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| Article of the Month: Sega President Isao Okawa (Apr - May) |
| In this months article I will discuss the death of Isao Okawa. He was perhaps Sega's most influential person and molded Sega into the video game giant it is today. He will be always be remembered for it. Please Note: This article was taken from Sega.com that has long been removed. It is with great sadness that Sega announces that on March 16th at 3:47 pm (Tokyo Time), Isao Okawa, the beloved and respected chairman and president of Sega Corporation, passed away at the Tokyo University Medical Hospital due to heart failure. Okawa-san was born in Osaka, Japan in 1927. After graduating from the prestigious Waseda University, he formed Computer Service, which in 1968 became CSK. In addition to his role at Sega and being an honorary chairman of the CSK Corporation, Okawa-san was granted several honors by the government for his efforts to aid and revitalize Japanese high-technology companies. He also received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater. Over the years, Okawa-san demonstrated his personal commitment to Sega Corporation. He spent about 10 billion yen ($81.6 million) of his own funds in 1984 to buy a minority stake in Sega from Gulf & Western Industries Inc., the former parent company of Sega. He continued his personal involvement with Sega Entertainment Ltd, by joining with David Rosen (the founder of Sega in 1951) to buy the remaining Japanese assets of Sega. In 1986 he took Sega public in Tokyo and New York. In the last year he was a primary source of support for Sega, donating personal assets valued at 135 billion yen ($1.281 billion). As a visionary with unrelenting passion for Sega, Okawa-san was integral in establishing the company as a leader in innovative and compelling content. Although Okawa-san had removed himself from a day-to-day managerial position, he was still consistently acknowledged as an inspiration to Sega's employees around the globe. By integrating his love of games with his enthusiasm and involvement with a range of cutting-edge technologies, Okawa-san successfully mapped out the blueprint for the future of Sega. Although his passing marks a sad day in our history, his vision will continue to be carried on by the numerous development teams he inspired to deliver the world's paramount networked gaming content. SEGA Corporation March 16, 2001 |
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