The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences has announced that Nintendo’s Genyo Takeda will receive its Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2018 DICE Awards. Currently a Special Corporate Advisor at Nintendo, Genyo Takeda has been with the company since the early ’70s. He’s considered Nintendo’s first game designer. A pioneer in both videogame software and hardware, his achievements include:
- Creating the first battery save system for console cartridges (The Legend of Zelda)
- Designing the first successful analog controller for consoles (Nintendo 64)
- Leading the hardware teams for the Nintendo 64, GameCube, and Wii consoles
- Creator of the Punch-Out!! games for arcade, NES, and SNES
- Director, designer, and writer for StarTropics
I had the honor to work with Nintendo to write Genyo Takeda’s bio for the 2018 DICE Awards program. It was a fantastic experience getting to learn more about this videogame legend. For many longtime gamers, his works had a tremendous impact on our favorite hobby. The battery save feature in The Legend of Zelda was a godsend. Punch-Out!! was a fantastic arcade game that was even better at home in Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! The Nintendo 64 and GameCube were some of my favorite consoles, while the Wii was a revolutionary machine the brought gaming to the mainstream.
Genyo Takeda’s career is unique in that he has made huge contributions in both videogame hardware and software. He designed one of Nintendo’s first arcade games, created some of its most successful consoles, and made some unforgettable games. Even his ancillary contributions, like the battery save in Zelda and the analog controller for Nintendo 64, are significant. He’s had a long and storied career with Nintendo, and his Lifetime Achievement Award is very much deserved.
Genyo Takeda will receive the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Lifetime Achievement Award on February 22, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the 2018 DICE Awards.