Ken Kutaragi, the creative mind behind much on Sony's direction on the PlayStation platform and a heralded engineer, will receive the 2008 Champions Honoree award at the Entertainment Software Association's (ESA) special children's charities fund raising event, Nite to Unite for Kids.

The ESA notified Kutaragi who is now the honorary chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) following his official retirement last June. Kutaragi is credited with much of the force behind the creation of the PlayStation and Sony Computer Entertainment.

"Ken's contributions to our community and the entertainment lives of ordinary consumers are extraordinary," explained the president of the ESA, Michael D. Gallagher. "His insight and vision revolutionized in-home entertainment, enabling advancements in creativity, technology, and innovation."

Other past Champion award recipients include George Lucas, Electronic Arts' Bing Gordon, Toys 'R Us' Michael Goldstein, Nintendo's Howard Lincoln and Sega's Isao Ogawa.

For those interested, single tickets are $500, with all proceeds going towards the NTU fund raising event. It will be held at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. For more information, contact Leslie Price, Price Lampert Associates, at 1-800-949-3660, or at price.leslie@gmail.com.

Source: GameDaily Biz