Nihon Falcom founder and chairman Masayuki Kato passed away on December 15 at 78 years old

Nihon Falcom has published a new press release stating that Masayuki Kato had passed away on December 15. The founder of the original Nihon Falcom company was born on August 19, 1946, so he was 78 years old on his death. The passing was announced two days later and the cause of death was not divulged, as the company wanted to respect the desires of Mr Kato’s immediate family and relatives to hold a solemn vigil and funeral privately.

Masayuki Kato founded Nihon Falcom in 1981. He combined the “Falcon” from the Star Wars spaceship Millennium Falcon and “com” from Computers to create the name “Falcom”. Kato was also the producer behind many of Falcom’s earliest games, such as the first-ever Ys entry in 1987, Xanadu: Dragon Slayer II in 1985—which would later branch into its own series that includes the likes of Tokyo Xanadu, and 1989’s Dragon Slayer VI: The Legend of Heroes—which eventually expanded to the series best represented nowadays by the Trails (Kiseki) entries.

Kato also assumed the position of the company’s president until 2001, when a reorganization took place and Shinji Yamazaki became the new president. As a side note, Nihon Falcom’s current president Toshihiro Kondo assumed the position in 2007. Masayuki Kato was most recently appointed to become the chairman of Nihon Falcom last year in December 2023.

Mr Kato was also the one who set up the three main rules for the background music in the company’s video games. The composers ought to make the music so memorable that one would not forget it after first hearing it and would even hum to it. The tracks must also feel like a complete narrative structure with a beginning, development, twist/climax, and conclusion. And the song’s hook must strike a chord right at the precise moment.

Nihon Falcom also mentioned that Masayuki Kato’s passing also meant that the company has one less director board member. However, there should be no direct consequences as the company still has more board members than the legal minimum limit. The company also announced plans to hold a farewell event to send off Mr Kato, although they have yet to specify details like the date and location.