Shigeru Miyamoto

Shigeru Miyamoto (Japanese: 宮本 茂 Miyamoto Shigeru) is a Japanese game designer and artist. He was born in Sonobe, Japan on November 16, 1952. As the "Father of Modern Video Games""Shigeru Miyamoto Profile IGN", he is responsible for creating the Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, and Pikmin series. As such, he is one of the most recognized and successful people in the video game industry. 
==Early Life==
At an early age, Miyamoto had a desire to create things that would amaze the world. At first, he considered puppeteering, painting, and making toys. Finally, he decided to study industrial design at the Kanazawa Munici College of Industrial Arts and Crafts. It took him five years to graduate, because he didn't want to attend all of the classes.
When he was 24 years old, his father contacted his friend, Hiroshi Yamauchi, who worked at Nintendo, which was still a toy company at that time. Yamauchi requested to see some designs. Miyamoto responded by going to Nintendo's headquarters in Kyoto with a bag of goodies. One of these goodies was one of the greatest portfolios Nintendo had ever seen, which resulted in Miyamoto eventually becoming the company's first staff artist in 1977.
==Career==
In 1980, Nintendo of America searched for a hit to establish themselves in the arcade market. They ordered a large number of units of an arcade game called Radar Scope. Unfortunately, by the time Nintendo had received the units, the interest in them had nearly disappeared. Desperate, Yamauchi called Miyamoto into his office and interrogated him on his knowledge of this new concept. Yamauchi claimed to love video games while he studied at the university. After licenses fell through, Donkey Kong was born.
Donkey Kong turned out to be a wild commercial success. This resulted in Miyamoto being promoted and given his own team, which he called R&D4. Later, it was renamed as Nintendo EAD, a name which still remains. They would go on to make some of Nintendo's most memorable games.
==Current life==
As of 2023, Miyamoto is still actively involved in the video game industry, working as a creative fellow and representative director at Nintendo. In this role, he continues to oversee the development of new games and provides creative guidance to younger designers at the company.
In recent years, Miyamoto has also been involved in several projects outside of video games. He has been a vocal advocate for the use of technology in education and has worked on a number of initiatives to help promote STEM education in schools. He has also collaborated with other artists on various creative projects, such as a music video for the rock band The 8-Bit Big Band.
Despite his continued involvement in the industry, Miyamoto has spoken publicly about his desire to eventually retire and spend more time pursuing his hobbies and interests. He is an avid musician and enjoys playing the banjo and guitar, as well as gardening and spending time with his family.
==Personal Life==
Miyamoto has a wife, Yasuko, and two children. His son was 25 in 2010 and worked at an advertising agency. His daughter was 23 in 2010 and was studying zoology at the time. His children played video games, but he also made them go outside. Although he knows some English, he does not speak it well, and he prefers to speak in Japanese for interviews.[6]
Miyamoto does not generally sign autographs, out of concern that he would be inundated. He also does not appear on Japanese television, so as to remain anonymous. More foreign tourists than Japanese people approach him.[6]
==Trivia==
* Despite being a video game designer, he seldom spends time playing video games. Rather, he prefers to keep himself busy as a dog breeder and playing his guitar, banjo, and mandolin.
* His unusual hobbies involve rearranging the furniture in his house and guessing the measurements of objects.
* He has a Shetland Sheepdog named Pikku that ended up serving as the inspiration for the game, Nintendogs.
* He rides his bike, or walks to work each day, usually with his wife (who he actually met on the job, as she was general manager of Nintendo when he joined). Despite being an influential figure in video games and responsible for the multi-million dollar franchise that is the Mario series, Miyamoto is said to be very humble, insisting on settling for an average income."I like my work, to be honest with you. I've always been given enough money to spend on my projects. I think I am most fortunate, that I can spend as much money as I want, enjoying what I like doing most. I don't have to show the risk regard to my trade, taking a risk means earning a lot of money, but I don't have to."
*Miyamoto initially studied industrial design in college before joining Nintendo in 1977.
*He created his first video game, Sheriff, in 1979.
*Donkey Kong, one of his most famous creations, was originally meant to be a Popeye video game, but the license fell through.
*The name "Mario" was inspired by the landlord of Nintendo's first warehouse, who bore a resemblance to the character in the game.
*Miyamoto's interest in game design was inspired by his childhood adventures exploring the countryside near his home in Sonobe, Japan.
*He has won numerous awards for his contributions to the video game industry, including the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.
*Miyamoto has stated in interviews that he enjoys gardening and finds inspiration for his game designs from nature.
*He is known for his hands-on approach to game development, often creating the game's characters and levels himself.
*Miyamoto is a huge fan of music, and often incorporates it into his game designs. He has even composed music for some of Nintendo's games, such as Pikmin.
*Miyamoto is a big advocate for local multiplayer games and believes that they are important for bringing people together in a fun and social way.
==References==
==External links==
*N-Sider—Shigeru Miyamoto profile
*Shigeru Miyamoto at MobyGames
*Shigeru Miyamoto at RAWG.io
*Profile in the NewYorker magazine
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