Whether you have grown up with the nostalgic sights and sounds of video games or have casually hummed to their catchy tunes from time to time watching your family or friends play, you probably have this person to thank: Koji Kondo. This fine gentleman was one of the first individuals to master 8-bit music long before it was “cool.” Many Zelda fans fondly call him the father of Legend of Zelda music, and the father of the Super Mario soundtrack, too. Now, Mr. Kondo has reached perhaps the ultimate accolade in his fine-tuned career: Hall of Fame status by the esteemed Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS).
The Academy recently announced this decision to place Koji Kondo in the Hall of Fame on January 24 while heralding the upcoming “Design. Innovate. Communicate. Entertain” (D.I.C.E) Awards Ceremony to be held in Las Vegas, NV. “Koji Kondo’s musical work is timeless and impactful, spanning multiple generations of fans across the world,” stated Meggan Scavio, president of AIAS. “For over 39 years, he has delighted all of us in the industry with sounds and songs that are recognized by so many fans and became a pop culture phenomenon. We are honored to be able to induct Kondo-san into the Hall of Fame.” An in-depth press release is also available that covers more information about the event. You can read that here.
Believe it or not, Koji Kondo was not classically trained in music. He did, however have a remarkable aptitude for electronic music. He was a quick-study of the electronic organ at the tender age of five, and he played in a cover band in his youth. Kondo had a strong passion for arcade games. When Nintendo sent him a recruitment offer in 1984 for sound programmer, he was excited to accept, and he has been with the company ever since. His very first project was actually Punch-Out, then he created music for other games on the brand new Famicom computer, or Nintendo Entertainment System. Kondo closely worked with Shigeru Miyamoto and came up with the legendary tunes we now love today from Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda series. On the Zelda side, Kondo has composed music for numerous titles which include the first NES Zelda, A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, The Wind Waker, Four Swords Adventures, Twilight Princess, Spirit Tracks, and Skyward Sword.
“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. 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,” said Koji Kondo. “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 will be publicly honored during the 27th annual D.I.C.E Awards Ceremony airing live at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas, NV. The Ceremony will be live streamed by IGN on February 15 at 8:00PM PST. As it turns out, Tears of the Kingdom has been nominated for several categories in the D.I.C.E Awards and will be also be featured during the streamed event. Tears is nominated for Outstanding Technical Achievement, Adventure Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Game Design, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction, and D.I.C.E Game of the Year.
