Chris Tang
1990’s Era Gamer
Class of 2016 Inductee
Chris is an accomplished game designer, cosplayer, and video game champion.
When the Nintendo World Championships arrived in his native state, he joined the competition and was eventually crowned Hawaii State Champion.
After moving to California, he would also become the 1990 Los Angeles City Champion – something he attributes to helping get him into the industry.
Chris Tang began his employment at Tengen in 1990, when he was only 14 years of age, and worked on a number of the company’s popular games. Particularly, his involvement in Gauntlet IV was one of the first times a passionate American gamer had direct influence on the production of a Japanese-developed title. As with the later Rampart, Tang’s involvement was specifically highlighted in the game’s Japanese manuals as a novel and fascinating collaboration between an American gamer and a Japanese development team.
Tang was also intimately involved in the development of the Primal Rage series, working on the first game and serving as a primary game designer on the infamously-cancelled Primal Rage II. After his time with Atari Games, Tang moved to Capcom Japan, where he would work on a number of popular arcade fighting games (like Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes).
Following Capcom, he would work on the Transformers franchise with Genazea/BAM and the Tetris franchise for Bullet Proof Software.
Tang’s experience with the Tetris franchise and his outspoken passion for the game eventually saw him become the host of the Tetris World Championships in 2010 – a role he still serves to this day.
16 Y/O UNDERDOG vs. 7-TIME CHAMP – Classic Tetris World Championship 2018 Final Round: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_UPHsGR6fM
Chris is the originator of the meme “BOOM! Tetris for Jeff!”.
BOOM! Tetris for Jeff | 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlnlDKznIaw
In 2016, Tang was invited to join the U.S. National Video Game Team, and in 2017 was inducted into the International Video Game Hall Of Fame.
Chris Tang’s accomplishments and visibility, particularly by winning the 1994 competition Rock the Rock, resulted in him becoming a minor celebrity within the game industry.
He occasionally cameos in film and television, such as an appearance in Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters, and is even seen cosplaying in Entourage.
Tang is a professional cosplayer with over 40 cosplay awards.
At Sega Retro Website:
https://segaretro.org/Chris_Tang
Social Media:
Chris is featured in the documentary “High Score” on Netflix:
https://www.netflix.com/title/81019087
Walter Day Trading Card Spotlight – Chris Tang:
37 credits on 19 games on Mobygames:
Chris Tang wins Lifetime Achievement Award – 2022 CTWC
