Sega veteran and industry legend Rieko Kodama has passed away, age 59
There’s extremely sad news coming out of Japan today – with Sega confirming legendary game developer Rieko Kodama has passed away at the age of 59. SEGA producer Yosuke Oskunari has revealed Kodama has passed away later when a tribute message for Kodama was discovered in the credits of Mega Drive Mini 2:
Kodama was one of the first women in video game development to have made a name for herself and is often associated with Sega’s role-playing games. She is also officially recognized as a industry pioneer – with her game development career spanning over three decades.
Rieko Kodama started out at Sega in 1984 as a graphic designer working on games like Boxing champion, Alex Kidd, The Beast Is Transformed and Sonic the Hedgehog and went on to become a director and producer on series like Phantasy Star and The sky of Arcadia. In recent years, she has worked on Sega Ages as the main producer.
On behalf of the entire community here at Nintendo Life, we would like to thank Kodama’s family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time.