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. Game designer. game producerTitleAt:Designer (1977–1984)General Manager of (1984–2015)Senior Executive (2002–2015)Representative Director/Creative Fellow (2015–2017)Representative Director/Fellow (2017–)Spouse(s)Yasuko MiyamotoChildren2AwardsHall of Fame Award (1998)(2010)SignatureShigeru Miyamoto (: 宮本 茂,: Miyamoto Shigeru, pronounced; born November 16, 1952) is a Japanese and at, where he serves as one of its representative directors. He is the creator of some of the and game franchises of all time, such as and.Born in, Japan, he graduated from Kanazawa Municipal College of Industrial Arts, he would originally try to have a career in being a manga artist, until eventually being interested in video games and, with the help of his father, would join Nintendo in 1977 when he impressed then president with his toys. He would then become its first artist and help to create art for the arcade game, and would later be tasked with creating a new arcade unit for the company. This would eventually become.He would eventually go on to create both Super Mario Bros. And The Legend of Zelda, which became massive successes for the NES and would cement its place in the 80's and help.
Sexual Orientation: Straight. Marital Status: Married/Single/Divorced. Wife/Spouse (Name):, Yasuko Miyamoto. Children: Yes (Kenshi Miyamoto).
Since then, his games have been flagships of every Nintendo, with his earliest work appearing on in the late 1970s. He managed Nintendo's software division, which developed many of the company's first-party titles. As a result of Nintendo president 's death in July 2015, Miyamoto fulfilled the role of acting president alongside until being formally appointed as the company's 'Creative Fellow' a few months later. Miyamoto graduated from the Kanazawa College of Arts but had no immediate job in sight.Miyamoto was born in the Japanese town of, a rural town northwest of, on November 16, 1952. His parents were of 'modest means', and his father taught the English language.From an early age, Miyamoto began to explore the natural areas around his home. On one of these expeditions, Miyamoto came upon a cave, and, after days of hesitation, went inside. Miyamoto's expeditions into the Kyoto countryside inspired his later work, particularly, a seminal video game.Miyamoto graduated from with a degree in industrial design but no job lined up.
He also had a love for and initially hoped to become a professional manga artist before considering a career in video games. He was influenced by manga's classical narrative structure, as well as genre. The title that inspired him to enter the was the 1978 hit. Career 1977–1984: Arcade beginnings and Donkey Kong “I feel that I have been very lucky to be a game designer since the dawn of the industry. I am not an engineer, but I have had the opportunities to learn the principles of game design from scratch, over a long period of time. And because I am so pioneering and trying to keep at the forefront, I have grown accustomed to first creating the very tools necessary for game creation.”— Shigeru Miyamoto (translated)Nintendo, a relatively small Japanese company, had traditionally sold playing cards and other novelties, although it had started to branch out into toys and games in the mid-1960s. Through a mutual friend, Miyamoto's father arranged an interview with Nintendo president.
After showing some of his toy creations, Miyamoto was hired in 1977 as an apprentice in the planning department.Miyamoto went on to become the company's first artist. He helped create the art for the company's first original coin-operated,.
He first helped the company a game with the release. The game achieved moderate success in Japan, but by, 's efforts to break it into the North American video game market had failed, leaving the company with a large number of unsold units and on the verge of financial collapse. In an effort to keep the company afloat, Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi decided to unsold Radar Scope units into a new arcade game. He tasked Miyamoto with the conversion,: 157 about which Miyamoto has said self-deprecatingly that 'no one else was available' to do the work. Nintendo's head engineer, supervised the project.: 158Miyamoto imagined many characters and plot concepts, but eventually settled on a between a gorilla, a carpenter, and a girl. He meant to mirror the rivalry between comic characters and for the woman, although Nintendo's original intentions to gain rights to Popeye failed.
Bluto evolved into an ape, a form Miyamoto claimed was 'nothing too evil or repulsive'.: 47 This ape would be the pet of the main character, 'a funny, hang-loose kind of guy.' : 47 Miyamoto also named ' and the 1933 film as influences.: 36 Donkey Kong marked the first time that the formulation of a video game's storyline preceded the actual, rather than simply being appended as an afterthought.: 38 Miyamoto had high hopes for his new project, but lacked the technical skills to program it himself; instead, he conceived the game's concepts, then consulted technicians on whether they were possible. He wanted to make the characters different sizes, move in different manners, and react in various ways.
However, Yokoi viewed Miyamoto's original design as too complex.: 47–48 Yokoi suggested using see-saws to catapult the hero across the screen; however, this proved too difficult to program. Miyamoto next thought of using sloped and ladders for travel, with barrels for obstacles.
When he asked that the game have multiple stages, the four-man programming team complained that he was essentially asking them to make the game repeat, but the team eventually successfully programmed the game.: 38–39 When the game was sent to for testing, the sales manager disapproved of its vast differentiation from the and common at the time.: 49 When American staffers began naming the characters, they settled on 'Pauline' for the woman, after Polly James, wife of Nintendo's, warehouse manager,. The playable character, initially 'Jumpman', was eventually named for, the warehouse landlord.: 109 These character names were printed on the American cabinet art and used in promotional materials. The staff also pushed for an English name, and thus it received the title.: 212Donkey Kong was a success, leading Miyamoto to work on sequels in 1982 and in 1983.
In his next game, he reworked the Donkey Kong character Jumpman into, and gave him a brother:. He named the new game Yokoi convinced Miyamoto to give Mario some superhuman abilities, namely the ability to fall from any height unharmed. Mario's appearance in Donkey Kong—overalls, a hat, and a thick mustache—led Miyamoto to change aspects of the game to make Mario look like a plumber rather than a carpenter. Miyamoto felt that New York City provided the best setting for the game, with its 'labyrinthine subterranean network of sewage pipes'. The two-player mode and other aspects of gameplay were partially inspired by an earlier video game entitled. To date, games in the Mario Bros.
Franchise have been released for more than a dozen platforms. Shortly after, Miyamoto also worked the character sprites and game design for the, and games on the NES. 1985–1989: NES/Famicom, Super Mario Bros., and The Legend of Zelda. Miyamoto's Super Mario Bros. Was bundled with the in America.
The game and the system are credited with helping to bring North America out of the slump of the.As Nintendo released its first home video game console, the Family Computer (rereleased in North America as the ), Miyamoto made two of the most momentous titles for the console and in the history of video games as a whole: (a sequel to Mario Bros.) and (an entirely original title).In both games, Miyamoto decided to focus more on gameplay than on high scores, unlike many games of the time. Super Mario Bros. Largely took a linear approach, with the player traversing the stage by running, jumping, and dodging or defeating enemies. By contrast, Miyamoto employed in The Legend of Zelda, forcing the player to think their way through riddles and puzzles. The world was expansive and seemingly endless, offering 'an array of choice and depth never seen before in a video game.' With The Legend of Zelda, Miyamoto sought to make an in-game world that players would identify with, a 'miniature garden that they can put inside their drawer.' He drew his inspiration from his experiences as a boy around, where he explored nearby fields, woods, and caves; each Zelda title embodies this sense of exploration.
'When I was a child,' Miyamoto said, 'I went hiking and found a lake. It was quite a surprise for me to stumble upon it. When I traveled around the country without a map, trying to find my way, stumbling on amazing things as I went, I realized how it felt to go on an adventure like this.' : 51 He recreated his memories of becoming lost amid the maze of sliding doors in his family home in Zelda 's labyrinthine dungeons.: 52 In February 1986, Nintendo released the game as the launch title for the 's new peripheral.Miyamoto worked on various different games for the Nintendo Entertainment System, including,. He also worked on sequels to both Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda., released only in Japan at the time, reuses gameplay elements from Super Mario Bros., though the game is much more difficult than its predecessor.
Nintendo of America disliked Super Mario Bros. 2, which they found to be frustratingly difficult and otherwise little more than a modification of Super Mario Bros. Rather than risk the franchise's popularity, they cancelled its stateside release and looked for an alternative. They realized they already had one option in (Dream Factory: Heart-Pounding Panic), also designed by Miyamoto. This game was reworked and released as (not to be confused with the Japanese game of the same name) in North America and Europe. The Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 2 was eventually released in North America under the title Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.The successor to The Legend of Zelda, bears little resemblance to the first game in the series.
The Adventure of Link features areas within a larger world map rather than the of the previous title. The game incorporates a strategic combat system and more elements, including an (EXP) system, and more interaction with (NPCs). Link has extra lives; no other game in the series includes this feature. The Adventure of Link plays out in a two-mode dynamic. The, the area where the majority of the action occurs in other The Legend of Zelda games, is still from a, but it now serves as a hub to the other areas. Whenever Link enters a new area such as a town, the game switches to a view. These separate methods of traveling and entering combat are one of many aspects adapted from the genre.
The game was highly successful at the time, and introduced elements such as Link's 'magic meter' and the Dark Link character that would become commonplace in future Zelda games, although the role-playing elements such as experience points and the platform-style side-scrolling and multiple lives were never used again in the official series. The game is also looked upon as one of the most difficult games in the Zelda series and 8-bit gaming as a whole. Additionally, The Adventure of Link was one of the first games to combine and elements to a considerable degree.Soon after, was developed by; the game took more than two years to complete.
The game offers numerous modifications on the original Super Mario Bros., ranging from costumes with different abilities to new enemies. Bowser's children were designed to be unique in appearance and personality; Miyamoto based the characters on seven of his programmers as a tribute to their work on the game. The Koopalings' names were later altered to mimic names of well-known, musicians in the. In a first for the Mario series, the player navigates via two game screens: an map and a level playfield. The overworld map displays an overhead representation of the current world and has several paths leading from the world's entrance to a castle. Moving the on-screen character to a certain tile will allow access to that level's playfield, a linear stage populated with obstacles and enemies.
The majority of the game takes place in these levels.1990–2000: SNES, Nintendo 64, Super Mario 64, and Ocarina of Time. Further information:Using what he had learned about the Nintendo 64 from developing Super Mario 64 and, Miyamoto produced his next game, leading a team of several directors.
Its engine was based on that of Super Mario 64 but was so heavily modified as to be a somewhat different engine. Individual parts of Ocarina of Time were handled by multiple directors—a new strategy for Nintendo EAD. However, when things progressed slower than expected, Miyamoto returned to the development team with a more central role assisted in public by interpreter. The team was new to 3D games, but assistant director Makoto Miyanaga recalls a sense of 'passion for creating something new and unprecedented'. Miyamoto went on to produce a sequel to Ocarina of Time, known as.
By reusing the and graphics from Ocarina of Time, a smaller team required only 18 months to finish Majora's Mask.Miyamoto worked on a variety of Mario series spin-offs for the Nintendo 64, including and.2000–2011: GameCube, Wii, and DS. Miyamoto, and, 2015Time called Miyamoto 'the of video games' and 'the father of modern video games,' while The Daily Telegraph says he is 'regarded by many as possibly the most important game designer of all time.' GameTrailers called him 'the most influential game creator in history.' Miyamoto has significantly influenced various aspects of the medium.
The Daily Telegraph credited him with creating 'some of the most innovative, ground breaking and successful work in his field.' Many of Miyamoto's works have pioneered new video game concepts or refined existing ones.
Miyamoto's games have received outstanding critical praise, some being considered the greatest games of all time.Miyamoto's games have also sold very well, becoming some of the best-selling games on Nintendo consoles and of all time. As of 1999, his games had sold 250 million units and grossed billions of dollars.Calling him one of the few 'video-game,' The New Yorker credited Miyamoto's role in creating the franchises that drove console sales, as well as designing the consoles themselves. They described Miyamoto as Nintendo's 'guiding spirit, its meal ticket, and its playful public face,' noting that Nintendo might not exist without him.
The Daily Telegraph similarly attributed Nintendo's success to Miyamoto more than any other person. Listed him in their '75 Most Important People in the Games Industry of 1995', elaborating that, 'He's the most successful game developer in history. He has a unique and brilliant mind as well as an unparalleled grasp of what gamers want to play.' Influence on the video game industryMiyamoto's best known and most influential title, Super Mario Bros., 'depending on your point of view, created an industry or resuscitated a comatose one.'
The Daily Telegraph called it 'a title that set the standard for all future videogames.' G4 noted its revolutionary gameplay as well as its role in. The title also popularized the genre of video games. The New Yorker described Mario as the first folk hero of video games, with as much influence as.featured as one of the 15 most influential games of all time, for being an early example of, and for its introduction of battery backup, laying the foundations for later like and like, while influencing most modern games in general. In 2009, called The Legend of Zelda 'no less than the greatest game of all time' on their list of 'The Top 200 Games of All Time', saying that it was 'ahead of its time by years if not decades'.At the time of the release of, the use of filled, in a console game was very unusual, apart from a handful of earlier titles.
Due to its success, Star Fox has become a Nintendo franchise, with five more games and numerous appearances by its characters in other Nintendo games such as the series.His game has made a lasting impression on the field of 3D game design, particularly notable for its use of a dynamic and the implementation of its analog control. 's gameplay system introduced features such as a target lock system and context-sensitive buttons that have since become common elements in 3D adventure games.The Wii, which Miyamoto played a major role in designing, is the first wireless motion-controlled video game console. Critical receptionMiyamoto's games have received outstanding critical praise, and are widely considered among the greatest of all time.Games in Miyamoto's The Legend of Zelda series have received outstanding critical acclaim.
Is a landmark title for Nintendo and is widely considered today to be one of the greatest video games of all time. Is widely considered by critics and gamers alike to be one of the greatest video games ever made.
Twilight Princess was released to universal critical acclaim, and is the third highest-rated title for the Wii. It received perfect scores from major publications such as, and.is acclaimed by many critics and fans as one of the greatest and most revolutionary video games of all time.According to Metacritic, Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 are the first- and second-highest rated games for the Wii.A 1995 article in Maximum stated that 'in gaming circles Miyamoto's name carries far more weight than 's could ever sustain.' Commercial receptionMiyamoto's games have sold very well, becoming some of the best-selling games on Nintendo consoles and of all time.Miyamoto's Mario series is, by far, the, selling over 400 million units. Super Mario Bros.
Is the second best-selling video game of all time. Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario Bros. 2 were, respectively, the three best-selling games for the. Levi Buchanan of IGN considered Super Mario Bros. 3 's appearance in the film as a show-stealing element, and referred to the movie as a '90-minute commercial' for the game. Was the best-selling game for the.
Super Mario 64 was the best-selling Nintendo 64 game, and as of May 21, 2003, the game had sold eleven million copies. At the end of 2007, reported sales of 11.8 million copies. As of September 25, 2007, it was the seventh with six million copies sold. By June 2007, Super Mario 64 had become the second most popular title on 's, behind Super Mario Bros. Super Mario Sunshine was the third.The original game in The Legend of Zelda series was the fifth best-selling game for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Was the fourth. Experienced commercial success. In the, which covers most of Asia, Africa, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western Europe, Twilight Princess is the best-selling Zelda game ever. During its first week, the game was sold with three out of every four Wii purchases. The game had sold 4.52 million copies on the Wii as of March 1, 2008, and 1.32 million on the GameCube as of March 31, 2007.The Mario Kart series has sold well. Is the third best-selling video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Is the second best-selling Nintendo 64 game.
Is the second best selling game for the, and Mario Kart Wii, which is the second best selling game for the.Miyamoto produced, another of the best-selling games of all time and part of the.Awards and recognition “Miyamoto approaches the games playfully, which seems kind of obvious, but most people don't. And he approaches things from the players' point of view, which is part of his magic.”—,The name of the main character of the PC game, Hiro Miyamoto, is a homage to Miyamoto.
The character from the is named Shigeru in Japan and is the rival of (called Satoshi in Japan). Creator was mentored by Miyamoto.In 1998, Miyamoto was honored as the first person inducted into the. In 2006, Miyamoto was made a Chevalier (knight) of the French by the French Minister of Culture.On November 28, 2006, Miyamoto was featured in 's '60 Years of Asian Heroes'. He was later chosen as one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of the Year in both 2007 and also in 2008, in which he topped the list with a total vote of 1,766,424.
At the, on March 7, 2007, Miyamoto received the Lifetime Achievement Award 'for a career that spans the creation of Super Mario Bros. And The Legend of Zelda, and Donkey Kong to the company's recent revolutionary systems, and.' And placed Miyamoto first on their lists for the 'Top Ten Game Creators' and the 'Top 100 Game Creators of All Time' respectively.In a survey of game developers by industry publication, 30% of the developers, by far the largest portion, chose Miyamoto as their 'Ultimate Development Hero'.
Miyamoto has been interviewed by companies and organizations such as CNN's Talk Asia. He was made a Fellow of at the on March 19, 2010. In 2012, Miyamoto was also the first interactive creator to be awarded the highest recognition in Spain, the, in the category of Communications and Humanities.Miyamoto was awarded Japan's in 2019 in recognition for his contributions towards Japan's video game industry. He was the first person in the video game industry to receive the honor.
Personal lifeMiyamoto has a wife, Yasuko, and two children. In 2010, his son was 25 and working at an advertising agency, while his daughter was 23 and studying zoology at the time. His children played video games in their youth, but he also made them go outside. Although he knows some English, he is not fluent and prefers to speak in Japanese for interviews.Miyamoto does not generally sign autographs, out of concern that he would be inundated.
He also does not appear on Japanese television, so as to remain anonymous. More foreign tourists than Japanese people approach him.Miyamoto spends little time playing video games in his personal time, preferring to play the,. He avidly enjoys.
He has a named Pikku that provided the inspiration for Nintendogs. He is also a semi-professional. He has been quoted as stating, 'Video games are bad for you? That's what they said about rock and roll.'
Miyamoto enjoys rearranging furniture in his house, even late at night. He also stated that he has a hobby of guessing the dimensions of objects, then checking to see if he was correct, and reportedly carries a with him everywhere. In December 2016, Miyamoto showcased his hobby on, while also performing the on guitar with during the same show.