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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.