Atsuko Nishida (西田 敦子, Nishida Atsuko) is a Japanese graphic artist who previously worked at Game Freak and TOYBOX Inc. She designed a number of creatures for the Pokémon franchise, including one of the most well-known Pokémon species, the franchise's mascot Pikachu.
Atsuko Nishida | |
|---|---|
| 西田 敦子 | |
| Born | Nishida Atsuko |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Known for | Video game design |
| Notable work | Pokémon, Pulseman, Hometown Story |
Career
editNishida was working at Game Freak on the game Pulseman with the art director for Pokémon, Ken Sugimori. In his initial character design, Sugimori made most of the Pokémon scary, but he realized he also wanted to have cute characters in the game.[1][2] This led to the design of Pikachu, which was originally based on a daifuku, a Japanese sweet treat.[3][2] Nishida changed the design later, basing it on a squirrel, as Nishida said she was obsessed with squirrels at the time.[4][5] Squirrels were also her inspiration for the electric cheeks, as they tend to store food in their cheeks. Pikachu was later changed to be a mouse by Satoshi Tajiri, one of the Pokémon creators.[6] The original design included the Raichu evolution, as well as a third evolution, which was later abandoned.[7]
Nishida’s other Pokémon design credits include Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle.[1] She furthermore designed some of the Eevee evolutions (or "Eeveelutions"), including Glaceon[8] and Sylveon.[9] She was also the artist on a large number of Pokémon Trading Card Game cards,[10] including the Pikachu Illustrator card, which was sold for $195,000 in 2019,[11][12] winning it the Guinness World Record of most expensive Pokémon trading card (at auction).[13] This beat the previous record from 2016 when a card with the same design by Nishida was sold for $54,970.[14]
Nishida also worked for the Japanese game development studio TOYBOX Inc. on Hometown Story, a Nintendo 3DS game.[15]
Personal life
editNishida is a very private person; she spent the entirety of a 2018 interview hidden behind a giant Pikachu plush doll.[1][2][16]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Creator Profile: The Creators of Pikachu | Pokemon.com". www.pokemon.com. Archived from the original on 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- ^ a b c "Pikachu Originally Had A Second Evolution Called 'Gorochu' With Large Fangs And Two Horns". Siliconera. 2018-05-03. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- ^ Radulovic, Petrana (2018-06-04). "An inside look into the creation of Pikachu". Polygon. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- ^ 李松. "Pikachu inspired by a squirrel, not a mouse - World - Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- ^ Byrd, Matthew (4 May 2018). "Pokemon: Pikachu's original design was based on a squirrel". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on 26 November 2022.
- ^ "Pikachu Wasn't Based On A Mouse, But A Squirrel". Kotaku. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- ^ Radulovic, Petrana (2018-06-04). "An inside look into the creation of Pikachu". Polygon. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- ^ "OK！ 「DP4」ブロック、ワンモアセッ！│ポケモンカードゲーム開発室｜ポケモンカードゲーム トレーナーズウェブサイト". 2007-11-13. Archived from the original on 2007-11-13. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- ^ Bailey, Kat (2015-09-16). "The New Zygarde Form is a Reminder of How Hard it is to Design a Good Pokémon". USgamer. Archived from the original on 2019-09-01. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- ^ "TCG Card Database | Search the Pokémon TCG Card Database". www.pokemon.com. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- ^ "World's rarest Pokémon card sells for £150,000 in New York auction". Metro. 2019-10-28. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- ^ ADN (29 October 2019). "Meest zeldzame Pokémon-kaart ter wereld onder de hamer voor recordbedrag". Het Laatste Nieuws. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- ^ "Most expensive Pokémon trading card (at auction)". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- ^ "Most expensive Pokémon card sells for $54,970". Digital Spy. 2016-11-22. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- ^ Sarkar, Samit (2013-05-29). "Harvest Moon creator's Hometown Story leads Natsume's E3 slate". Polygon. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- ^ "ピカチュウは大福？ 初めて明かされる誕生秘話 : 深読み". 読売新聞オンライン (in Japanese). 2018-05-02. Retrieved 2019-11-30.