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Revision as of 15:14, 19 January 2007 by 216.55.203.100 (talk) (→Biography)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Shigeru Miyamoto | |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s) | Senior marketing director, Nintendo General manager, Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development. |
| Spouse | Yasuko Miyamoto |
Shigeru Miyamoto (宮本 茂, Miyamoto Shigeru, born November 16, 1952) is a Japanese electronic game designer. He is the creator of the Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Wave Race, and Pikmin video game series for Nintendo game systems.
He is one of the world's most celebrated game designers, and is often called one of the fathers of modern video gaming. His titles are characterized by refined control-mechanics and imaginative worlds in which the players are encouraged to discover things for themselves, as well as basic storylines, which had been almost unheard of before he introduced one of the first, featuring Mario.
Employed by Nintendo (then a Hanafuda manufacturer) 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 designing many franchises for the company, most of which are still active and very well-regarded.
Shigeru Miyamoto has two children with his wife, Yasuko Miyamoto, who was general manager of Nintendo of Japan in 1977. Neither of their children has expressed a desire to go into the family business. 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.
"A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever"
It's not rare for Nintendo to delay its games. This is largely due to the perfectionist tendency of Miyamoto who would go as far as scrapping the entire development if he did not find a game up to his standard. Miyamoto and fellow developers refer to this scrapping as "Chabudai Gaeshi" (upending the tea table), a reference to manga and anime Hoshi of the Giants. It is also referred to as "Miyahon Check" (Miyahon is an alternative kanji reading of Miyamoto) or "Miyamoto Test".
For example, "Twinkle Popo" was a completed product with a pre-order of 26,000 units. It was supposed to be released under the game's developer, HAL Laboratory. Miyamoto intervened arguing that, with a tiny bit of tweaking, it would become a great game. After cancelling the preorder, the game was eventually released under Nintendo with the title Kirby's Dream Land, selling 5,000,000 units globally. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was supposed to be released immediately after the release of the Nintendo 64 (Japanese release date, 06/23/1996). Instead, Miyamoto, who was the producer, repeatedly ordered the game to be redone, resulting in numerous announcements of delays by Nintendo until the game's eventual release on 11/21/1998. Eiji Aonuma was initially the producer of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. However, between 2005 to 2006, he switched to the director's role. He stated that the switch was the result of a year-long development being "Chabudai Gaeshi"ed. In the same interview, Miyamoto stated that he had to clean up the mess of his Chabudai Gaeshi, so he joined in as a producer and also to help out the development of the game.
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. Please relocate any relevant information into other sections or articles. |
- Shigeru Miyamoto is ambidextrous, though he prefers using his left hand. As a videogame designer, he made some of his characters such as Mario and Link, left-handed or ambidextrous.
- Miyamoto likes quick, handheld games which he plays with his family.
- Miyamoto also plays the guitar and banjo in his spare time, and appeared on a concert for the Mario and Zelda Big Band.
- In 2002, rumours stated that Shigeru Miyamoto died of heart problems. People were very relieved to find out the rumours were false.
- Many of Nintendo's franchises and characters are a result of Miyamoto's past experiences. For example, The Legend of Zelda was inspired by Miyamoto's maze-like Japanese home; he'd often go exploring in the wilderness and caves. Another example is the infamous Chain Chomp enemy of Mario fame. When Miyamoto was a child, he was attacked by a neighbor's dog, which was kept at bay by a chain attached to a post.
- Shigeru (Gary Oak or Green in the English version), a fictional character in the Pokémon franchise, is named after him. This is due to the fact that Miyamoto mentored Satoshi Tajiri, creator of Pokémon, during the production of the first two games of the series. Interestingly, the character Satoshi (Ash Ketchum or Red in the English version) is named after Tajiri.
- Miyamoto's dog, Pikku (pronounced "Pick"), helped inspire Nintendogs.
- Shigeru has a fond interest in gardening, which was an inspiring contribution to the creation of the game Pikmin. The tiny creatures featured in the game are named after Miyamoto's dog, Pikku.
References
- Sheff, David (1993). Game Over. Random House. ISBN 0-679-40469-4.
- "Iwata Asks: The Indefinable Essence Of Zelda". Nintendo. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
- Andy Robinson (September 25, 2002). "Mr. Miyamoto is Alive". Miyamoto Shrine. Retrieved 2006-10-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link) - Andrew Vestal; et al. (September 14, 2000). "History of Zelda". GameSpot. Retrieved 2006-09-30.
{{cite web}}: Explicit use of et al. in:|author=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Sheff, David (1993). Game Over. Random House. ISBN 0-679-40469-4.
See also
External links
- Miyamoto Shrine — A website dedicated to Shigeru Miyamoto
- N-Sider — Shigeru Miyamoto profile
- Shigeru Miyamoto profile on MobyGames
- Shigeru Miyamoto at IMDb
- Short documentary of Miyamoto's work
- In-depth Interview 2006