Shigeru Miyamoto

Missing image
Miyamoto.jpg
Shigeru Miyamoto with Mario, Luigi, Wario, Yoshi, and Donkey Kong stuffed toys

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.

Contents

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

Game Name Year Released Console Name Miyamoto's Role
Donkey Kong
1981
<center> Arcade <center> Director
Donkey Kong Jr. <center> 1982 <center> Arcade <center> Director
Donkey Kong 3 <center> 1984 <center> Famicom/NES <center> Director
Super Mario Bros. <center> 1985 <center> Famicom/NES <center> Director
The Legend of Zelda <center> 1986/1987 <center> Famicom/NES <center> Producer/Director
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link <center> 1987/1988 <center> Famicom/NES <center> Producer
Super Mario Bros. 2 <center> 1988 <center> Famicom/NES <center> Director
Super Mario Bros. 3 <center> 1990 <center> Famicom/NES <center> Director
F-Zero <center> 1990/1991 <center> Super Famicom/Super NES <center> Producer
Super Mario World <center> 1990/1991 <center> Super Famicom/Super NES <center> Producer
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past <center> 1991/1992 <center> Super Famicom/Super NES <center> Producer
Super Mario Kart <center> 1992 <center> Super Famicom/Super NES <center> Producer
Wave Race <center> 1992 <center> Game Boy <center> Producer
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening <center> 1993 <center> Game Boy <center> Producer
Starfox <center> 1993 <center> Super Famicom/Super NES <center> Producer
Super Mario All Stars <center> 1993 <center> Super Famicom/Super NES <center> Producer/Director
Yoshi's Safari <center> 1993 <center> Super Famicom/Super NES <center> Producer
Donkey Kong <center> 1994 <center>Game Boy <center> Producer
Earthbound <center> 1994/1995 <center> Super Famicom/Super NES <center> Producer
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island <center> 1995 <center> Super Famicom/Super NES <center> Producer
Super Mario RPG <center> 1996/1997 <center> Super Famicom/Super NES <center> Producer
Super Mario 64 <center> 1996/1997 <center> Nintendo 64 <center> Producer/Director
Wave Race 64 <center> 1996/1997 <center> Nintendo 64 <center> Producer
Mario Kart 64 <center> 1996/1997 <center> Nintendo 64 <center> Producer
Starfox 64 <center> 1997 <center> Nintendo 64 <center> Producer
Yoshi's Story <center> 1997/1998 <center> Nintendo 64 <center> Producer
1080° Snowboarding <center> 1998 <center> Nintendo 64 <center> Producer
F-Zero X <center> 1998 <center> Nintendo 64 <center> Producer
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time <center> 1998 <center> Nintendo 64 <center> Producer/Director
F-Zero Expansion Kit <center> 1999 <center> Nintendo 64DD <center> Producer
Mario Artist <center> 1999 <center> Nintendo 64DD <center> Producer/Director
Super Smash Bros. <center> 1999 <center> Nintendo 64 <center> Producer
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask <center> 2000 <center> Nintendo 64 <center> Producer
Paper Mario <center> 2001 <center> Nintendo 64 <center> Producer
Super Mario Advance <center> 2001 <center> Game Boy Advance <center> Producer
Wario Land 4 <center> 2001 <center> Game Boy Advance <center> Producer
Luigi's Mansion <center> 2001 <center> GameCube <center> Producer
Mario Kart: Super Circuit <center> 2001 <center> Game Boy Advance <center> Producer
Pikmin <center> 2001 <center> GameCube <center> Producer/Director
Super Smash Bros. Melee <center> 2001 <center> GameCube <center> Producer
Wave Race: Blue Storm <center> 2001 <center> GameCube <center> Producer
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 <center> 2002 <center> Game Boy Advance <center> Producer
Doshin the Giant <center> 2002 <center> GameCube <center> Producer
Super Mario Sunshine <center> 2002 <center> GameCube <center> Producer
Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 <center> 2002 <center> Game Boy Advance <center> Producer
Metroid Fusion <center> 2002 <center> Game Boy Advance <center> Producer
Metroid Prime <center> 2002 <center> GameCube <center> Producer
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords <center> 2002/2003 <center> Game Boy Advance <center> Producer
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker <center> 2002/2003 <center> GameCube <center> Producer
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga <center> 2003 <center> Game Boy Advance <center> Producer
Pikmin 2 <center> 2004 <center> GameCube <center> Producer
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door <center> 2004 <center> GameCube <center> Producer
Super Mario 64 DS <center> 2004 <center> DS <center> Producer
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess <center> 2005 <center> GameCube <center> Producer

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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