Shigeru Miyamoto

Shigeru Miyamoto

                  Shigeru Miyamoto is one of the most influential developers ever. Though coming from the humble beginnings of a middle class family in Kyoto, Japan, Miyamoto created  some of the most famous franchises like Mario and the Legend of Zelda as well as lower profile series like Pikmin and F-Zero. This man is what turned the moderately successful Japanese toy company of Nintendo into a worldwide hit. This was ultimately done with the release of Donkey Kong, the first Nintendo arcade game to be successful outside of Japan.

The game was a hit due to multiple factors including multiple levels and likeable characters such as Pauline and Donkey Kong.  Miyamoto’s next big hit came in the form of the Legend of Zelda for the NES. This game made the player think through puzzles and riddles and progress through the game in a non-linear path, both of which were new concepts at the time. What makes this game particularly important to Miyamoto’s career is that many aspects and rooms in the game were directly inspired by Miyamoto’s childhood experiences, particularly exploring caves which is cool because it shows the amount of creativity and reality that could be put into a game, even on the 8-bit NES. Miyamoto of course, also created Mario bros for the arcade which was his first real multiplayer hit which featured Mario and Luigi throwing shells in a sewer scene inspired by New York City. Miyamoto of course went on to create Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 2, and Super Mario Bros 3 for the NES, all of which were great commercial successes.  Many of his works included a personal touch whether it be naming the koopa kids in Super Mario  Bros 3 after fellow programmers or shaping many environments in the Zelda games after his own experiences. Miyamoto of course went on to create hits through the years, from Super Mario 64 to Nintendogs. Miyamoto is currently working on titles for the 3DS as well as titles for some of his established franchises such as The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword and Luigi’s Mansion 2. Miyamoto will always stand in the history of video games as not only a creative developer but also as a humble innovator, willing to go beyond established limits to truly deliver the player something innovative, fun, and assessable to all gamers.

Author: Tim Rounds