Shigesato Itoi

Shigesato Itoi ( Itoi Shigesato, born 10 November 1948) is a writer and a video game designer, responsible for creating the EarthBound series. Beginning his career as a famous copywriter, Itoi founded Ape in 1989 to develop Mother. In 1998, Itoi created a personal website, Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun (, Almost Daily Itoi News), which he updates daily. Itoi has also branched into writing, acting, and business, most notably as voicing Tatsuo Kusakabe in Studio Ghibli's 1998 film My Neighbor Totoro.

As the lead creator of the Mother series, Itoi has been involved in each game's development stage. Itoi directed Mother and its sequel, EarthBound, whereas he is credited only for writing in Mother 3. He has been mentioned in the games themselves: for example, a secret land mine will trigger when stepped on in Mother, revealing a secret message from Itoi addressed to the player.