Sega has paid tribute to Hideki Sato, the designer of most Sega home consoles, who died last week.

The company said his contributions “had a significant and lasting impact on the entire gaming industry,” and noted that his “leadership helped lay the foundation of Sega.”

News of Sato’s death broke over the weekend after Sega history zine Beep21 claimed he died on February 13. As tributes poured in, Sega – at which Sato worked from 1971 to 2008 – announced it was “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 development of iconic home consoles, including the SG-1000, SC-3000, Mega Drive/Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, and Dreamcast,” the company wrote in a statement posted to X/Twitter.

“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 led the research and development department in the early 1990s. As Sega attests, he and his team developed most of its hardware systems from the SG-1000 to the Dreamcast, including its arcade machines, until he left the company in 2008.