The musician, author of scores of arcade classics such as New Rally X, Metro Cross or Hopping Mappy has died at 63 years of age.
Namco and the video game industry mourn. Nobuyuki Ohnogi, composer of soundtracks and designer of many videogames of the golden age of Namco, has passed away at the age of 63. The musician died in mid-August, but the news has not been made public until now out of respect for his closest friends.
He was born on January 27, 1956 and raised in the Japanese prefecture of Shizuoka. From an early age he was interested in electronic products, especially sound synthesizers. The biography, traced by Retronauts, recalls that Ohnogi graduated in Engineering from the University of Chiba. As soon as he finished his academic studies, he decided to try his luck in Namco, who hired him in 1980.
He didn't start as a musician
The creative began his career as a programmer, but worked on the soundtrack of Rally X, something that caught the attention of his teammates. At that time, video game musicians composed chiptune music and needed to have programming skills. Faced with this discovery, the Japanese company decided to relocate it as one of those responsible for the sound of its projects.
Thereafter, the composer began a dizzying career, which led him to put music to all kinds of games. Galaga was one of the titles that helped establish Namco as the strongest company in the field of arcades, back in the early 80's. A year later, Mappy surprised by its sound, also considered a very influential title. Another musician, Koichi Sugiyama, well known for his work in Dragon Quest, said he had been interested in video game music thanks to Ohnogi.
Nobuyuki Ohnogi retired abruptly in the mid-nineties, with the aim of taking over the family ramen restaurant, which was going through bad times.
