Shigeru Miyamoto

Shigeru Miyamoto (宮本茂 Miyamoto Shigeru, born November 16, 1952) - also known as Shiggy or Shigsy by fans - is the Japanese creator of Donkey Kong and related Mario video games as well as the Legend of Zelda and Pikmin series for Nintendo. He is one of the world's most celebrated game designers, and often called one of the fathers of the modern video game. His titles are characterised by refined control-mechanics and interactive worlds in which the players are encouraged to discover things for themselves.

He is currently the Director and General Manager of Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development (EAD), the corporate sector of Nintendo of Japan. In 1998, Miyamoto became the first person to be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame.

Employed by Nintendo (then a toy company) as an artist, in 1980 he was given the task of designing one of their first coin-op arcade games. The resulting title Donkey Kong was a huge success and the game's lead character, Jump Man, later renamed Mario has become Nintendo's mascot. Miyamoto quickly became Nintendo's star producer and built a large stable of franchises for the company, most of which are still active and very well-regarded.

Biography

Shigeru Miyamoto was born in Sonobe-cho, Kyoto, Japan. As a young boy, Miyamoto loved to draw, paint pictures, and explore the landscape surrounding his home. Stories describe his fascinated discovery of hidden caves, lakes, and other natural features that would influence his later work. In 1970, he enrolled in the Kanazawa Munici College of Industrial Arts and Crafts, and graduated five years later, though he would later remark that his studies often took a backseat to doodling. In 1977, Miyamoto, armed with a degree in industrial design, scored a meeting with Hiroshi Yamauchi — a friend of his father, and the head of Nintendo of Japan. Yamauchi hired Miyamoto to be a "staff artist", and assigned him to apprentice in the planning department.

In 1980, the fairly new American branch of Nintendo released Radar Scope, an arcade game they hoped would kickstart a long reign of success, but instead turned out to be a huge flop. To stay afloat, Nintendo of America desperately needed a smash-hit game. Hiroshi Yamauchi assigned Miyamoto — the only person available — the task of creating the game that would make or break the company.

After consulting with some of the company's engineers (Miyamoto had no prior programming experience), and composing the music himself on a small electronic keyboard, Donkey Kong was born.

Donkey Kong was an overnight success. Out of the three characters Miyamoto created for the game — Donkey Kong, Jump Man, and Pauline — Jump Man (later named Mario) has found the most success, and since his debut in Donkey Kong he has appeared in more than 100 games spanning over a dozen gaming platforms.

Miyamoto is usually listed as "producer" in the credits of Mario games. The few exceptions include the Super Mario Land series for the Game Boy, which he had virtually nothing to do with. In early US releases, he was sometimes credited as Miyahon - a misreading of the kanji 本 in his name - which follows an industry-wide issue with poor translations as evidenced in the ubiquitous "All your base are belong to us".

His influence can also be seen in the hardware realm of the gaming industry. These innovations that were shepherded by Miyamoto include the introduction of the L/R shoulder buttons (with the SNES) and the popularization of the analog control stick (with the Nintendo 64). While he didn't invent these, he was instrumental in popularizing them to the point where they have become standard in every game console.

Miyamoto was the first member ever to be inducted into the AIAS Hall of Fame in 1998, an award that outlines his lifetime achievement and dramatic effect on the video game industry.

In March, 2005, Miyamoto was among the first honorees to receive a star on the Walk of Game, a section of San Francisco's Metreon Center that is modeled on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

Games

Quotes

"What if everything you see is more than what you see — the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it is really a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you'll find many unexpected things."

"I don't know what Mario will look like next; maybe he will wear metallic clothing." - before the release of Super Mario 64.

"Video games are bad for you? That's what they said about rock and roll. "

"A delayed game is eventually good, a rushed game is bad forever."

External links

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• Miyamoto Shrine (http://www.miyamotoshrine.com) - A website dedicated to Shigeru Miyamoto
• Zelda Central (http://www.zeldacentral.net) - Fan site based on the Legend of Zelda series
• The Mushroom Kingdom (http://www.themushroomkingdom.net) - Fan site based on Super Mariode:Shigeru Miyamoto

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Categories: 1952 births | Computer and video game designers | Japanese people | Nintendo people | Video game music composers