Former Nintendo America executives Howard Lincoln & Minoru Arakawa are to be honoured at next year's D.I.C.E. awards with the inaugural "Lifetime Achievement Award".

The 2007 D.I.C.E. awards will be held on February 8, 2007 in Vegas, and their award will be presented by EA CEO Larry Probst. Joseph Olin, President of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, explains why they've got the nod:

The impact of the work done by Minoru Arakawa and Howard Lincoln can still be felt today. The creation of the licensed publishing model, quality approval for third party games and peripherals, and the fostering of innovative sales and marketing programs, played a significant part of Nintendo's success then, and are at the foundation of the consumer interactive entertainment business.

AIAS Honors Nintendo's Arakawa, Lincoln [GameDaily]