Gunpei Yokoi honored with lifetime achievement

The International Game Developers Association has announced that Gunpei Yokoi will be honored with its Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony to be held on March 6. Yuji Naka, the recipient of last year's award, will present this year's award to Gunpei Yokoi's family. "I am as deeply honored to be presenting this award as I was to receive it," said Yuji Naka, president and CEO of Sonic Team. "To have a life's work recognized by other game creators is the most meaningful honor one could receive."

Gunpei Yokoi was the creative force behind the original Game Boy and was involved in development on some of Nintendo's key franchises, including Donkey Kong, Mario Bros., and Metroid. Yokoi left Nintendo to form his own company in 1996 but was tragically killed in a traffic accident the following year.