Shigeru Miyamoto
Who was Shigeru Miyamoto?
Japanese video game designer who created the Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda franchises at Nintendo. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in video game history.
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Shigeru Miyamoto (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Shigeru Miyamoto was born on November 16, 1952, in Sonobe, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. He graduated from Kanazawa Municipal College of Industrial Arts, where his initial interests later shaped his approach to game design. He originally wanted to be a manga artist, but his career took a significant turn when he became interested in video games in the late 1970s.
With help from his father, Miyamoto joined Nintendo in 1977 after impressing company president Hiroshi Yamauchi with his toy designs. He started in the video game industry by contributing artwork for the arcade game Sheriff. His big break came in 1981 when he was tasked with designing a new arcade game, leading to the creation of Donkey Kong. This early success marked Miyamoto as a creative talent at Nintendo and laid the groundwork for his career in game development.
Miyamoto's major contributions to the video game industry came in the mid-1980s with Super Mario Bros. (1985) and The Legend of Zelda (1986). These games were key in establishing Nintendo's lead in the console gaming market and helped revive the video game industry after the North American crash of 1983. Super Mario Bros. introduced new gameplay mechanics and level design that set industry standards, while The Legend of Zelda shaped the action-adventure genre with its open exploration and save system.
Throughout his time at Nintendo, Miyamoto has led creative direction for many major franchises and adapted to new technology. He oversaw Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis & Development division and influenced the development of games outside his own series, like Pokémon Red and Blue (1996) and Metroid Prime (2002). After Nintendo president Satoru Iwata passed away in 2015, Miyamoto briefly served as acting president alongside Genyo Takeda before becoming a Creative Fellow, focusing on creative work. Games from Miyamoto's franchises have sold over one billion copies worldwide, making him one of the most commercially successful and acclaimed designers in video game history.
Before Fame
Growing up in rural Sonobe during the 1950s and 1960s, Miyamoto spent a lot of time exploring the nature around his home, like caves, forests, and the countryside. These experiences would later inspire the settings and exploration aspects in many of his games. His childhood adventures became key elements in his game design, focusing on player curiosity and the joy of exploration.
After finishing his education at Kanazawa Municipal College of Industrial Arts in the mid-1970s, Miyamoto initially struggled to find his path for his creative ambitions. The video game industry was just starting out, and traditional careers in art and design seemed more common. However, his father’s connection to Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi provided an opportunity that would change everything, leading to his hiring at Nintendo in 1977, even though the company mainly focused on toys and playing cards at the time.
Key Achievements
- Created the Mario franchise, which has become the best-selling video game franchise in history with over 800 million copies sold
- Designed The Legend of Zelda series, establishing the action-adventure genre and influencing countless subsequent games
- Developed Donkey Kong (1981), which introduced the character who would become Mario and helped establish Nintendo in the arcade market
- Served as representative director at Nintendo since 2002, guiding the creative direction of the company's most successful franchises
- Received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2010 and the Princess of Asturias Award for Communications and Humanities in 2012
Did You Know?
- 01.Miyamoto has stated that he does not play many video games outside of those he creates, preferring to spend his free time gardening and playing banjo
- 02.The character of Mario was originally named Jumpman and was created because Miyamoto could not obtain the rights to use Popeye as the protagonist for Donkey Kong
- 03.He keeps a tape measure in his pocket to measure objects and spaces that might inspire level designs and gameplay mechanics
- 04.Miyamoto's dog inspired the creation of the Pikmin characters after he observed how the pet followed him around his garden
- 05.He has stated that he prefers to work on hardware limitations first, then design games around those constraints rather than starting with unlimited creative concepts
Family & Personal Life
Awards & Honors
| Award | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Japan Inter-Design Prize | 1990 | — |
| AMD Award - Best Producer/Director | 1997 | — |
| Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres | 2006 | — |
| Game Developers Choice Award - Lifetime Achievement | 2007 | — |
| The Jim Henson Celebration Honor | 2008 | — |
| CEDEC Awards - Special Award | 2008 | — |
| Japan Game Awards Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award | 2008 | — |
| Digital Content Expo Asiagraph Award Tsumugi Prize | 2009 | — |
| BAFTA Fellowship | 2010 | — |
| Princess of Asturias Award for Communications and Humanities | 2012 | — |