At the age of 77, Hideki Sato, one of the creators of Sega consoles, passed away

Hideki Sato passed away — an engineer considered the 'father' of Sega hardware. His passing was reported by the Japanese gaming publication Beep21. Sato was 77 years old.

What is known

He joined Sega in 1971 and worked there until the early 2000s. His name is most closely associated with the development of arcade systems and home consoles that defined the era of the 1980s–1990s. Among them are the SG-1000, as well as the iconic Genesis (Mega Drive), Saturn, and Dreamcast, which became part of the childhood of the late Gen X and early millennials.

In 2001–2003, Sato served as president of Sega. Beep21, which frequently interviewed him, called him 'an outstanding figure who shaped the history of Japan's gaming industry and won over Sega fans worldwide'.

Sato died a few months after Sega co-founder David Rosen passed away at the age of 95 in December.

Source: Beep21