Isao Ōkawa
aka:
Isao Okawa,
Isao Ohkawa,
Isao Ookawa
Moby ID: 50535
Biography edit · view history
Okawa-san was born in Osaka, Japan in 1926. 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.
Credited on 14 games
Displaying most recent · View all
Rez Infinite (2016, PlayStation 4) | Producer's Special Thanks to |
Sonic Adventure DX (Director's Cut) (2003, Windows) | Executive Supervisor |
Phantasy Star Online: Episode I & II (2003, Xbox) | Executive Producer |
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (2001, GameCube) | Executive Producer |
Sonic Adventure 2 (2001, Dreamcast) | Executive Producer |
Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2 (2001, Dreamcast) | Executive Producer |
ChuChu Rocket! (2001, Game Boy Advance) | Executive Supervisor |
Phantasy Star Online (2000, Dreamcast) | Executive Supervisor |
Samba de Amigo ver. 2000 (2000, Dreamcast) | Executive Producer |
Samba De Amigo (2000, Arcade) | Executive Producer |
D-2 (1999, Dreamcast) | Special Thanks |
Space Channel 5 (1999, Dreamcast) | Very Very Very Executive Producer |
Sonic Adventure (1998, Dreamcast) | Executive Supervisor |
Dyna Brothers (1992, Genesis) | Executive Producer |
[ full credits ]
Frequent Collaborators
People- 12 games with Yukifumi Makino
- 10 games with Yuji Naka
- 10 games with Masanao Maeda
- 10 games with Yasuko Maruyama
- 10 games with Seijirou Sannabe
- 9 games with Hirokazu Akashi
- 9 games with Osamu Shibamiya
- 9 games with Jin Shimazaki
- 9 games with Yasushi Yamashita
- 9 games with Hideki Yokaichiya
Companies
- 12 games with SEGA Corporation
- 9 games with SEGA of America, Inc.
- 8 games with Sonic Team
- 4 games with SEGA Europe Ltd.
- 4 games with Atari France S.A.S.
- 3 games with CRI Middleware Co., Ltd.
- 3 games with SEGA Studios USA
- 3 games with Bandai Namco Entertainment UK Ltd.
- 3 games with BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment...
- 3 games with Namco Bandai Partners Pty Ltd.
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