Former Sega president and console designer Hideki Sato has died. News of his passing was reported over the weekend by Japanese outlet Beep21, and Sega later posted a statement online honoring Sato for his contributions to the company.
"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Hideki Sato, who served as President of Sega from 2001 to 2003," Sega wrote in a social media post. "Sega would like to offer its condolences to his family and friends. His leadership helped lay the foundation of Sega, and his contributions had a significant and lasting impact on the entire gaming industry. We will always remember his contributions to our company, and all of us at Sega extend our deepest condolences as we honor his memory."
Sato joined Sega in 1971, and alongside the Sega R&D team, he was instrumental in the design of several of the company's iconic arcade machines and its home consoles, such as the SG-1000, SC-3000, Genesis, Saturn, and Dreamcast. Later in his career, he became Sega's president between 2001 and 2003, and he would eventually retire from the company in 2008.
While Sega would bow out of the console race after the debut of the Dreamcast, the final console that Sato worked on is still fondly remembered. Back in 2014, former EA chief operating officer Peter Moore--who served as president of Sega of America at the time of the Dreamcast's launch--spoke about how it helped to usher in a new era of online gaming.
This idea was born from Sato's desire to foster "play and communication" between players (via Sega History and VGC), leading to the inclusion of a modem and the Visual Memory Unit within the console.
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"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Hideki Sato, who served as President of Sega from 2001 to 2003," Sega wrote in a social media post. "Sega would like to offer its condolences to his family and friends. His leadership helped lay the foundation of Sega, and his contributions had a significant and lasting impact on the entire gaming industry. We will always remember his contributions to our company, and all of us at Sega extend our deepest condolences as we honor his memory."
Sato joined Sega in 1971, and alongside the Sega R&D team, he was instrumental in the design of several of the company's iconic arcade machines and its home consoles, such as the SG-1000, SC-3000, Genesis, Saturn, and Dreamcast. Later in his career, he became Sega's president between 2001 and 2003, and he would eventually retire from the company in 2008.
We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Hideki Sato, who served as President of SEGA from 2001 to 2003. SEGA would like to offer its condolences to his family and friends. Starting his career with the development of arcade machines, Mr. Sato was instrumental in the… pic.twitter.com/rxOZJ1o3Kt
— SEGA (@SEGA) February 16, 2026
While Sega would bow out of the console race after the debut of the Dreamcast, the final console that Sato worked on is still fondly remembered. Back in 2014, former EA chief operating officer Peter Moore--who served as president of Sega of America at the time of the Dreamcast's launch--spoke about how it helped to usher in a new era of online gaming.
This idea was born from Sato's desire to foster "play and communication" between players (via Sega History and VGC), leading to the inclusion of a modem and the Visual Memory Unit within the console.
Source