
There's some incredibly sad news coming out of Japan today - with Sega confirming the legendary game developer Rieko Kodama passed away earlier this year in May. She was just weeks out from her 59th Birthday. No other details have been shared out of respect for her family's privacy.
Sega producer Yosuke Oskunari revealed Kodama publically acknowledged this after a memorial message for her was discovered in the credits of the Mega Drive Mini 2:
Kodama was one of the first females in video game development to make a name for herself, and was often associated with Sega's role-playing games. She's also been formally recognised as a pioneer of the industry - with her career in game development spanning more than three decades.
Rieko Kodama started out at Sega in 1984 as a graphic designer - working on games like Champion Boxing, Alex Kidd, Altered Beast and Sonic the Hedgehog, and went on to become a director and producer for series like Phantasy Star and Skies of Arcadia. In more recent years, she was the lead producer on the Sega Ages line.
On behalf of the entire community here at Nintendo Life, our thoughts go out to Kodama's family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time.
[source ign.com]
Comments 49
The Phantasy Star original series is to this day one of my all favorites. Much respect for this woman and a shame she seemed to pass before her time.
Man. the hobby has lost one of the greats. So sad to hear this.
Well this is incredibly sad. Thinking back on it, Skies of Arcadia Legends was probably the first JRPG I played, so it had a profound impact on my love of the genre. Just a real shame, she clearly had more to give.
And I didn't even know who she was until now...and this makes it even sadder for me. Not knowing the contributions & the work that she did...
May she find peace.
I'm a big fan of her work and her contribution to gaming history. This news hit me as hard as it did when Iwata passed away. 59 years old is too young to go.
My condolences to family and friends
Impressive resumé! Phantasy Star is one of the best JRPG franchises and the SEGA Ages series is just awesome. I've heard plenty of great things about Skies of Arcadia as well.
Too young. My condolences.
I hate it when people die young.
May Rieko rest in piece.
i've played few of the games she worked on, such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Altered Beast, I've enjoyed Sonic since i was Young, and i'm glad to play the game the she worked on over the years.
Rest in Peace.
This is terrible news, she deserved way more recognition for the worlds she helped build and the countless hours of fun she gave to people with the games she contributed to.
What sucks is, I didn’t even know her, I feel like just no one talked about her, a
Despite her incredible contribution, may she Rest In Peace.
Noo!! She was one of my favorite people within the gaming industry, this is so heartbreaking to read.😭
Thank you for everything Kodama, may you rest in peace.❤️
I can't say I've played any of the games she worked on, but it's sad news all the same. My prayers go out to her loved ones through this time of grief. It's always great to hear about women's contributions to the male-dominated field of gaming, though I wish I was learning about her under better circumstances. I want to see more female faces in gaming, but sadly, we've lost one instead.
Edit: I overlooked the fact she worked as a graphic artist on Sonic the Hedgehog, which is a game that I've of course played. There's probably few souls who haven't. What a legacy to have left.
Terrible loss.
I also don't really understand this story as reported. It was discovered in the Mega Drive Mini credits, so she had passed away several days/weeks ago?... Since she was added into the credits and these are just about to ship, was this added before these went into production?
Terrible if this happened a while ago and we are just hearing about it.
I first heard about her on a podcast and she gained much respect from me when I heard about her contributions to this wonderful hobby of mine. Incredibly sad news and way too young. I played and enjoyed all the games she worked on.
@Grocery-bag It's possible the family wanted her passing to be kept discrete. It seems respectful to give them time to process their grief and come to terms with her passing before plastering it all over the news. I imagine seeing articles pop up about a recently-deceased loved one would only add to my distress if I were in the same situation. Sort of like how getting a bunch of phone calls from well-meaning people to say "Sorry for your loss" isn't always helpful when the person just wants to be left alone and/or try to forget about it for a little while.
So, I'm not gonna judge Sega since we don't know whether the family may have requested to keep things on the down-low. Death is a difficult subject to navigate, and I don't think there is always a right or wrong way to relay such information since everyone grieves differently.
@Not_Soos I'm not judging anyone. Please don't look too much into what I said or interpret what I said as an attack on Sega or this family. Specifically talking about the reporting, just interested in the timeframe.
@Grocery-bag,
I was thinking the exact same thing, these articles usually come out very close to the persons death, in this case I am not sure weather she died a day ago or a month/year etc.
Very sad to see anyone die so young, but would have liked a little bit more detail on the timescale, but perhaps nobody apart from her family knows.
@Not_Soos,
Pretty sure Grocery-bag was not suggesting anything in a bad way, he was just curious as the article seems very unsure of any specifics, in fact initially it seems we were not sure if she had even passed away, ie was the tribute in the credits some sort of appreciation for her work on the games,
I’ve beaten 2 Phantasy Star games recently. The first game and 4. I’m gonna aim for the 2nd game once I get the Sega Genesis Mini 2. May she Rest In Peace.
I may not have played many of the games she worked on, but I still heard them described as some of the best in the entire industry (games like Skies of Arcadia and Phantasy Star especially). A pioneer for female developers that will be sorely missed, rest in peace.
@Grocery-bag My intent wasn't to sound accusatory, but I apologize if my comment came across that way.
@johnvboy It looks like you mistakenly tagged me twice lol, but thanks for coming to my defense.
@Not_Soos No worries boss. No apologies needed. I didn't take it in a negative way, just wanted to clarify my reasoning. Keep on being you.
Such sad news 💔
I wonder how often I saw her name in game credits and never realized she was a woman, nor how amazing her resumé was.
It’s a jarring way to find out about her death, but I’m glad Sega memorialized her in the MD Mini 2 - a device born from love for Sega’s history.
Kodama-san, Rest In Peace and thank you for lending your talent to so many beloved games. You’ve touched many lives through your work.
An under-appreciated legend.
I just saw Yuji Naka tweet an hommage to her colleague too.
I always loved the art In Phantasy Star
Rest In peace.
Aww that’s terrible to hear. Thank you for your work! RIP Kodama-san. That’s way too young.
@Not_Soos,
Sorry mate got my reply mixed up, edited the post.
I'm heartbroken, I've been a fan of Rieko Kodama for many years. Her talent and idea were so great and she always put her everything into every work she made. Especially the Phantasy Star series, that was really her baby. Phantasy Star IV and Sonic left a great impact on me, I'll forever be grateful to everything she gave us.
Skies of Arcadia is in my top 5 games. Thank you.
Absolutely crushed. Kodama is behind two of my favourite RPGs ever - Phantasy Star IV and Skies of Arcadia. To say she is a legend is an understatement, and her legacy will live on in her work.
I love both 2 of those games growing up rip this was part of my childhood.
Phantasy Star vies with Dragon Quest IV as the best 8-bit JRPG, despite the fact that DQIV was made so much later. Hard to believe it released just two days after the first Final Fantasy.
It’s also mad that Skies of Arcadia is stuck on two dead systems.
Sad news indeed, another legend from the gaming industry leaves us far to soon:(
RIP Rieko.
Gosh, that's kinda scary to think about. How many more of the great names we grew up with have silently passed away without us ever hearing about them?
Perhaps NL could do some investigative work, and start a "Are they still with us?" series or something..
Her art and attitude was bright and peppy from beginning to end.
She will be missed, and her influence forever appreciated. :x
That's when you realise the hobby has now reached a stage where video games are old enough now that great legends of the medium will start to disappear progressively. We lost a lot to sickness and accidents already (Iwata, Gunpei Yokoi, Kenji Eno, etc), few to old age (Yamauchi comes to mind), but this trend will only increase as time goes on and more leave us. No one lives forever, enjoy life and games while you can!
May she Rest In Peace. We are grateful for her contributions to Gaming.
I grew up in the 8 and 16 bit era, but never had the opportunity to play some of the RPGs from the time. I started working on that about 4 years ago and after playing a few of them, the original Phantasy Star has been my favourite so far. Thanks for a wonderful game, Kodama-san.
R.I.P. Thank you for your wonderful and hard working talents on the Phantasy Star series. You were a beautiful lady and I'm sorry.
Very sad news indeed. Prayers for her family and friends. She left quite a legacy in gaming.
bloody legend
R.I.P. She was a legendary pioneer.
Time Extension posted a great consolidation of interviews with her and I learned a lot, including just how instrumental she was in making a game I really love, Phantasy Star 4. I don't recall coming across her name before, but clearly she did some great work that really resonated with me. Sad to hear she died too soon. I thank her for her work during a time when Sega was at its best and was my favorite gaming company.
Such a shame, she had given a ton to the industry and my guess is at her age still had plenty more to give. RIP, very sad. She contributed to some of my favorite games of all time.
Wow... I've been educated, and saddened at the same time. Thank you and rest in peace.
On another note, I guess I'll never see SoA re-released at this point... I'm sorry I never beat that game.
Sometimes the phrase "the good die young" is too true. May she rest in peace, her legacy in the industry will not be forgotten.
Rest in peace, Kodama-san.
Phantasy Star was always my favorite RPG series, and though I loved PSO, the series' soul died back in 2000.
Now, we've lost the one who brought us Alis, Alys, Rhys, Wren, Mieu, Rolf, Chaz, Nei, Rika, Lutz, Rune, Raja, Tyler, Hugh, Vyse, Aika, Fina, and all those who fought for good...
Kodama-San once said that Alis Landale's favorite drink would have been a bellini. I'll be making one tonight.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...