Hideki Sato, who led the design of Sega’s beloved consoles in the ’80s and ’90s, died on Friday, according to a Japanese gaming site. beep21. He was 77 years old. Sato worked with Sega from 1971 to the early 2000s, but he is best known for his involvement in the development of the Sega arcade games and home consoles that defined many late Gen X and early millennium childhoods, from the SG-1000 to the Genesis, Saturn, and Dreamcast.
Sato served as president of Sega from 2001 to 2003. In the post announcing his death, beep21who interviewed Sato several times over the years, wrote (translated from Japanese), “He was truly a great man who shaped Japanese gaming history and enthralled Sega fans around the world. The excitement and pioneering spirit of that era will forever remain in the hearts and memories of countless fans for eternity.” Sato’s death comes just months after the death of Sega co-founder David Rosen, who died in December at the age of 95.
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