Shigeru Miyamoto

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Shigeru Miyamoto
宮本 茂
Shigeru Miyamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto in 2015
Born November 16, 1952 (age 73)[1]
Super Mario–related roles Representative director, game developer, artist, game designer
Years active 1977–present[1]
Employer Nintendo
“What if, on a crowded street, you look up and see something appear that should not, given what we know, be there. You either shake your head and dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than we think. Perhaps it really is a doorway to another place. If you choose to go inside you may find many unexpected things...”
—Shigeru Miyamoto

Shigeru Miyamoto (in Japanese: 宮本 茂) is a Japanese video game designer, producer, artist, and game director at Nintendo,[2] best known for being the creator of the Super Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, and Pikmin franchises, among others. He joined the company as a character artist and product designer in 1977.[3] In 2019, Shigeru Miyamoto was recognized as a Person of Cultural Merit in Japan, being the first video game developer to receive the award.[4] Miyamoto currently holds the position of Executive Fellow and Representative Director at Nintendo.[5]

Biography[edit]

In his early childhood, Miyamoto was raised in the small, rural town of Sonobe, Japan, which is near his current home of Kyoto, about ten blocks from Nintendo's headquarters. His home lacked a television, so he would spend a large amount of his leisure time exploring the surrounding countryside.

Miyamoto wanted to make things that would astonish the world. In elementary school, he considered becoming a puppeteer or a painter, and later found interest in making toys. He also learned how to play the guitar and banjo. Miyamoto decided to study industrial design at Kanazawa College of Art in 1970. Miyamoto only attended his classes half of the time, and it took him five years to graduate.

Miyamoto was 24 years of age when his father contacted an old friend, named Hiroshi Yamauchi, at the toy company Nintendo. Yamauchi requested to see some toy designs, to which Miyamoto responded by returning with a bag of products and a portfolio. Miyamoto became Nintendo's first staff artist in 1977, working on designing characters and artwork for arcade games.[3] with his first work being the casings for the Color TV-Game line of plug-and-play consoles.

Three years later, in 1980, Nintendo of America was looking for a successful video game to establish themselves in the arcade market. They ordered a large number of units of the arcade game Radar Scope, but by the time the machines arrived, interest in the game began to decline. Following this failure, Nintendo sought a game that the unused machines could be converted into easily. Yamauchi called Miyamoto into his office, as he was the only staff member available at the time, and questioned him about his knowledge on the video game concept, to which Miyamoto claimed to have loved video games in college. He went on to create the highly successful game Donkey Kong.

With Donkey Kong's success and the series it began, Miyamoto was given his own team: the Creative Department, later known as Nintendo EAD and then Nintendo EPD. They would go on to develop some of Nintendo's most successful games, including Super Mario games. While Miyamoto has mentioned that he finds it difficult to say who his favorite Nintendo character is, he has stated that some of his more beloved favorites include Mario, Princess Peach, Luigi, Bowser, Princess Zelda, Toad, Link, and Donkey Kong.[6] He has cited Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario World as his favorite game.[7][8] His favorite games for the NES are Baseball, Golf, and Mario Bros.[9] Miyamoto's favorite non-Nintendo game is Angry Birds.[10]

Miyamoto starred in a Mega64 sketch about New Super Mario Bros.[11] Despite being an influential figure in video games and responsible for multi-million dollar franchises, Miyamoto is said to be very humble, insisting on settling for an average income. Miyamoto is also ambidextrous, though he favors his left hand and likes to make characters that are left-handed (Bowser Jr. and Link being two examples). He rides his bike or walks to work each day, usually with his wife, who he met on the job (she was a general manager for his current occupation).

To honor The Year of Luigi, Miyamoto was often seen wearing Luigi-styled clothing for press appearances.

Following the in-office passing of Nintendo president Satoru Iwata in July 2015, Miyamoto worked alongside Genyo Takeda as Representative Director of Nintendo,[2] both leading the company until Tatsumi Kimishima was inaugurated as the next president of Nintendo in September of the same year.

Miyamoto has stated his interest in bringing Super Mario characters to a wider audience, believing that Nintendo should be seen for its characters rather than simply as a video game company.[12] His most recent projects with Nintendo, including Super Mario Run, the films The Super Mario Bros. Movie and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and the Super Nintendo World theme park exemplify this goal.

Super Mario-related work[edit]

Games[edit]

Films[edit]

Other works[edit]

Awards and honors[edit]

Gallery[edit]

Photos[edit]

  • Miyamoto holding Mario and Donkey Kong plushies
    Miyamoto holding Mario and Donkey Kong plushies
  • Miyamoto and some Super Mario character plushies from BD&A
    Miyamoto and some Super Mario character plushies from BD&A
  • Miyamoto with Gunpei Yokoi in 1994
    Miyamoto with Gunpei Yokoi in 1994
  • Miyamoto holding a Mario figurine and wearing a Super Mario World t-shirt
    Miyamoto holding a Mario figurine and wearing a Super Mario World t-shirt
  • Shigeru Miyamoto and various Nintendo characters in pages 72 and 73 of Time Asia's 60 Years of Asian Heroes issue
    Shigeru Miyamoto and various Nintendo characters in pages 72 and 73 of Time Asia's 60 Years of Asian Heroes issue
  • Miyamoto with Donkey Kong and Mario amiibo
    Miyamoto with Donkey Kong and Mario amiibo
  • Miyamoto holding a Wii Remote in E3 2006
    Miyamoto holding a Wii Remote in E3 2006
  • Miyamoto at E3 2006
    Miyamoto at E3 2006
  • Miyamoto at the 2007 Game Developers Conference
    Miyamoto at the 2007 Game Developers Conference
  • Shigeru Miyamoto showing the New Super Mario Bros. Wii cover
    Shigeru Miyamoto showing the New Super Mario Bros. Wii cover
  • Miyamoto at E3 2010
    Miyamoto at E3 2010
  • Miyamoto next to a full-scale replica of the Standard Kart from Mario Kart 7
    Miyamoto next to a full-scale replica of the Standard Kart from Mario Kart 7
  • Miyamoto sitting in the kart
    Miyamoto sitting in the kart
  • Miyamoto with a signed copy of the first issue of the Mexican Club Nintendo magazine
    Miyamoto with a signed copy of the first issue of the Mexican Club Nintendo magazine
  • Miyamoto with several Luigi plushies for the Year of Luigi
    Miyamoto with several Luigi plushies for the Year of Luigi
  • Miyamoto with Tezuka and Kondo (September 13, 2015)
    Miyamoto with Tezuka and Kondo (September 13, 2015)
  • Group photo at the Super Mario 30 Festival event
    Group photo at the Super Mario 30 Festival event
  • Miyamoto, alongside Tezuka and Tsubasa Sakaguchi
    Miyamoto, alongside Tezuka and Tsubasa Sakaguchi
  • Miyamoto wielding a replica of Kylo Ren's lightsaber
    Miyamoto wielding a replica of Kylo Ren's lightsaber
  • Miyamoto from the review video of Tencent's conference for Nintendo Switch's release in China
    Miyamoto from the review video of Tencent's conference for Nintendo Switch's release in China
  • Shigeru Miyamoto introducing Super Nintendo World (Universal Studios Japan)
    Shigeru Miyamoto introducing Super Nintendo World (Universal Studios Japan)
  • Group photo to celebrate the grand opening of Super Nintendo World (Universal Studios Japan)
    Group photo to celebrate the grand opening of Super Nintendo World (Universal Studios Japan)
  • J. L. Bonnier, Luigi, Mario, and Miyamoto at the grand opening of Super Nintendo World (Universal Studios Japan)
    J. L. Bonnier, Luigi, Mario, and Miyamoto at the grand opening of Super Nintendo World (Universal Studios Japan)
  • Miyamoto alongside Shinya Takahashi, Mario, and Luigi at the grand opening of Super Nintendo World (Universal Studios Hollywood)
    Miyamoto alongside Shinya Takahashi, Mario, and Luigi at the grand opening of Super Nintendo World (Universal Studios Hollywood)
  • Miyamoto at The Super Mario Bros. Movie premiere in Los Angeles.
    Miyamoto at The Super Mario Bros. Movie premiere in Los Angeles.
  • Miyamoto with the cast of the film and Chris Meledandri
    Miyamoto with the cast of the film and Chris Meledandri
  • Miyamoto and Meledandri on the cover of Variety magazine
    Miyamoto and Meledandri on the cover of Variety magazine

Hand-drawn artwork[edit]

  • Artwork used on the Japanese Super Mario Bros. box art, illustrated by Miyamoto
    Artwork used on the Japanese Super Mario Bros. box art, illustrated by Miyamoto
  • Cover of Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook Super Mario World, illustrated by Miyamoto
    Cover of Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook Super Mario World, illustrated by Miyamoto
  • Cover of Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook Super Mario World Kanketsu Hen, illustrated by Miyamoto
    Cover of Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook Super Mario World Kanketsu Hen, illustrated by Miyamoto
  • Cover of Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook Yoshi no Tamago, illustrated by Miyamoto
    Cover of Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook Yoshi no Tamago, illustrated by Miyamoto
  • Back cover of Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook Yoshi no Tamago, illustrated by Miyamoto
    Back cover of Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook Yoshi no Tamago, illustrated by Miyamoto
  • Cover of Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook Super Mario Collection, illustrated by Miyamoto
    Cover of Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook Super Mario Collection, illustrated by Miyamoto
  • Sketch of Mario from Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook Super Mario Collection, illustrated by Miyamoto
    Sketch of Mario from Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook Super Mario Collection, illustrated by Miyamoto
  • Artwork celebrating the first anniversary of The 64 DREAM
    Artwork celebrating the first anniversary of The 64 DREAM
  • Mario and a Nintendo GameCube controller
    Mario and a Nintendo GameCube controller
  • Donkey Kong and a Nintendo GameCube, chased by Mario.
    Donkey Kong and a Nintendo GameCube, chased by Mario.
  • Artwork commemorating the 15th anniversary of Nintendo Power
    Artwork commemorating the 15th anniversary of Nintendo Power
  • Artwork celebrating the release of Nintendo DREAM volume 100
    Artwork celebrating the release of Nintendo DREAM volume 100
  • Mario in a doghouse.
    Mario in a doghouse.
  • Artwork drawn for a T-Shirt commemorating the 200th issue of Nintendo Power
    Artwork drawn for a T-Shirt commemorating the 200th issue of Nintendo Power
  • A letter addressed to Super Mario Galaxy players released by Prima Games
    A letter addressed to Super Mario Galaxy players released by Prima Games
  • Artwork for the UK Official Nintendo Magazine.
    Artwork for the UK Official Nintendo Magazine.
  • Artwork for Cat Mario
    Artwork for Cat Mario
  • Illustration for the cover of Edge magazine's 100th issue.
    Illustration for the cover of Edge magazine's 100th issue.
  • Drawing of Mario for the 84 restaurant
    Drawing of Mario for the 84 restaurant
  • Signature wall from the Nintendo booth at E3 2019, featuring a doodle of Mario by Miyamoto
    Signature wall from the Nintendo booth at E3 2019, featuring a doodle of Mario by Miyamoto
  • Miyamoto's signature
    Miyamoto's signature
  • Artwork of Mario and Donkey Kong
    Artwork of Mario and Donkey Kong

Miscellaneous[edit]