Shigeru Miyamoto

Born: Nov 1952

Considered by his peers to be the greatest video game designer in the world and called "The Spielberg of Video Games" by Time Magazine (May 1996), Shigeru Miyamoto is senior managing director and general manager of the entertainment analysis and development division for Nintendo Co., Ltd. in Kyoto, Japan. In this capacity, Miyamoto serves as the creative force behind the world's most popular and enduring video games for Nintendo video game hardware systems.

Miyamoto joined Nintendo in 1977 as a staff artist and quickly built a reputation for himself. As the creator of the hugely popular Mario and Zelda games, he is one of the most revered figures in the video game world. In 1981, Nintendo released Miyamoto's first masterpiece, the arcade game, Donkey Kong. In 1985, Nintendo released the NES with Miyamoto's Super Mario Bros. The classic side-scrolling action game set the standard for all future home console video games. Eventually, more than 40 million units were sold worldwide, and a series of mega-hit titles was born, including the 1996 N64 best-seller, Super Mario 64. More than 165 million video games in the Super Mario series have been sold worldwide.

To date, Miyamoto has worked on more than 80 different Nintendo video game titles. Also, as a producer for Kirby and Pokémon games, he has supported younger video game creators. Miyamoto's most recent video game projects include The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Metroid Prime, Super Mario Sunshine, Pikmin, Luigi's Mansion and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which has been called the greatest video game of all time.

In 1998, Miyamoto was honored as the first inductee into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.

Miyamoto holds a degree from the Kanazawa College of Art in Kanazawa, Japan.

Software Highlights from Credited Titles

Shigeru Miyamoto's first video game work that SPOnG is aware of is the 1980 title, "Radarscope" (Arcade) as Art/Design Management. Of the titles listing Shigeru within the credits , "Super Mario 64" (N64), "Super Mario Advance 2" (GBA), "Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes" (GameCube), "Legend of Zelda, The: Ocarina of Time" (N64) and "F-Zero X" (N64) have been best selling titles.

Shigeru's most recent involvement was as Project Leader/Producer on the 2004 release "Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes" (GameCube).

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