- [1] Image courtesy of the Guardian
Legendary Nintendo game designer and director Shigeru Miyamoto reflects upon his career and his plans for the future in a retrospective interview with the Guardian. Read on to learn more about Miyamoto’s next plans, ongoing duties, and work history.
Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto: Past, Present, and Future
Miyamoto’s Future Plans in Nintendo
- [2] Image courtesy of Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Images/picture alliance, sourced from DW
Shigeru Miyamoto, famed Nintendo game designer and game director responsible for the creation of the Mario and Zelda series, turned 71 years old last November. Still, he has no thoughts of any kind of retirement and looks forward to the work he has yet to do. In an in-depth interview held by the Guardian, he was asked if he’s ever considered retirement. Miyamoto answers that he does not, and still loves the work he puts out.
“More so than retiring, I’m thinking about the day I fall over. In this day and age, you have to think about things in a five-year timespan, so I do think about who I can pass things on to, in case something does happen.”
Miyamoto’s response shows the utmost joy and dedication he has to the craft. Instead of thinking about when to stop, he prepares for when he must untimely do so, still looking towards the sad future where he can no longer create.
He’ll still certainly remain busy until the unforeseeable future, as he remains a top executive and overseer of operations in Nintendo. The success of the Nintendo Switch over the years is exceptional, and we’ll be seeing more releases on the handheld console in more years to come under Miyamoto’s supervision.
Miyamoto’s Current Duties for Nintendo
- [3] Image screenshot courtesy of Variety
Though Miyamoto is no longer strictly a full-time game director nor designer, he still performs a lot of supervision within the game’s currently in development at Nintendo, specifically during pre-production i.e. the planning and idea stages. However, the majority of his current work has him branching out of video games. More recently, Miyamoto was heavily involved with the production of the very successful Super Mario Bros movie in partnership with the animation studio Illumination.
“[These days] I don’t think of myself as a game designer. I’m about finding more unique opportunities for Nintendo,” he explains. “I’m still very new to [the movie] industry and I’m still learning, but I’m trying to read a lot of scripts these days and learn about how they are developed, to see how we can create uniquely Nintendo films.”
Miyamoto is definitely spearheading Nintendo’s ventures into the film industry, as not long ago it was announced that a live-action The Legend of Zelda movie is currently in development! Announced by Miyamoto himself, he’ll be supervising and making sure that the hearts and souls of the characters he created are accurately depicted on the big screen.
How Nintendo Flourished Through Miyamoto
- [4] image screenshot from a Discovery Channel clip uploaded by art/research on YouTube
During the interview, Miyamoto was said to be in a reflective mood, as it took place just days after his 71st birthday. “If you ask me to talk about the early days, it’ll go on for a while.” He recalls the time when he had graduated from studying industrial design at the Kanazawa College of Art back in the 1970s. “A lot of my classmates were going off to car manufacturers or electronics manufacturers., but I wanted to make something weird, something interesting, and that’s how I came upon Nintendo.”
He joined Nintendo when the company was in an ongoing transition from playing cards to electronic toys. It was also around the time when Space Invaders gained massive popularity in arcades, which Miyamoto frequented as a student. This experience led to his growing interest in them. “Two or three years in [the company] I was given a chance. I managed to create Donkey Kong, and then game design became my real job.”
With the creation of Donkey Kong, where the protagonist Mario the “Jumpman” had to dodge rolling barrels thrown by the titular gorilla. The rest is history as the game became an astounding hit among arcades worldwide. Decades later, Mario grew to global acclaim and captured the hearts of fans worldwide. As the creator of Mario, he also saw to the retirement of the character’s longtime voice actor Charles Martinet last year.
- [5] Image screenshot courtesy of French documentary film
Otaku
from 1994, uploaded to YouTube by Game Escape
Miyamoto’s legacy through the years is undeniable, and at the ripe old age of 71, he persists to spread the joy of video games as much as he can. Though he has effectively handed off the nitty gritty of video game development to the younger generation, he still works alongside the talent and strives to maintain his legacy that has been parallel to Nintendo’s over the years.
He jokingly recalls a scene from a Marvel movie and likens it to his current situation.
“There is a scene in Iron Man where the president goes to his own company and the guard man doesn’t let him in, and he points at the portrait and says: ‘That’s me!’” he laughs as he imagines himself in that kind of situation. He continues, “But I really hope that the teams I work with, at least, remember me as the creator of these things!”
- [6] Image screenshot courtesy of Vox
No doubt not only his colleagues, nor Nintendo fans, or even gaming fans will remember him, but the entire world will. Miyamoto’s contributions to the gaming industry and the entertainment industry as a whole is gigantic. Even if he did retire today, tomorrow, or next week, he has already done enough work that everyone can wholly appreciate with all their hearts.
Remembering his legacy would be an understatement, as his name will forever be cemented in the annals of history as a pioneer and a game changer.
Sources:
The Guardian | Nintendo’s design guru Shigeru Miyamoto: ‘I wanted to make something weird’
[1] Thumbnail Image courtesy of the Guardian
[2] Image courtesy of Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Images/picture alliance, sourced from DW
[3] Image screenshot courtesy of Variety
[4] Image screenshot from a Discovery Channel clip uploaded by art/research on YouTube
[5] Image screenshot courtesy of French documentary film Otaku
from 1994, uploaded to YouTube by Game Escape
[6] Image screenshot courtesy of Vox
