Joel Hochberg, former Rare executive who was key to the company in the 90s, has died

The gaming community is in mourning. This week the death of Joel Hochberg was reported, who for several years served as director of Rare Ltd, a study that now belongs to Microsoft and that in the 90s gave us jewels such as Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64 and Golden Eye 007.

According to media information miami herald, Hochberg died at the age of 87 during the week of April 18. This news was later confirmed via Twitter by Tim Stamper, co-founder of the studio and one of those primarily responsible for the creative vision that made Rare iconic.

“Joel changed the course of history. He bought us our first Nintendo Famicom console on one of his many trips to Japan,” Stamper said in his story.

RIP Joel, and thank you from all of us for everything you did for Rare ❤ https://t.co/pvxgeDrTbq

— Rare Ltd. (@RareLtd) April 20, 2023

Hochberg is survived by his wife Marcia, grandchildren, and children Eileen and Scott.

Who was Joel Hochberg?

Hochberg was born on December 30, 1935, and was hired by the Stamper brothers in 1986 to run Rare’s US operations from its branch in Miami, Florida. During his time as president, he handled the studio’s business affairs while the Stamper brothers designed the games.

He was also the president of Rare Coin-It, a division in charge of arcade machines that is responsible for titles such as vs slalom and RC Pro-Am Racing. Before joining Rare, he served as the vice president of Centuri, a company dedicated to the production of arcade games.

Due to the importance of his work to Rare’s operations and his success, Hochberg appears in the game credits as Conker’s Bad Fur Day, donkey kong country, Perfect Dark and Golden Eye 007 in the Special Thanks section. This should not surprise anyone, since it was a key piece in the relationship between Nintendo and Rare, which made the studio recognized worldwide with its releases for Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64.

Outside of the gaming world, Hochberg was a strong advocate for education, going on to found Hochberg Elementary and High Schools in Florida.

We at LEVEL UP send our condolences to Hochberg’s family and loved ones. We also hope that the legendary manager finds peace in his final rest.

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