:Tatsuo Nomura
{{short description|Japanese software developer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Tatsuo Nomura
| birth_name = Shi Lei (石磊)
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1986}}
| birth_place = Heilongjiang, China
| employer = Google (2011-2015)
Niantic (since 2015)
| known_for = Pokémon Go director
| alma_mater = Shinshu University
Tokyo Institute of Technology
}}
{{nihongo|Tatsuo Nomura|野村 達雄|Nomura Tatsuo|extra=born 1986}} is a Japanese software developer. Born in China with partial Japanese descent, he moved to Japan as a child and studied computer science. He worked in the Google Maps development team before moving to Niantic Labs, where he directed the augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go.
Early life and education
Nomura was born in 1986{{cite web |title=Pokémon GO meets TSUBAME |url=https://www.titech.ac.jp/english/graduate_school/first_step/poke_meets_tsubame.html |publisher=Tokyo Institute of Technology |accessdate=8 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608113446/https://www.titech.ac.jp/english/graduate_school/first_step/poke_meets_tsubame.html |archive-date=8 June 2019 |url-status=live }} and grew up as Shi Lei ({{zh|c=石磊|p=Shí Lěi}}) in a poor village in Heilongjiang of Northeast China. His paternal grandmother was a Japanese who remained in China after World War II and married a Chinese man. At the age of nine, his family moved to Japan and he settled in Nagano Prefecture, changing his name to Tatsuo Nomura. He initially could not converse in Japanese.{{cite news |last1=Yamazaki |first1=Jun |title='Pokemon Go' developer's 'rags-to-riches' story |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Pokemon-Go-developer-s-rags-to-riches-story |accessdate=8 June 2019 |work=Nikkei Asian Review |date=11 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608113450/https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Pokemon-Go-developer-s-rags-to-riches-story |archive-date=8 June 2019 |url-status=live }}
He studied computer engineering at Shinshu University and graduated in 2009. He continued his studies at the Tokyo Institute of Technology under the supervision of Satoshi Matsuoka. He wrote a paper on supercomputing which was well-received by American researchers, and he earned his master's degree in 2011.
Career
After obtaining his master's, Nomura joined Google's Japan office in 2011 as an engineering staff, and became involved in the development of Google Maps among other projects. He was transferred to the American office in 2013. According to Nomura, he was involved in creating multiple April Fools' Day jokes for Google Maps, including "8-bit Google Maps" (2012) and a treasure hunt (2013).{{cite web |last1=Lybarger |first1=Jeremy |title=Pokémon Pandemonium |url=https://www.modernluxury.com/san-francisco/story/pokemon-pandemonium |website=San Francisco Magazine |accessdate=8 June 2019 |date=1 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608113447/https://www.modernluxury.com/san-francisco/story/pokemon-pandemonium |archive-date=8 June 2019 |url-status=live }}
=Idea of ''Pokémon Go''=
In 2014, Nomura devised an idea to create a Google Maps April Fools' Day prank which would allow users to hunt Pokémon on their mobile devices. After securing a permission from The Pokémon Company (TPC), which shared an office complex with Google's Japan office, the prank was released in 2014.{{cite news |last1=Mac |first1=Ryan |title=The Inside Story Of 'Pokémon GO's' Evolution From Google Castoff To Global Phenomenon |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2016/07/26/monster-game/#7522a3f4356a |accessdate=8 June 2019 |work=Forbes |date=26 July 2016 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009140902/http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2016/07/26/monster-game/#7522a3f4356a |archive-date=9 October 2016 |url-status=live }} Nomura's involvement drew the attention of John Hanke, a former leader of the Google Maps division, who requested Nomura contact TPC once more to propose an augmented reality Pokémon game. After the negotiations completed, Nomura accepted an offer from Niantic Labs in 2015 to lead the development of the game which was to be called Pokémon Go.{{cite news |last1=Ogawa |first1=Joshua |title='Pokemon Go' could evolve further |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Milestone/Pokemon-Go-could-evolve-further?n_cid=NARAN1507 |accessdate=8 June 2019 |work=Nikkei Asian Review |date=22 October 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026213645/https://asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Milestone/Pokemon-Go-could-evolve-further?n_cid=NARAN1507 |archivedate=26 October 2017}} According to TPC president Tsunekazu Ishihara, Nomura was selected as lead due to "his diversity beyond nationality and borders".
At Niantic, Nomura works as a Senior Product Manager. He was initially an engineer for the game, but as the game's team expanded, he transitioned to product manager.{{cite news |title=『Pokémon GO』開発者・野村達雄氏が語るキャリアの転機――ギークなエンジニアからプロダクトマネジャーへ |url=https://type.jp/et/feature/8003 |accessdate=8 June 2019 |work=type.jp |date=5 July 2017 |language=ja |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608113843/https://type.jp/et/feature/8003 |archive-date=8 June 2019 |url-status=live }} He was also the director for the 2021 mobile game Pikmin Bloom and the director for the 2023 mobile game Monster Hunter Now.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/nintendo-teams-with-pokemon-go-studio-niantic-on-ar-apps|title=Nintendo teams with Pokemon Go studio Niantic on AR apps|work=Business Times (Singapore)|date=23 March 2021 |language=en|access-date=October 31, 2021|archive-date=November 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101005827/https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/nintendo-teams-with-pokemon-go-studio-niantic-on-ar-apps|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://metahub.info/2023/4606-inside-the-partnership-of-niantic-and-capcom-for-monster-hunter-now-qa-with-the-games-creators|title=Inside the Partnership of Niantic and Capcom for 'Monster Hunter Now': Q&A with the Game's Creators|work=Metahub|language=en|access-date=October 19, 2023}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Niantic Labs}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nomura, Tatsuo}}
Category:Engineers from Heilongjiang
Category:People from Nagano Prefecture
Category:Shinshu University alumni
Category:Tokyo Institute of Technology alumni
Category:Chinese emigrants to Japan