Rieko Kodama, one of the first prominent women in the world of game design and publishing, is confirmed to have died earlier this year at the age of 58. As reported byIGN, Sega has confirmed that Kodama, also known in the industry as Phoenix Rie, passed away on May 9, but her death was not publicized at the time out of respect for her family.News of Kodama’s death surfaced after fans spotted a memorial message included in Sega’s Mega Drive Mini 2, which simply reads, “In memory of Rieko Kodama.”
Born in 1963, Kodama entered the gaming industry in her early 20s, originally finding work with Sega in 1984, and began the process of learning sprite work. Her first game, Champion Boxing, was released the same year. Other notable titles on which she worked as an artist include the Sonic the Hedgehog series, the Alex Kidd series, and Altered Beast.
But probably her most celebrated achievement as an artist was her work on the original JRPGPhantasy Star,for which she served as the lead artist, designing characters, backgrounds, and environments, and paving the way for a series that is continuing to see new releases. She continued contributing to the direct sequel as an artist and would lend her various talents to other games in the series, including directing Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millenium. Later in her career, Kodama continued working for Sega as a producer, putting out the Dreamcast smash success RPG Skies of Arcadia as well as several educational titles.
Kodama will be remembered for paving the way for other women to enter the male-dominated games industry, although she humbly did not view her gender as a hurdle. In a 2019interview with Famitsu, she said, “I’m not sure if it’s because of Sega’s corporate culture or what, but I’ve never felt that I was at a disadvantage just because I’m a woman. I’ve been working on various things related to game development for over 30 years now, and since joining Sega I haven’t been treated any differently from men.”
