NEWS - Tuesday, March 12, 2002
Sega’s Yuji Naka Receives Award
SEGA’S YUJI NAKA TO RECEIVE IGDA’S LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Legendary Game Developer to be Honored at Ceremony During Game Developers Conference March 12, 2002 – The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) will proudly recognize Yuji Naka, President and CEO of SEGA®’s SONICTEAM, LTD. for the innovative and award-winning work he has produced during his career. Naka will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award during the Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony on March 21 at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif. In a career spanning nearly two decades, Naka is best known as the creator of video game industry icon and long-time SEGA mascot, Sonic The Hedgehog®. During his tenure at SEGA, Naka has headed the development of the wildly popular "Sonic The Hedgehog®" franchise, which has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Under his management, SONICTEAM has since created many other hit titles, including "Nights™" for SEGA Saturn™, "Samba de Amigo™" for the arcade and SEGA Dreamcast™, "Phantasy Star Online™," the first global online console RPG, for SEGA Dreamcast™ and most recently "Sonic Adventure™ 2 Battle" for Nintendo GameCube™, marking the first time Sonic The Hedgehog has appeared on a new next-generation video game console. Prior to his work on the SONICTEAM, Naka led development on gaming classics "F16 Fighting Falcon™," "Phantasy Star™," "Ghouls Ghost™" and many others. His contributions to interactive entertainment have been in the simulator, RPG and action/adventure genres and across multiple gaming platforms. "I am honored to be recognized by the IGDA for my life’s works," said Yuji Naka. "My passion is games and I look forward to many more years of creating new and innovative gaming experiences for a variety of platforms." The Game Developers Choice Awards advisory board selects the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. "Yuji Naka is an inspiration in our industry for his originality and vision," said Jason Della Rocca, program director, IGDA. "Our community and craft are better for his contribution. It is our honor to recognize Naka and his work with the Lifetime Achievement Award." The 2nd annual Game Developers Choice Awards, the premier accolades for peer-recognition in game development, are scheduled to take place at 7:30 p.m. on March 21, 2002, at the GDC. Produced by the Gama Network, the GDC is the world’s largest conference and exposition dedicated to video game development and related industries.Source: http://www.sega.com/
