Konami Code creator Kazuhisa Hashimoto passes away

Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, START. Many of us have memories of pressing the buttons in this sequence on the title screen of Contra. This code gave the users an extra thirty lives. The creator of the code, Kazuhisa Hashimoto, has passed away, Konami announced. 

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. pic.twitter.com/vQijEQ8lU2

— Konami (@Konami) February 26, 2020

The code, which was made famous by Contra, was originally made by Kazuhisa Hashimoto for testing of another game called Gradius. He said that he had found the game too hard to play through during testing, so he created the code for himself which gave him all the powerups and would make the testing easier. The game was released with the code because Hashimoto had forgotten to remove it. Players eventually discovered the code and shared it around. The code became so famous, that Konami decided not to remove it. In fact, they put it in more of their video games. 

Many other gaming companies paid tribute to the code as well, including Sony in some of their PlayStation games. 

The cause of death wasn’t given. He was 61. 

Here is to one of the persons who made our childhood awesome. Rest in peace.