Joel Hochberg, a former president of Banjo-Kazooie developer Rare Ltd., has passed away at the age of 87. Per the Miami Herald, he passed away earlier in the week on April 18. Tim Stamper, a co-founder of the studio, confirmed the news on Twitter.
“Joel changed the course of history,” wrote Stamper. “He bought us our first Nintendo Famicom system on one of his many trips to Japan.”
Born December 30, 1935, Hochberg was brought on by Stamper and his brother Chris in 1986 to head up Rare’s US studio in Miami, Florida. The Miami office would come to be known as Rare Coin-It and release four coin-operated games, including Vs. Slalom and RC Pro-Am Racing.
While president, Hochberg was responsible for Rare’s business affairs as the Stamper brothers designed the studio’s games. He’s included in the “Special Thanks” section of several Rare games such as Perfect Dark, GoldenEye 007, and Killer Instinct 2.
Prior to Rare, he’d operated as VP for the arcade manufacturer Centuri from 1976-1982.
The Miami Herald notes that outside of video games, Hochberg was a proponent of education. He’d go on to found the Hochberg Lower and Middle Schools in Florida. He’s survived by his wife Marcia, their grandchildren, and his children Eileen and Scott.