Shigeru Miyamoto
| 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.[1] In 2019, Shigeru Miyamoto was recognized as a Person of Cultural Merit in Japan, being the first video game developer to receive the award.[3] Miyamoto currently holds the position of Executive Fellow and Representative Director at Nintendo.[4]
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, 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.[5] He has cited Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario World as his favorite game.[6][7] His favorite games for the NES are Baseball, Golf, and Mario Bros.[8] Miyamoto's favorite non-Nintendo game is Angry Birds.[9]
Miyamoto starred in a Mega64 sketch about New Super Mario Bros.[10] 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.
[edit]
Games[edit]
- Donkey Kong - Director
- Donkey Kong Jr. - Director
- Mario Bros. - Director
- Donkey Kong 3 - Director
- Super Mario Bros. - Director, Producer, Designer
- Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels - Director, Producer, Designer
- Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic / Super Mario Bros. 2 - Producer
- Super Mario Bros. 3 - Director, Producer, Designer
- Super Mario World - Producer
- Mario Paint - General Producer
- Super Mario Kart - Producer
- Super Mario All-Stars - Producer
- Super Mario Bros. - Producer
- Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels - Producer
- Super Mario Bros. 2 - Producer
- Super Mario Bros. 3 - Producer
- Donkey Kong (Game Boy) - Producer
- Donkey Kong Country - Original Donkey Kong Creator, Special Thanks
- Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World - Producer
- Super Mario Bros. - Producer
- Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels - Producer
- Super Mario Bros. 2 - Producer
- Super Mario Bros. 3 - Producer
- Super Mario World - Producer
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island - Producer
- Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - Producer
- Super Mario 64 - Director, Producer
- Mario Kart 64 - Producer
- Mario Party - Supervisor
- Super Mario Bros. Deluxe - Supervisor
- Yoshi's Story - Supervisor
- Super Smash Bros. - Producer (Production and Direction advisor)
- Mario Golf (Nintendo 64) - Supervisor
- Mario Artist: Paint Studio - Supervisor
- Mario Party 2 - Supervisor
- Mario Tennis (Nintendo 64) - Supervisor
- Paper Mario - Producer
- Mario Tennis (Game Boy Color) - Supervisor
- Mario Party 3 - Supervisor
- Luigi's Mansion - Producer
- Super Mario Advance - Producer
- Mario Kart: Super Circuit - Producer
- Super Smash Bros. Melee - Producer
- Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 - Producer
- Super Mario Sunshine - Producer
- Mario Party 4 - Supervisor
- Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Advance) - Producer
- Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour - Supervisor
- Mario Party 5 - Supervisor
- Mario Kart: Double Dash!! - Producer
- Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga - Producer
- Mario vs. Donkey Kong - Producer
- Mario Golf: Advance Tour - Supervisor
- Mario Pinball Land - Producer
- Donkey Konga - Supervisor
- Mario Party 6 - Supervisor
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - Producer
- Mario Power Tennis - Supervisor
- Super Mario 64 DS - Producer, Supervising Director
- Donkey Konga 3 - Supervisor
- Mario Party Advance - Supervisor
- Donkey Kong Jungle Beat - General Producer
- DK: King of Swing - Supervisor
- New Super Mario Bros. - Supervisor
- Mario Kart DS - General Producer
- Mario Party 7 - Supervisor
- Super Mario Strikers - Supervisor
- Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time - Producer
- Mario Tennis: Power Tour - Supervisor
- Mario Hoops 3-on-3 - Supervisor
- Super Paper Mario - Supervisor
- Mario Party 8 - Supervisor
- Itadaki Street DS - Supervisor
- Mario Strikers Charged - Supervisor
- DK: Jungle Climber - Supervisor
- Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast - Supervisor
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) - Senior Producer
- Super Mario Galaxy - Game Design Concept, Producer
- Mario Party DS - Supervisor
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Senior Supervisor
- Mario Kart Wii - General Producer
- Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - Senior Producer
- Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! - Supervisor
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games - Senior Producer
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii - General Producer
- Super Mario Galaxy 2 - General Producer
- Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition - Producer
- Super Mario Bros. - Producer
- Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels - Producer
- Super Mario Bros. 2 - Producer
- Super Mario Bros. 3 - Producer
- Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! - Supervisor
- Donkey Kong Country Returns - Supervisor
- Mario Sports Mix - Supervisor
- Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games - Senior Producer
- Mario Kart 7 - General Producer
- Fortune Street - Supervisor
- Mario Tennis Open - Supervisor
- New Super Mario Bros. 2 - General Producer
- New Super Mario Bros. U - General Producer
- Super Mario 3D Land - General Producer
- Mario Party 9 - Supervisor
- Paper Mario: Sticker Star - Supervisor
- Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon - Producer
- Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move - Supervisor
- New Super Luigi U - General Producer
- Mario & Luigi: Dream Team - Supervisor
- Mario Party: Island Tour - Supervisor
- Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - Supervisor
- Mario Kart 8 - General Producer
- New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U - General Producer
- New Super Mario Bros. U - General Producer
- New Super Luigi U - General Producer
- Super Mario 3D World - General Producer
- Mario Golf: World Tour - Supervisor
- Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS - Senior Supervisor
- Super Smash Bros. for Wii U - Senior Supervisor
- Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker - General Producer
- Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars - Supervisor
- Mario Party 10 - Supervisor
- Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition - Supervisor
- Super Mario Maker - General Producer
- Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash - Supervisor
- Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam - Supervisor
- Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games - Senior Producer
- Paper Mario: Color Splash - Supervisor
- Super Mario Run - Director[11]
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - General Producer
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle - Supervisor
- Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions - Supervisor
- Super Mario Odyssey - Executive Producer
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Original Game Supervisor
- Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey - Supervisor
- Luigi's Mansion 3 - Special Thanks
- Super Mario 3D All-Stars - Director, Producer, Game Design Concept
- Super Mario 64 - Director, Producer
- Super Mario Sunshine - Producer
- Super Mario Galaxy - Game Design Concept, Producer
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury - General Producer
- Super Mario 3D World - General Producer
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Supervisor
- Super Mario RPG - Supervisor
- Princess Peach: Showtime! - Senior Supervisor
- Luigi's Mansion 2 HD - Very Special Thanks
- Mario & Luigi: Brothership - Senior Supervisor
- Donkey Kong Bananza - Original DK Designer
- Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 - Game Design Concept, Producer, Game Producer
- Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo Switch) - Game Design Concept, Producer
- Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Nintendo Switch) - Game Producer
- Mario Tennis Fever - Supervisor
Films[edit]
- Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen! - Characters[12]
- Super Mario Bros. - Based on the concept and characters created by
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie - Producer
- The Super Mario Galaxy Movie - Producer
Other works[edit]
- Super Nintendo World - Creative Director[13]
Awards and honors[edit]
- The first inductee to the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame at the Interactive Achievement Awards (1998)[14]
- Subject of an episode of Icons (2002)[15]
- A star on the Walk of Game (2005)[16]
- The Chevalier award at the French Order of Arts and Letters (2006)[17]
- Featured in Time Asia's "60 Years of Asian Heroes" (2006)[18]
- GDC's Lifetime Achievement Award by the Game Developers Choice Awards (2007)[19]
- The Fellowship award in the British Academy Video Game Awards (2010)[20]
- The Spanish Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities (2012)[21]
- Recognized as a Person of Cultural Merit (2019)[3]
- Lifetime Achievement award by the Association of Media in Digital Awards (2023)[22]
Gallery[edit]
Photos[edit]
Miyamoto holding Mario and Donkey Kong plushies
Miyamoto with Gunpei Yokoi in 1994
Miyamoto holding a Mario figurine and wearing a Super Mario World t-shirt
Miyamoto with Donkey Kong and Mario amiibo
Miyamoto holding a Wii Remote in E3 2006
Shigeru Miyamoto showing the New Super Mario Bros. Wii cover
Miyamoto next to a full-scale replica of the Standard Kart from Mario Kart 7
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 wielding a replica of Kylo Ren's lightsaber
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)
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 with the cast of the film and Chris Meledandri
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
Cover of Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook Super Mario World, illustrated by Miyamoto
Artwork celebrating the first anniversary of The 64 DREAM
Mario and a Nintendo GameCube controller
Artwork commemorating the 15th anniversary of Nintendo Power
Artwork celebrating the release of Nintendo DREAM volume 100
A letter addressed to Super Mario Galaxy players released by Prima Games
Artwork for Cat Mario
Signature wall from the Nintendo booth at E3 2019, featuring a doodle of Mario by Miyamoto
Miscellaneous[edit]
Thumbnail of the video "ILS TESTENT NOTRE NIVEAU DE FOURBE !" from the YouTube channel Bigorneaux & Coquillages (at the time CyprienGaming)
Miyamoto's Mii, distributed to Nintendo 3DS owners via StreetPass at select retail stores as part of a promotional campaign for Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS
Quotes[edit]
- "Who knows how Mario will look like in the future. Maybe he'll wear metallic clothes! " - 1991[23]
- "Videogames are bad for you? That's what they said about rock 'n' roll."[24]
- "A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad."[25] (Possibly apocryphal)[26]
- "No, my favorite video game character is not Mario, it's Pacman."[sic][27]
- "A great idea can solve multiple problems at the same time."[28][better source needed]
- "I'll put my neck out and say that PlayStation games sound good, but when you watch them in action they're not finished at all in my opinion. A game is finished when a creator decides it is."[29]
- "I don't want to make games where the player is just a puppet in the hands of the creator, playing exactly as scripted. Trying to get players to become better and better at your game is certainly one valid approach to making games, but for me, I want to present games to players that are more like pure toys: something you can use, explore, and play with freely."[30]
- “The most pivotal aspect [of Donkey Kong Country Returns's development] was having the chance to sit down with Mr. Miyamoto and get an understanding from him what he wanted to see, what he hoped to see with DK. He never at any time stood up and said, 'This is what it will have. This is your checklist. This is what I want period.' He just offered feedback and guidance and mentorship, and that's one of the things that made Mr. Miyamoto so valuable as a resource. He can be incredibly demanding at times and there have been plenty of occasions where he just flipped the table over and said 'start again', but you can tell he wanted to happen. He wanted to see DK in a new adventure. I'll never forget as we were wrapping up our conversation with him in Kyoto, he said in English, 'Please take care of DK. He is my friend.'”
- —Bryan Walker[31]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Annual Report 2025 for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025. Nintendo Co., Ltd.. Page 42. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
- ^ a b July 13, 2015. Notification of Death and Personnel Change of a Representative Director (President). Nintendo. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ^ a b Allen Kim (October 29, 2019). ‘Mario Bros.’ creator Shigeru Miyamoto to be given one of Japan’s highest honors. CNN. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ^ Corporate Information. Nintendo Co., Ltd.. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ^ Jevon Phillips (December 23, 2011). Nintendo mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto isn’t ready for ‘game over’. Los Angeles Times. Archived December 23, 2011, 21:03:22 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ^ Mike Snider (November 8, 2010). Q&A: 'Mario' creator Shigeru Miyamoto. USA Today. Retrieved June 17, 2026. (Archived November 11, 2010, 14:01:07 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ Samuel Claiborn (June 15, 2012). This Is Shigeru Miyamoto's Favorite Mario Game. IGN. Retrieved June 17, 2026. (Archived May 24, 2015, 10:50:15 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ Kadu Bonamin (March 8, 2013). Mario Bros. é um dos games favoritos de Shigeru Miyamoto para o NES. Brazilian Portuguese. Retrieved June 17, 2026. (Archived August 27, 2014, 04:21:06 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ Daniel Cooper (April 12, 2012). Shigeru Miyamoto admits he's a fan of Angry Birds, just like the rest of us. Engadget. Retrieved June 17, 2026. (Archived November 11, 2020, 21:09:30 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ March 12, 2007. Mega64: New Super Mario Bros. Video. Mega64. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ^ April 4, 2023. Mario Is Moving Away From Mobile Games, Reveals Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto (EXCLUSIVE). Variety. Retrieved June 17, 2026. (Archived April 4, 2023, 15:26:22 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ Back of the VHS cover for Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!
- ^ May 3, 2022. The 28th Annual TEA Thea Awards Program. Themed Entertainment Association. Page 52. Retrieved June 17, 2026 from Issuu.
- ^ List of Hall of Fame award winners. Retrieved June 17, 2026 from https://www.interactive.org/.
- ^ June 16, 2002. Miyamoto. Archived December 29, 2005, 04:15:19 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 17, 2026 from G4TV.com.
- ^ Matt Casamassina (March 8, 2005). GDC 2005: Live at the Walk of Game. IGN. Retrieved June 17, 2026. (Archived February 3, 2017, 07:43:01 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ François Bliss de la Boissière (March 14, 2006). From Paris with Love: de Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Game Developer. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ^ Will Wright (November 13, 2006). 60 YEARS OF ASIAN HEROES. Hong Kong: Time Asia. Page 72 and 73. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ^ List of Lifetime Achievement Award winners. Retrieved June 17, 2026 from https://gamechoiceawards.com/.
- ^ List of Fellowship award winners. Retrieved June 17, 2026 from https://www.bafta.org/.
- ^ rawmeatcowboy (May 23, 2012). REPORT - Shigeru Miyamoto awarded Spanish Prize for Communication and Humanities. GoNintendo. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ^ Verity Townsend (July 3, 2024). Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto receives lifetime achievement award. Automaton Media. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ^ August 1991. Mario Mania. Nintendo Power. Page 31.
- ^ David Shelf (1993). Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered The World. Random House.
- ^ Simon Parkin (April 27, 2012). Shigeru Miyamoto: A rushed game is forever bad. The Guardian. Retrieved June 17, 2026. (Archived July 1, 2014, 23:32:49 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ Rory Young (March 20, 2022). Famous Miyamoto Quote About Delayed Games Could Be Misattributed. GameRant. Retrieved June 17, 2026. (Archived March 20, 2022, 21:44:36 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ "No, mi personaje de videojuegos preferido no es Mario, es Pacman."[sic] – David Doñas Salinas ''Metroide'' (2002). Biografía Shigeru Miyamoto. Spanish. Archived December 13, 2002, 07:47:18 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 17, 2026 from http://usuarios.lycos.es.
- ^ http://www.nintendo.com/nintendo_direct
- ^ Colin McIsaac (March 15, 2014). Miyamoto Says PlayStation Games Felt Incomplete. Gamnesia. Archived February 12, 2016, 03:33:03 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ^ Terebigēmu―Denshi Yūgitaizen. Retrieved June 17, 2026 from shmuplations. (Archived March 8, 2017, 22:18:04 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ October 2, 2021. #109 - Bryan Walker Interview (Senior Producer At Retro Studios). KIWI TALKZ. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
External links[edit]
- Gamehiker Wiki (archived)
- MobyGames
- RAWG.io