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In 2008, she worked as a sequence director on ''[[Animal Crossing: City Folk]]'', where she was responsible for script writing and all elements relating to non-player character behavior and dialogue.<ref name="Figaro" /><ref name="Iwata2" /> Kyogoku and [[Isao Moro]] jointly served as directors of ''[[Animal Crossing: New Leaf]]'', the 2012 sequel to ''City Folk''.<ref name="Iwata3" /> Following the mixed critical and commercial performance of ''City Folk'', Kyogoku sought to "get back to the series' roots" in ''New Leaf''.<ref name="Polygon" /> In 2015, Kyogoku produced the ''Animal Crossing'' spin-off title ''[[Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer|Happy Home Designer]]''.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|date=20 September 2015|title=Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer devs – spin-off origins, decision to focus on house creation, more|url=https://nintendoeverything.com/animal-crossing-happy-home-designer-devs-spin-off-origins-decision-to-focus-on-house-creation-more/|access-date=12 February 2020|website=Nintendo Everything}}</ref> In 2019, she was named as Manager of Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development (EPD) Production Group No. 5, a position previously held by [[Hisashi Nogami]] before he was promoted at Deputy General Manager of Nintendo EPD.<ref name="Figaro" /><ref name=":3">{{cite web|date=14 June 2019|title=Nintendo promotes Aya Kyogoku, Hisashi Nogami, Eiji Aonuma, and Yoshihito Ikebata|url=https://nintendoeverything.com/nintendo-promotes-aya-kyogoku-hisashi-nogami-eiji-aonuma-and-yoshihito-ikebata/|access-date=12 February 2020|website=Nintendo Everything}}</ref> She directed ''[[Animal Crossing: New Horizons]]'', the fifth main series title in the ''Animal Crossing'' series, in 2020.<ref name="Figaro" /> Following the extensive critical and commercial success of ''New Horizons'', Kyogoku has received media attention from both video-game and non-video-game media outlets alike, being dubbed “Nintendo’s Rising Star and Secret Weapon.”<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|date=2020-12-03|title=Aya Kyogoku and Hisashi Nogami, the Humans Behind Animal Crossing|language=en|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-03/animal-crossing-human-creators-aya-kyogoku-and-hisashi-nogami-bloomberg-50-2020|access-date=2021-03-16}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite news|last=Favis|first=Elise|title=Nintendo explains philosophy behind Animal Crossing's big changes, such as gender expression and terraforming|language=en-US|work=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/03/23/nintendo-explains-philosophy-behind-animal-crossings-big-changes-like-gender-expression-terraforming/|access-date=2021-03-16|issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-03-29|title=Aya Kyogoku: Nintendo's Rising Star and Secret Weapon|url=https://goombastomp.com/aya-kyogoku-nintendo-rising-star/|access-date=2021-03-16|website=Goomba Stomp|language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2008, she worked as a sequence director on ''[[Animal Crossing: City Folk]]'', where she was responsible for script writing and all elements relating to non-player character behavior and dialogue.<ref name="Figaro" /><ref name="Iwata2" /> Kyogoku and [[Isao Moro]] jointly served as directors of ''[[Animal Crossing: New Leaf]]'', the 2012 sequel to ''City Folk''.<ref name="Iwata3" /> Following the mixed critical and commercial performance of ''City Folk'', Kyogoku sought to "get back to the series' roots" in ''New Leaf''.<ref name="Polygon" /> In 2015, Kyogoku produced the ''Animal Crossing'' spin-off title ''[[Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer|Happy Home Designer]]''.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|date=20 September 2015|title=Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer devs – spin-off origins, decision to focus on house creation, more|url=https://nintendoeverything.com/animal-crossing-happy-home-designer-devs-spin-off-origins-decision-to-focus-on-house-creation-more/|access-date=12 February 2020|website=Nintendo Everything}}</ref> In 2019, she was named as Manager of Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development (EPD) Production Group No. 5, a position previously held by [[Hisashi Nogami]] before he was promoted at Deputy General Manager of Nintendo EPD.<ref name="Figaro" /><ref name=":3">{{cite web|date=14 June 2019|title=Nintendo promotes Aya Kyogoku, Hisashi Nogami, Eiji Aonuma, and Yoshihito Ikebata|url=https://nintendoeverything.com/nintendo-promotes-aya-kyogoku-hisashi-nogami-eiji-aonuma-and-yoshihito-ikebata/|access-date=12 February 2020|website=Nintendo Everything}}</ref> She directed ''[[Animal Crossing: New Horizons]]'', the fifth main series title in the ''Animal Crossing'' series, in 2020.<ref name="Figaro" /> Following the extensive critical and commercial success of ''New Horizons'', Kyogoku has received media attention from both video-game and non-video-game media outlets alike, being dubbed “Nintendo’s Rising Star and Secret Weapon.”<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|date=2020-12-03|title=Aya Kyogoku and Hisashi Nogami, the Humans Behind Animal Crossing|language=en|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-03/animal-crossing-human-creators-aya-kyogoku-and-hisashi-nogami-bloomberg-50-2020|access-date=2021-03-16}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite news|last=Favis|first=Elise|title=Nintendo explains philosophy behind Animal Crossing's big changes, such as gender expression and terraforming|language=en-US|work=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/03/23/nintendo-explains-philosophy-behind-animal-crossings-big-changes-like-gender-expression-terraforming/|access-date=2021-03-16|issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-03-29|title=Aya Kyogoku: Nintendo's Rising Star and Secret Weapon|url=https://goombastomp.com/aya-kyogoku-nintendo-rising-star/|access-date=2021-03-16|website=Goomba Stomp|language=en-US}}</ref>


==Reception==
The first title that Kyogoku directed, ''Animal Crossing: New Leaf'', went on to sell over 12 million copies, becoming the sixth best-selling [[Nintendo 3DS]] title.<ref>{{Cite web|title=IR Information : Financial Data - Top Selling Title Sales Units - Nintendo 3DS Software|url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/finance/software/3ds.html|access-date=2021-03-16|website=Nintendo Co., Ltd.|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=31 December 2019|title=Top Selling Software Sales Units - Nintendo 3DS Software|url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/finance/software/3ds.html|access-date=11 February 2020|website=Nintendo}}</ref> Additionally, review aggregator [[Metacritic]] reported that ''New Leaf'' received "generally positive" reception and was listed as one of the best games of the 2010s by [[IGN]]<ref>{{cite web|date=26 January 2020|title=The Best Games of the Decade (2010 - 2019)|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/12/31/best-games-of-the-decade-2010-2019|access-date=12 February 2020|website=[[IGN]]}}</ref> and [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]].<ref>{{cite web|date=4 November 2019|title=The 100 best games of the decade (2010-2019): 100-51|url=https://www.polygon.com/features/2019/11/4/20944265/best-games-2019-2010-ps4-switch-xbox-pc-100-51|access-date=12 February 2020|website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]}}</ref> In their review, IGN praised ''New Leaf''’s deconstruction of barriers established in previous titles, explaining that this “allow[ed] for a sense of freedom, creation, and ownership like never before.”<ref>{{Citation|title=Animal Crossing: New Leaf Review - IGN|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/04/animal-crossing-new-leaf-review|language=en|access-date=2021-03-16}}</ref> However, despite the generally positive reception, [[GameSpot|Gamespot]] criticized ''New Leaf''’s “repetitive dialogue” and “incredibly clunky” user interface.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Animal Crossing: New Leaf Review|url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/animal-crossing-new-leaf-review/1900-6409125/|access-date=2021-03-16|website=GameSpot|language=en-US}}</ref>

The next title that Kyogoku directed, ''[[Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival|Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival]]'', was a spinoff game that moved away from the series’ traditional format.<ref name="USGamer" /> Although its presentation was praised, ''amiibo Festival'' failed both critically and commercially, selling less than 100,000 units and receiving an aggregate score of 46/100 from Metacritic.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival|url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/wii-u/animal-crossing-amiibo-festival|access-date=2021-03-16|website=Metacritic|language=en}}</ref> Specifically, reviews criticized the repetitive gameplay, poor amiibo integration and lack of innovation.<ref>{{Citation|title=Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival Review - IGN|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/11/18/animal-crossing-amiibo-festival-review|language=en|access-date=2021-03-16}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|date=2015-11-17|title=Animal Crossing: Amiibo festival is a boring, random mess|url=https://venturebeat.com/2015/11/17/animal-crossing-amiibo-festival-is-a-boring-random-mess/|access-date=2021-03-16|website=VentureBeat|language=en-US}}</ref> Some critics, like [[VentureBeat|Venturebeat]], accused ''amiibo Festival'' of being "a blatant attempt to get you to buy more Amiibo, and not even a good one at that."<ref name=":6" />

Rebounding from the failures of ''amiibo Festival'', Kyogoku most recently directed the title ''Animal Crossing: New Horizons''.<ref name="Figaro" /> Making a triumphant return to the main series traditional format, ''New Horizons'' enjoyed “universal acclaim” and broke commercial records, becoming the second best-selling [[Nintendo Switch]] video game.<ref>{{Cite web|year=2021|title=3rd Quarter Results for Fiscal Year Ending March 2021 Financial Results Explanatory Material|url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2021/210201_3e.pdf|url-status=live|publisher=[[Nintendo]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Animal Crossing: New Horizons|url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/switch/animal-crossing-new-horizons|access-date=2021-03-16|website=Metacritic|language=en}}</ref> Further, ''New Horizons'' won several awards, including Game of the Year 2020 award from the [[Japan Game Awards]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-09-27|title=Japan Game Awards names Animal Crossing as 2020's best game|url=https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/japan-game-awards-names-animal-crossing-as-2020s-best-game/|access-date=2021-03-16|website=VGC|language=en-GB}}</ref> Best Family Game from [[The Game Awards]],<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Stedman|first1=Alex|date=2020-12-10|title=The Game Awards 2020: Complete Winners List|url=https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/the-game-awards-winners-list-2020-1234850547/|access-date=2021-03-16|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref> and Nintendo Game of the Year from the [[Golden Joystick Awards]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=November 2020|first=Ben Tyrer 24|title=Every winner at the Golden Joystick Awards 2020|url=https://www.gamesradar.com/every-winner-at-the-golden-joystick-awards-2020/|access-date=2021-03-16|website=gamesradar|language=en}}</ref>

==Advocacy==
In addition to Kyogoku’s critical and commercial success, she achieved many “firsts.” Serving as the director of ''Animal Crossing: New Leaf'', Kyogoku became the first woman to direct a video game at Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development (EAD).<ref name="Figaro" /><ref name=":3" /> After noting that she was frequently the only woman on development teams, Kyogoku and ''New Leaf'' producer [[Katsuya Eguchi]] hired a team that was half female; Kyogoku also encouraged all individuals on the development team to contribute ideas for the game, regardless of their role on the project.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Nintendo's New Key to Creativity: More Women|language=en-us|work=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/2014/03/animal-crossing-director/|access-date=2021-03-16|issn=1059-1028}}</ref><ref name="Wired" />
In addition to Kyogoku’s critical and commercial success, she achieved many “firsts.” Serving as the director of ''Animal Crossing: New Leaf'', Kyogoku became the first woman to direct a video game at Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development (EAD).<ref name="Figaro" /><ref name=":3" /> After noting that she was frequently the only woman on development teams, Kyogoku and ''New Leaf'' producer [[Katsuya Eguchi]] hired a team that was half female; Kyogoku also encouraged all individuals on the development team to contribute ideas for the game, regardless of their role on the project.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Nintendo's New Key to Creativity: More Women|language=en-us|work=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/2014/03/animal-crossing-director/|access-date=2021-03-16|issn=1059-1028}}</ref><ref name="Wired" />


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|''{{ill|deSPIRIA|ja|デスピリア}}''
|''{{ill|deSPIRIA|ja|デスピリア}}''
| rowspan="2" | [[Atlus]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Atlus]]
|Assistant Planner<ref name=":0" />
|Assistant planner<ref name=":0" />
|-
|-
| 2001
| 2001
|''[[Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land]]''
|''[[Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land]]''
|Assistant Director<ref name=":1" />
|Assistant director<ref name=":1" />
|-
|-
|| 2004
|| 2004
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|| 2008
|| 2008
|''[[Animal Crossing: City Folk]]''
|''[[Animal Crossing: City Folk]]''
|Sequence Director<ref name="Iwata2" />
|Sequence director<ref name="Iwata2" />
|-
|-
| 2012
| 2012
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|2018
|2018
|''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''
|''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''
|Original Game Supervisor
|Original game supervisor
|-
|-
|2020
|2020

Revision as of 01:31, 16 October 2021

Aya Kyogoku
京極あや
Born1981 or 1982[1]
Osaka, Japan[2]
NationalityJapanese
Occupation(s)Video game director and producer
Employers
Notable workAnimal Crossing
TitleManager of Nintendo EPD Production Group No. 5 (2019-present)

Aya Kyogoku (Japanese: 京極あや, Hepburn: Kyōgoku Aya, born c. 1981) is a Japanese video game director and producer. She is the current manager of Nintendo's Entertainment Planning & Development (EPD) Group No. 5, which oversees the Animal Crossing, Splatoon, and Wii Sports franchises. Kyogoku is best known for her work on Animal Crossing, where she has alternately served as a producer, director, and supervisor since 2008.

Career

Kyogoku began her career in 2000 at the video game company Atlus before joining Nintendo in September 2003.[1][3] While at Atlus, she served as an Assistant Planner for the Dreamcast title deSPIRIA and Assistant Director for the PlayStation 2 title Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land before moving to Nintendo.[4][5] At Nintendo, Kyogoku worked as a scriptwriter on The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, work for which she won a Game Developers Choice Award.[1][6]

In 2008, she worked as a sequence director on Animal Crossing: City Folk, where she was responsible for script writing and all elements relating to non-player character behavior and dialogue.[1][7] Kyogoku and Isao Moro jointly served as directors of Animal Crossing: New Leaf, the 2012 sequel to City Folk.[8] Following the mixed critical and commercial performance of City Folk, Kyogoku sought to "get back to the series' roots" in New Leaf.[9] In 2015, Kyogoku produced the Animal Crossing spin-off title Happy Home Designer.[10] In 2019, she was named as Manager of Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development (EPD) Production Group No. 5, a position previously held by Hisashi Nogami before he was promoted at Deputy General Manager of Nintendo EPD.[1][11] She directed Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the fifth main series title in the Animal Crossing series, in 2020.[1] Following the extensive critical and commercial success of New Horizons, Kyogoku has received media attention from both video-game and non-video-game media outlets alike, being dubbed “Nintendo’s Rising Star and Secret Weapon.”[12][13][14]

In addition to Kyogoku’s critical and commercial success, she achieved many “firsts.” Serving as the director of Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Kyogoku became the first woman to direct a video game at Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development (EAD).[1][11] After noting that she was frequently the only woman on development teams, Kyogoku and New Leaf producer Katsuya Eguchi hired a team that was half female; Kyogoku also encouraged all individuals on the development team to contribute ideas for the game, regardless of their role on the project.[15][16]

Kyogoku credits the diversity of the team for New Leaf's critical and commercial success,[1][16] stating that "when you are trying to create something that will appeal to many types of people, I have experienced how beneficial it is to have diversity on your team"[9] and “it is very exciting to be able to have different types of people on the development team.”[17] When asked for a message to females who would like to work in the game industry during a Nintendo Developer Chat, Kyogoku responded, “if you want to, please join! I’ll be so happy if we can work together.”[17]

Furthermore, Kyogoku has been praised for broadening the series' appeal "beyond the typical teenage-male demographic.”[12] Notably, Animal Crossing: New Horizons expanded visibility and representation through increased character customization options, including skin tone options and gender-neutral hairstyles that the player can switch between freely. Kyogoku explained that these options are "not just about gender," but rather the sentiment that "society is shifting to valuing a lot of people's different identities."[13] She explained further that “we basically wanted to create a game where users didn't really have to think about gender or if they wanted to think about gender, they're also able to."[13]

Works

Release Game Publisher Credit(s)
2000 deSPIRIA [ja] Atlus Assistant planner[4]
2001 Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land Assistant director[5]
2004 The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures Nintendo Scriptwriter[18]
2006 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
2008 Animal Crossing: City Folk Sequence director[7]
2012 Animal Crossing: New Leaf Director[8]
2013 Animal Crossing Plaza Producer[19]
2015 Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer
Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival Director[20]
2016 Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo Producer[8]
2017 Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Supervisor[21]
2018 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Original game supervisor
2020 Animal Crossing: New Horizons Director[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Woitier, Chloé (18 June 2019). "Ikumi Nakamura, Aya Kyogoku... les créatrices de jeux vidéo mises à l'honneur durant l'E3 2019". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  2. ^ Garcia, Eddie (2015). "Nintendo E3 2015 Press Kit". Nintendo. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  3. ^ Davidson, Ty (29 March 2016). "Aya Kyogoku: Nintendo's Rising Star and Secret Weapon". Goomba Stomp. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b "deSPIRIA – Credits". GameFAQs. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land – Credits". GameFAQs. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Aya Kyogoku". IMDb. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Iwata Asks - Animal Crossing: City Folk". Nintendo. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  8. ^ a b c "Iwata Asks - Animal Crossing: New Leaf". Nintendo. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  9. ^ a b McWhertor, Michael (19 March 2014). "Animal Crossing: New Leaf director says team diversity, communication core to its success". Polygon. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  10. ^ "Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer devs – spin-off origins, decision to focus on house creation, more". Nintendo Everything. 20 September 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Nintendo promotes Aya Kyogoku, Hisashi Nogami, Eiji Aonuma, and Yoshihito Ikebata". Nintendo Everything. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Aya Kyogoku and Hisashi Nogami, the Humans Behind Animal Crossing". Bloomberg.com. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  13. ^ a b c Favis, Elise. "Nintendo explains philosophy behind Animal Crossing's big changes, such as gender expression and terraforming". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Aya Kyogoku: Nintendo's Rising Star and Secret Weapon". Goomba Stomp. 29 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Nintendo's New Key to Creativity: More Women". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  16. ^ a b Hudson, Laura (28 March 2014). "Nintendo's New Key to Creativity: More Women". Wired. Archived from the original on 3 June 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  17. ^ a b Nintendo - Developer Chat with Aya Kyogoku and Risa Tabata, retrieved 16 March 2021
  18. ^ "Iwata Asks - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess". Nintendo. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  19. ^ Doolan, Liam (8 December 2014). "Animal Crossing Plaza Service Stops At the End of This Month". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  20. ^ Parish, Jeremy (9 July 2015). ""Honestly, we just wanted Animal Crossing Amiibo": Nintendo's Aya Kyogoku on Evolving The Series". USGamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  21. ^ Weber, Rachel (20 December 2017). "Nintendo explains how it added microtransactions to Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp without pissing me off". GamesRadar. Retrieved 12 February 2020.

Further reading

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