Today, video game designer and director Goichi Suda – best known under the name ‘Suda51’ – is celebrating his 51st birthday. We couldn’t just let that slip by without a quick mention, right?
Suda51 first found his way into the video game development world as a designer at Human Entertainment, a Japanese studio which eventually declared bankruptcy at the turn of the millennium. His best-known work, however, has come from his own company Grasshopper Manufacture, which he founded after leaving Human in 1998.
Since then, Grasshopper has developed numerous games across PlayStation 2, GameCube, Nintendo DS, Wii, and more, with titles like The Silver Case, Killer7, and the No More Heroes series being particularly notable. His work is known for going against the norms of development, often using particularly striking visuals or gameplay styles that make his games instantly recognisable.
His next project is Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, which is arriving on Nintendo Switch in just over two weeks’ time. He’s also been teasing possibilities for Killer7 coming to Nintendo’s latest console, as well as a potentially “epic” No More Heroes 3, but his current focus will naturally be on the launch of Travis Strikes Again.
Happy birthday, Suda51! We hope you have a wonderful year!