra too as it allows a player to get 30 lives. It has also shown up on the Google Stadia website as well. It is estimated that over 100 Konami games have the cheat code.
About 22 games made by other publishers included Konami Code as a tribute. In these games, it was revealed as an Easter Egg. It also appeared as a pastime Easter egg in Fortnite in October.
Born on November 15, 1968, Hashimoto joined Konami in the early 1980s. He made circuit boards for slot machine games and coin-operated roulette. Millions of kids will remember his name and the code, especially those who grew up in the 80s and 90s and wanted things to be easier while playing games like Contra.
He left Konami sometime after the turn of the century. Talking about it, he said “Even though I’ve gone on to participate in most systems’ launch titles, from Gradius 3 on the Super Nintendo, and Parodius on the PC, to games for the PS2. He also stated, “I think I like the Nintendo era the best of all.”
We are saddened to hear about the passing of Kazuhisa Hashimoto, a deeply talented producer who first introduced the world to the "Konami Code".
Our thoughts are with Hashimoto-san's family and friends at this time. Rest In Peace. pic.twitter.com/vQijEQ8lU2
— Konami (@Konami) February 26, 2020
Though it’s a fact that Hashimoto’s Konami Code was an accidental gift to the gamers, still his name will be remembered by millions of gamers all over the world. He made a mark for himself during the early era of gaming and game creation. So, his legacy is quite powerful!
