Satoru Iwata, the late Nintendo president and CEO that passed away last July, will posthumously receive one of the industry's top honors next month.
The D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Awards ceremony will honor Iwata as its Lifetime Achievement Award recipient this year. The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences says the award is reserved for individuals whose accomplishments span a broad range of disciplines over a lengthy career in the industry.
The award was first given out to former Nintendo of America chiefs Minoru Arakawa and Howard Lincoln in 2007. Only Ken Kutaragi, Doug Lowenstein and Bing Gordon have since earned the honor. Iwata will be the first to receive the award posthumously.
Iwata served as Nintendo's president and CEO from 2002 until his passing last year. A year earlier, Iwata skipped E3 2014 and later revealed that he had surgery to remove a tumor in his bile duct. The executive made a few more public appearances before becoming ill in early January. Ultimately, he passed away on July 11, 2015, due to complications from the tumor removal.
In related news, this year's Hall of Fame entrant is none other than Hideo Kojima, the creative mastermind behind the Metal Gear Solid series that recently left Konami.
The 19th annual D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony takes place on February 18, 2016, at the conclusion of the D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas.
