Sega fans are mourning the loss of a ‘truly great’ engineer who went on to mastermind a new generation of gaming consoles.
Hideki Sato, a former president of Sega and designer of its iconic consoles, has died at the age of 77, Japanese media Beep 21 reported.
Sato joined the gaming company in 1971 and worked his way up through the ranks before becoming acting president between 2001 and 2003.
Alongside his research and development team, Sato was responsible for the creation of Sega’s arcade and home console hardware.
Products released under his watch included the SG-1000, the Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Saturn, and Sega Dreamcast.
Sato also designed Sega System 1, as well as the SC-3000 computer.
By the time he left the company in 2008, the gaming landscape had changed and Sega was transitioning from being a hardware manufacturer into publishing games for rival platforms, like Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox.
Posting a tribute to Sato, Beep 21 said on X: “Hideki Sato, known as the father of Sega hardware, passed away yesterday.
Sega fans are mourning the loss of a ‘truly great’ engineer who went on to mastermind a new generation of gaming consoles
Among the most popular gaming systems created was the Sega Mega Drive, which introduced a generation to arcade-style games in their living room, including Sonic the Hedgehog
‘He was a truly great man who captivated the history of Japanese video games and Sega fans around the world.
‘The excitement and spirit of challenge from that era will, I believe, remain in the memories of many fans forever and ever.
‘We sincerely pray for the repose of his soul.’
Among the most popular gaming systems created was the Sega Mega Drive, which introduced a generation to arcade-style games in their living room, including the original Sonic the Hedgehog.
It was initially released in Japan in October 1988 and in America and Europe the following year.
Sales of Sega’s console peaked in the mid-90s before the arrival of the first PlayStation created a new standard for video games.
It later went out of production but was reintroduced in recent years thanks to a growing nostalgia for retro products.
During its heyday, Sega sold more than 100 million home consoles, with the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive selling around 43 million units worldwide.