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Koji Kondo to be inducted into AIAS Hall of Fame at D.I.C.E. Awards 2024

The prolific Nintendo composer will be the first composer to be inducted by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.

TJ Denzer

January 25, 2024 8:45 AM

Image via AIAS

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Koji Kondo has been composing soundtracks for Nintendo for practically the entire existence of the company as a video game developer. His legendary music has given iconic sound to the likes of Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Punch-Out!!, and much more. Now, he will be honored for it by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) at the 27th annual D.I.C.E. Awards. Kondo is set to be inducted into the AIAS Hall of Fame and will become the first video game composer to do so.

The AIAS announced its plans to induct Koji Kondo into its Hall of Fame in a press release this week. During the D.I.C.E. Awards 2024, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday, February 15th at 8:00 p.m. PT / 11 p.m. ET, Kondo will be inducted into the AIAS Hall of Fame and immortalized for his achievements in video game music and sound design.

Koji Kondo’s works hail back to some of Nintendo’s earliest works in video games. He began his work with Nintendo by creating the music and sound effects for the original Punch-Out!! boxing arcade game. However, some of his far more iconic work would come in 1985 when he scored the original Super Mario Bros. and 1986 when he did the same for the first Legend of Zelda. Since then, he has continued to be a prolific musical force for Nintendo. He even did the music for 2023’s impeccable Super Mario Bros. Wonder alongside Shiho Fujii, Sayako Doi, and Chisaki Shimazu. For all of his incredible work, Shacknews also inducted him into our own Hall of Fame in 2021.

For Kondo, this induction is a major honor, and one that he cherishes, as shared in a statement:

With the D.I.C.E. Awards 2024 confirmed for February, stay tuned as Koji Kondo and many other developers are honored for their gaming achievements. We’ll share the winners and other coverage from the event right here at Shacknews.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.