One of our favorite SEGA developers here at SEGAbits, Rieko Kodama, who has worked on SEGA classics like Alex Kidd, Phantasy Star and even the Dreamcast cult classic Skies of Arcadia. She is set to recieve this year’s pioneer award at this year’s Game Developer Awards.
“The Game Developers Choice Awards were conceived as a way to recognize the all-too-often unsung genius and dedication of game developers throughout history, and this year’s award honors a figure who helped pave the way for countless game creators to follow, after decades spent developing some of SEGA’s most indelible classics, Kodama-san could easily rest on her laurels, but instead has dedicated herself to creating games that transcend gender and generations to give us countless hours of joy. This award is a ‘thank you’ to Kodama-san and all creators who work so hard to achieve greatness.” – Katie Stern, general manager of the Game Developers Conference
THe Game Developer Awards ceremony will take place in San Francisco Moscone Center on March 20, 2019 at 6:30 pm.
[Source: Variety]
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Awesome news — I’d love to see more epic storytelling from her, and frankly, more recognition for individual auteurs and developers in Japan that never received the credit that they deserved.
Congrats to Kodama-san! She’s one of the few old-school SEGA talents who are still with the company and still giving us great experiences like the 7th Dragon series and the SEGA Ages line on Switch.
Phoenix Rie! You ROCK!!
Love Phantasy Star and Skies of Arcadia, there should be more like her out there given an opportunity to shine.
Skies of Arcadia is one of my picks for best video games of ALL TIME! Rieko Kodama absolutely deserves this recognition and additional awards and recognition as well. This is great news!
“Pioneer 2 Award” haha