Shehei Yoshida, former president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, and current head of Sony’s Independent Developer Initiative, will recieve a BAFTA fellowship on March 30.
The fellowship is the highest honour the awards body can give out, with former winners including Hideo Kojima, Tom Schafer, and John Carmack.
The awards is being given to Yoshida for being “a champion of independent developers”, according to the official press release. It also points to his social media presence, corporate endeavors, and his work nuturing and uplifting indie games over the years.
“Throughout my career, I’ve had the privilege of working with incredibly talented teams who’ve developed some of the best games in the industry,” writes Yoshida. “I’ve always celebrated alongside these developers as their games have received well-deserved awards – it is an amazing honour for me to receive an accolade of my own.”
Jane Millichip, CEO of BAFTA, said “Shuhei Yoshida is a pioneer in the games world and is hugely deserving of a BAFTA Fellowship. His collaborative, supportive approach continues to drive progress within the industry, using his platform to promote the voices and craft of others, and champion the work of independent designers, studios and creatives. We look forward to honouring his contribution to games at the ceremony on Thursday 30 March.”
There’s little to complain about with this, as Yushida’s legacy is star-studded and well respected for good reason. Joining Sony all the way back in 1986, with his early career overseeing the release of Ape Escape, The Legend of Dragoon, and Gran Turismo, as well as many, many more.
The award ceremony will be livestreamed for all to see on the official BAFTA Twitch channel on March 31, from 6:50PM BST onwards. We’ll be sure to watch live, will you?
For more Sony articles, check out our pieces on 17 excellent games are coming to PS Plus in March, as well as a recent opinion piece: PS5 Pro? Even if the spurious rumors are true, right now I just don’t care.
