Will Wright is one of the most frequently honored designers in the industry, for good reason, and now the Association of Electronic Interactive Marketers has announced that it will be awarding Wright its first ever Hall of Fame award. Wright will be speaking at the AEIM's MI6 Conference in San Francisco next month.

Wright has been called one of the most important people in gaming, technology and entertainment by Entertainment Weekly, Time, PC Gamer and GameSpy. His SimCity was a groundbreaking hit in 1989 and is credited as one of the most influential computer games ever made. Following on the success of SimCity, Wright designed numerous other "Sim" games and quickly earned the reputation as a designer of "software toys"–games that cannot be won or lost. In 2000, The Sims was released, surpassing all previous sales records and became the best-selling computer game of all time.

"Will Wright has had a revolutionary impact on the electronic games industry," said Jim Chabin, President & CEO of MI6 and AEIM. "As our industry and millions of fans worldwide anxiously await what promises to be a spectacular experience with his newest creation, 'Spore,' our board felt that now was an excellent time to acknowledge this person's impact on all of us."