Konami Code Creator Kazuhisa Hashimoto Passes Away At 61

Gaming fans and enthusiasts have once again lost another influential figure in the video games industry.

Kazuhisa Hashimoto, veteran developer and creator of the infamous Konami Code, passed away this week at the age of 61. As a Konami  employee in the 1980s, Hashimoto first introduced the cheat code into Gradius for the NES – which allowed players to input Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start in order to activate almost all the power-ups in the game.

The Konami Code would then go on to become a meme of its own – appearing in many Konami titles and even other publishers’ games. Till this day, even games like Rocket League still include a cheeky nod to the code.

Of course, Konami themselves also offered condolences to Hashimoto’s family:

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.

Here’s hoping that Hashimoto’s legacy will continue to persist through the Konami Code, for decades to come.