Hidekazu Yukawaformer CEO of Sega when the Dreamcast was released, lost his life in June 2021 at the age of 78 as reported by Famitsu (via Nintendo Life). Apparently, Yukawa died due to complications from pneumonia that he contracted last June, something that has been kept secret until today at the request of his relatives. The former director of one of the most important video game companies in Japan participated in some commercials to promote Sega’s latest home console like the following:
Yukawa assumed the role of general manager of the Japanese publisher in 1998 and became one of the visible faces of the company. In addition to his appearance in numerous television commercials for the Sega Dreamcast, Yukawa also appeared on the boxes of the home console when it was released in Japan, although it is worth noting that his popularity level reached new heights thanks to an advertisement in which defended the Dreamcast in front of a group of kids who said that the Sony PlayStation was much better. In fact, he even got to receive his own video game –Yukawa Motosenmu no Otakara Sagashi– e made an appearance in some DLC for the first Sonic Adventure.
Yukawa and his small participation in Shenmue
In Japan, a promotional demostracin disc of Shen Mue for those players who reserved the game known as What’s Shenmue in which Ryo Hazuki, protagonist of the saga, had to chase down Yukawa and get him to safety from a gang of thugs. Without any doubt, Yukawa was an important figure not only for Sega, but for the video game industry as a whole.
