The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) introduced Don James, a longtime chief and cornerstone of Nintendo of America’s legacy, will probably be honored with a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.
This recognition will probably be celebrated on the twenty eighth annual D.I.C.E Awards, going down on February 13, 2025, on the Aria Resort in Las Vegas.
James joined Nintendo of America in 1981 as one in every of its first staff. As government vice chairman of operations, he oversaw quite a few departments together with shopper companies, design, experiential advertising, actual property & amenities, manufacturing engineering, high quality management, provide chain operations, buying, product testing, technical companies and technical translation.
Throughout his tenure, James was instrumental within the creation of the online game business’s present Leisure Software program Rankings Board (ESRB) score system and the creation of the Interactive Digital Software program Affiliation (IDSA), presently often known as the Leisure Software program Affiliation (ESA), the place he served on the board.
Within the early Nineteen Nineties, James was key to the creation of the world-renowned Digital Leisure Expo (E3). He was additionally an integral a part of the AIAS, serving as a board member since 1991.
James was additionally the important thing steward of Nintendo of America’s relationship with Starlight Kids’s Basis. He co-designed the Nintendo GameCube Starlight Enjoyable Heart in 2002 and led Nintendo of America’s assist of Starlight to carry video games and flicks to significantly ailing youngsters in hospitals.
James can also be an lively supporter of philanthropic organizations, together with the Fred Hutchinson Most cancers Analysis Heart and the Pratt Superb Arts Heart.
“I’m really honored to obtain this award from the Academy,” mentioned James, in a press release. “This business is filled with so many gifted and inventive folks, and it’s been an absolute privilege attending to know and work with so lots of them over the many years. My profession has really been a wild and enjoyable experience, and I’m pleased with all of the alternatives I used to be lucky sufficient to obtain.”
“Don James has been each a humble and integral a part of the video games business, from his foundational work at Nintendo of America to his passions on the Starlight Kids’s Basis,” mentioned Meggan Scavio, President of the AIAS, in a press release. “He has pushed numerous impactful initiatives which have created lasting change all through his profession, together with right here on the Academy. We’re thrilled to rejoice his extraordinary legacy and immense contributions to online game historical past.”
The AIAS Lifetime Achievement Award is reserved for people whose accompaniments span a broad vary of disciplines over a prolonged profession within the business. Recipients are sometimes people distinguished for his or her enterprise management and will not be essentially concerned within the growth or artistic course of. By their management and beliefs, these people have pushed vital and constructive change throughout the business.
Earlier recipients of the Lifetime Achievement award embrace: Minoru Arakawa and Howard Lincoln (2006), Ken Kutaragi (2007), Doug Lowenstein (2009), Bing Gordon(2010), Satoru Iwata (2015), Genyo Takeda (2017) and Phil Spencer (2022). Further details about all particular award honorees may be discovered right here
Tickets to the 2025 D.I.C.E. Summit and twenty eighth Annual D.I.C.E. Awards may be discovered at . Keep updated on all AIAS information by following the AIAS on Bluesky, Instagram, and Twitter.
