Hideki Sato, the legendary hardware designer behind Sega's most popular consoles, has passed away. He was 75.
Sato joined Sega in 1971, and was first involved with the company's arcade business. He would find fame within the firm's domestic hardware division, designing the SG-1000, Master System, Mega Drive / Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast.
Out of those systems, the Genesis / Mega Drive was the most commercially successful, shipping over 30 million units and establishing Sega as a force to be reckoned with in North America and Europe.
Sato was promoted to director of Sega’s Research and Development department in 1989, and spearheaded the company's battle to win the hearts and minds of gamers all over the globe. He would eventually rise to the role of Sega president in 2001, a position he held until 2003.
In 2008, he helped establish Advance Create, Inc.
The thoughts of everyone at Time Extension and Hookshot Media are with Sato's family and friends at this difficult time.