Organizers of the 19th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards have announced in a press release that the recipient of this year’s Pioneer Award will be “trailblazing” Sega veteran, Rieko Kodama.
With a successful career spanning more than three decades, Kodama is one of the most accomplished developers in the video games industry. She joined Sega in 1984, making her debut with Champion Boxing for the SG-1000 console. She then went on to design arcade games like Sega Ninja and Quartet before moving on to create background designs for Alex Kidd in Miracle World and key artwork for Phantasy Star.
Kodama is also behind 7th Dragon, Altered Beast, and Sega Ages series among a plethora of titles.
“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,” said GDC General Manager, Katie Stern. “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.”
This year’s GDC Awards will also honor veteran writer and former Uncharted creative director, Amy Hennig, with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, March 20, at 6:30 pm PST at the San Francisco Moscone Center.
SEGA Series That Need A PS4 Entry
-
Forgotten SEGA Franchises That Need a PS4 Entry
-
Galaxy Force
Since we're not likely to get a good on-rails space shooter from Nintendo any time soon, SEGA has a chance to fill that void with Galaxy Force. It's a genre that really has been stagnant for quite some time, but it's also one that has wondrous potential. A reboot of their late 1980s arcade series could be something special as long as it featured solid shooting, eye-catching graphics (PSVR anyone?), and a meaningful amount of content.
-
Rent A Hero
Rent-A-Hero doesn't get as much credit as it should when innovative role-playing games are discussed. It's unique twist of having battles play out like a fighting game, rather than be turn-based, was brilliant in 1991, and it hasn't really been used much since then. The series' emphasis on humor is also a great selling point, especially when so many action games and RPGs are nauseatingly self serious despite poor writing.
-
Virtual On
There's not enough games featuring mecha, and that's a fact. That's exactly why SEGA needs to revive their Virtual-On series. Imagine how cool Hajime Katoki's designs could look on PS4, and then become incredibly saddened that we haven't had a truly awesome mecha game since games went HD.
-
Alex Kidd
Let's face it, things aren't going well for SEGA's current mascot (even if his Twitter feed is one of the best things in gaming today). So maybe it's time for the publisher to bring Alex Kidd out of retirement. After all, it's probably the best chance we'll get a solid platformer from SEGA any time soon. Just please, for the love of God, don't let boss battles get decided by games of rock-paper-scissors. I'm already having flashbacks to childhood trauma thinking about all the times I completed levels only to lose in roshambo.
-
Virtua Fighter
A new Street Fighter game just released, new entries of King of Fighters and Tekken are in development, and then Virtua Fighter is just kind of sitting in the corner looking bored. As a fighting game fan, it's been too long since Akira and company have appeared in their own fighting game (although they have made several guest appearances elsewhere). Let's bring the series back with a bang, and it shouldn't take much to outdo the poor outing that Capcom offered up with Street Fighter V.
-
Seaman
Seaman was a weird game that was ahead of its time, but mostly just weird. I feel like the world is a weirder place now in 2016 than compared to 1999, and perhaps Yoot Saito's series can finally shine. It'd be the perfect type of experience for PlayStation VR, and technology has advanced to where SEGA can do a lot more with speech now.
-
Out Run
It has been 7 long years since players got to jump in a Ferrari and cruise around in a new Out Run game. I would say that's 7 years too long, as Out Run is not only one of the best racing game series, but one of the most recognizable. With more and more racers going a serious route, there's a need for more arcade racers (especially on PS4 since there's no Forza Horizon to play). Let's get Sumo Digital on a new entry as soon as possible.
-
Shinobi
The Shinobi series has largely lain dormant since the PS2-era of consoles (aside from one 3DS entry). That's a shame, as it was one of SEGA's premier franchises in the late 80s and early 90s. A remake of the first game would make for a pretty rad PSN title, and would be a great way to gauge interest in the series.
-
Vectorman
Where has Vectorman been? It's been 20 years since Vectorman 2 released on the Genesis, and there's been a desire for more run and gun platformers as of late (especially when you consider the craze over a new Mega Man game and how much money Mighty No. 9 was able to raise). This is the perfect time to bring the underappreciated series!
-
Streets of Rage
Brawlers may have one step in the grave, but that doesn't mean you can't still make a good one as Double Dragon Neon proved. Streets of Rage deserves a similar treatment with online cooperative play. Just make sure Motohiro Kawashima is back to compose the soundtrack since Streets of Rage 3 was rocking.
