Which two people does Wikipedia credit as creators of the Splatoon franchise?

Wikipedia credits Hisashi Nogami and Shintaro Sato as the creators of the Splatoon franchise.

Both figures were central to the series’ beginnings at Nintendo. Shintaro Sato originated an early four-versus-four territory-control prototype during Splatoon’s conceptual development, while Hisashi Nogami served as a senior producer and helped guide the project into a finished franchise.

The earliest version was much more abstract than the final game. It focused on teams covering territory in an arena, before the developers added concepts such as squids, humanoid characters, vertical level design, and the ability to hide or travel through ink. Those ideas became the foundation for Splatoon’s distinctive gameplay.

The names are sometimes confused with other major Nintendo creators, including Shigeru Miyamoto or Masahiro Sakurai. Those designers are associated with other prominent Nintendo franchises, but they are not the two people credited by Wikipedia as Splatoon’s creators. Nogami and Sato’s work also continued across later entries in the series.