Legendary Sega Engineer Behind Genesis Dies At The Age Of 77

"The Nintendo Entertainment System crushed Sega's Master System. The NES rose from the ashes of the early '80s crash and dominated markets around the world. Sega wanted to get revenge in the second round. For the 16-bit era, they'd introduce something that synthesized their arcade strengths with what was possible at home with new, budget-friendly microchips. Sato wanted a home console with the visual appeal of an up-scale sound system, making it sleek, rounded and black with contrasted gold lettering."

"Joining Sega back in 1971, Sato saw the company go through every transformation first hand, from a US-based electronics enterprise to a Japanese gaming power-house, and from a titan of the arcade hall to one of the fiercest competitors of the home console wars. While involved in the original SG series and the Master System, Sato's star ascended in 1989 when he was promoted to director of Sega's Research and Development department."

""We knew how to make arcade games, we didn't really know anything about console development," in an oral history of Sega. "They sold so well, we started to get stars in our eyes." Sato was a steward to Sega's biggest consoles, from the original SG-1000 right through to the Dreamcast. The storied engineer passed away this Friday, February 13, 2026, at age 77."

Sato joined Sega in 1971 and witnessed its transformation from a US-based electronics company into a Japanese gaming powerhouse and arcade titan turned console competitor. He worked on the SG series and the Master System and became director of Sega's Research and Development department in 1989, charged with challenging Nintendo. He guided design choices that produced the sleek, black Mega Drive/Genesis with contrasted gold lettering, prioritizing arcade-derived strengths and cost-effective microchips. The Mega Drive launched with a two-year head start over the Super Nintendo and achieved major success. Sato later oversaw the Sega Saturn and the Dreamcast. He died on February 13, 2026, at age 77.

Read at Kotaku