Koji Kondo selected as Hall of Fame Inductee at 27th D.I.C.E. Awards

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) announced today that Koji Kondo, the acclaimed Nintendo composer and sound director will be honored at the 27th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas. The award ceremony will be livestreamed by IGN on Thursday, February 15th at 8:00 PM PT.

“I am deeply thankful for being selected by D.I.C.E. for this important award. It is a true honor to be recognized in this way, and I am extremely humbled,” said Koji Kondo. “Thanks to the help from the many people surrounding me and the support from our customers and fans, I was fortunate enough to be involved in game music development for decades. I am grateful for everyone who helped and supported me. I will continue my efforts in the music and sound aspects of development to hopefully make everyone’s game experience even more enjoyable in the years to come.”

Koji Kondo was born on August 13, 1961 in Nagoya-City, Aichi-prefecture, Japan. After graduating from the Osaka University of Arts, he began working for Nintendo Co., Ltd in April 1984. Kondo would quickly go on to create iconic work, and was responsible for sound programming, music, and sound effects in Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda for the Famicom and Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) with memorable tunes and delightful audio cues that many people around the world now instantly recognize.

Kondo has since worked on many other memorable titles including the music for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64), Super Mario Sunshine (Nintendo Gamecube), New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo DS), Super Mario Galaxy (Wii), The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii), Super Mario 3D World (Wii U), and Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo Switch). He now serves as the Senior Officer of the Entertainment Planning & Development Division.

The AIAS Hall of Fame honor is bestowed on game creators who have been instrumental in the development of highly influential games and moving a particular genre forward. These individuals demonstrate the highest level of creativity and innovation, resulting in significant product influence on a scale that expands the scope of the industry. Past AIAS Hall of Fame recipients include Tim Schafer (2022), Ed Boon (2021), Connie Booth (2020), Bonnie Ross (2019), Todd Howard (2017), Hideo Kojima (2016), Leslie Benzies (2014), Dan and Sam Houser (2014), and Tim Sweeney (2012).