
On 16th November Shigeru Miyamoto turned 65 years old, a landmark that in some countries represents retirement age. The legendary game designer doesn't seem to be going anywhere, however, as he now leads the next generation of Nintendo creators as the company's Creative Fellow.
In his younger years Miyamoto-san was a hands-on driving force in many of Nintendo's most iconic games and franchises. He's known as the father of Mario, of course, and from his design of the original Donkey Kong arcade onwards he became embedded in Nintendo and gaming history. His creative spark is seen in the history and ongoing evolution of franchises like The Legend of Zelda, Pikmin and more, while he's directed and produced a number of the industry's most influential and admired games.
Perhaps he was ready to step back once - a few years ago rumours of retirement caused a brief dive in Nintendo's share value. He'd been integral in the success of the Wii and DS generation, but often spoke of passing the torch to younger generations. When his friend Satoru Iwata tragically passed away, Miyamoto-san was then part of a management restructure that saw him become 'Creative Fellow', with a remit to oversee the company's creative output while also thinking about the future. We suspect that a dual role of mentoring exceptional young talent and exploring new ideas suits Miyamoto-san rather well.
In recent times we have seen younger generations of staff produce and direct games like Splatoon and Super Mario Odyssey, among many others. Nevertheless the impact of Shigeru Miyamoto is still felt, and will be long after he decides to move into retirement.
Further reading:
Feature: Shigeru Miyamoto - The Father of Modern Video Games
We tip our hat to Shigeru Miyamoto, a gaming icon and legend.
Comments 43
And today is Takashi Tezuka turn to be 56! Congratulations!
Oh my God that's quite young!
Otanjobi omedetto, Shigeru Miyamoto sama !
Here's to another 65 years! 🍹
Retirement shmirement. Long live the super Shigeru Miyamoto!
Long live the king!
Long live a legend
That's nice, and it reminded me of how badly I want a new Pikmin for the Switch...
Happy Birthday you lovely genius. Pikmin 3 was a really wonderful game for me & my very young son, he was only about three or four when he got fascinated watching me play. He pretty much picked up the basics just watching & was able to play himself very quickly. We have has some heated Bingo Battles too! Good times, thank you Miyamoto-San.
He's one of the few who must find a way to live forever
One of my favorite people on the planet. May he live forever.
What ever happened to Jumpman anyway? I thought he had the potential to be a real mascot for Nintendo!
...
A true living legend and one of my all time heroes - Happy Birthday, Miyamoto-san!
I wouldn't be surprised if I cry when Mr. Miyamoto dies. Hopefully many decades from now. He is the architect of so many of my greatest dreams. Nintendo would almost certainly be nothing without his creations. May he live to see 100!
Happy Birthday Mr. Miyamoto. May you stay forever young.
Some people call the age of 65, "second youth" or "new 40". Young and beautiful! Hope you'll stay with us for another 65 years, Miyamoto-san. Happy birthday.
Happy Birthday Minamoto-san, you are one of my idols and I wish you the best of birthdays today.
Happy Birthday and thank you for making my favorite games! You truly are a great role model!
Quick question - those devs shunning Nintendo, the same who won't develop for Switch or Nintendo consoles in general? And the Nintendo haters? And the naysayers? Where would they be without Miyamoto around?
Nowhere, that's where they would be.
Thank you for making my Childhood so memorable by producing my Favourite ever game....... Super Mario World
If it weren't for that game the chances are I wouldn't be such an avid reader of this website and obsessed with all things Nintendo.
Happy birthday, you beautiful bastard. Thanks for the great childhood.
Playing Mario + Rabbis, Shovel Knight, Binding of Isaac, and Samus Returns, it occurred to me that Miyamoto has so thoroughly influenced gaming that developers all over the world now create explicitly using his design styles and philosophy. His work is responsible for much of what makes gaming great.
Happy birthday, ya ol goof!
Man of the year - Every year!
Happy Birthday SupaStar Shiggy!
@GC-161 That was lovely .......a bit disturbing too
Happy belated birthday. My favourite gaming memories are mostly because of Mr Miyamoto, thank you. (Mario 64 blew me away - still my all time fav game, loved drunken SNES Mario kart sessions and I played Super Mario World every hour for an entire summer!).
@arpaktiko
Nah, that is perfectly normal...
.... in Japan
Yes, time to quit! After these last 10 years of awfull decisions...RETIRE!!!
Well, Happy B Day
Happy birthday Miyamoto-dono!
Happy Birthday Miyamoto-san, turning 12 again another year!
Even when talking about Splatoon we easily forget the role Miyamoto played even in that....he's responsible for the whole squid-kid dynamic instead of just squids as was originally presented to him. He may or may not have come up with the kid/squid paradigm, but he rejected squid-only. And I imagine he and the company downplayed any specific ideas he implemented to bolster the image of the younger staff. Miyamoto still heavily influences even the projects he's only remotely involved with.
And he's always the highlight of E3. Nobody else on that stage seems to enjoy it all quite as much as he does!
To put it in perspective: Without Miyamoto, Nintendo certainly wouldn't be where it's at today. It will be a sad day when he retires, but when that time comes, he'll have more than earned it!
Happy late birthday, Miyamoto-san!
みやもとさん、お誕生日おめでとうございます!
Thought he was a lot older then this. Think he should try make one more game as a epic swansong. Then leave the younger generation too it
Happy birthday, Shiggy.
Happy birthday! Here's to more decades of gaming!
@GC-161 Holy crap... That's... different...
お誕生日おめでとうございます。
Otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu, Miyamoto-san.
Happy Birthday, and I wish you many more years of health and inspiration.
This is a man that has truly embraced his childhood and is still carrying it with him as if it was yesterday. A rare quality in an adult, and even more so in the normally quite reserved Japanese culture of not showing emotions, or at least not too much.
That same quality still allows him to enjoy coming up with new ideas, and also makes it so entertaining to watch him on a stage or see him speak in an interview, because he radiates fun, and for all intents and purposes, he is the poster child of the Nintendo Difference.
Can't wait to see what kind of rabbit he's going to pull out of his hat next...
Happy Birthday.
Happy birthday mister Miyamoto!
More like Senior Miyamoto.
And may he stay forever young!
Happy birthday Mr. Miyamoto. Have a good one.
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