Japanese developer Nihon Falcom has announced some tragic news – their original founder, Masayuki Kato (氏名 加藤 正幸), has passed away.

Kato was born on August 19th, 1946 and just passed away on December 15th, at the age of 78. Kato founded Nihon Falcom back in March of 1981 and began developing and selling games at the company.

Kato was the company president until 2007, when Toshihiro Kondo took over the reins as company president. Since then Kato has been the company’s CEO and chairman.

“We would like to take this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude for his kindness and support during his lifetime,” Nihon Falcom said in a statement.

A wake and funeral will be held but only for close relatives. A full memorial for fans of the company and their games will be held later, with details to be confirmed later.