Yu Suzuki to be honored as 'Pioneer' at Game Developers Choice Awards
Yu Suzuki, a central driving force behind iconic Sega franchises such as Space Harrier, Afterburner, Virtua Fighter and Out Run, will be honored with the Pioneer Award at the 11th annual Game Developers Choice Awards next month. The accolade recognizes creators of "breakthrough genres and concepts" and serves to highlights Suzuki's definitive role in the "golden age" of Sega arcade games.
His career started with Sega in 1983 and has encompassed an incredible variety of standout games and personal passions. It's interesting to reflect on the differences in scope between some of his most well-known projects: Shenmue attempted to recreate a vibrant and reactive simulacrum of Yokosuka, Japan, while Ferrari F355 Challenge was an enthusiastic tribute to just one car, displayed across three screens.
Yu Suzuki will receive the prestigious gong (in person!) at the Game Developers Choice Awards on Wednesday, March 2, in San Francisco, once he manages to extract it from a giant toy capsule machine. "This is cool!" he'll say. "Maybe I should get another."
[Image credit: "The Disappearance of Yu Suzuki" / 1UP]
