Miyamoto finishes 92nd in TIME Magazine poll
Posted in
Wii,
General by
Andrew Macarthy on May 6th, 2007 at 21:40
We brought you the news
last month that Nintendo’s creative guru, Shigeru Miyamato had been short listed for TIME Magazine’s “100 most influential People of the Year” award. After a few weeks of fervent voting, the votes are in and Mr. Miyamoto has finished in…92nd position.
In his nomination summary, Miyamato was praised as being the “most successful games designer, creator of Super Mario, Donkey Kong and The Legend of Zelda,” but criticised for his obsessive strive for perfection in his games, an attribute which has often seen important titles delayed on a number of occasions.
Johnathan (Fatal1ty) Wendel was given the task by
TIME Magazine of summarising just why Shigeru Miyamoto deserves his place on the prestigious list (in between Indian billionaire Lakshimi Mittal and Rhonda Byrne). What he delivered included the following, which must, we imagine, ring true in the lives of many gamers who’ve spent time with a Wii:
Yep, 92nd!
“By making video gaming accessible and fun for people like my grandma, Shigeru Miyamoto, 54, head of the Wii design team, has opened the world I live in every day to people who never even wanted to visit it before. He showed us that video games are for everyone, something social and active that brings people together. I’m hopeful that competitive video gaming will rightfully be considered a pro sport like any other, and I will spend the rest of my life championing video gaming as an equal to pro football or basketball. That job is a little easier thanks to Miyamoto-san and his ingenious team at Nintendo. They didn’t just start me on a career that I love. They have also given me a mind-set to give back to gaming and do my part to empower millions of gamers worldwide. If I can contribute just a fraction of what Miyamoto has to video gaming, I’ll be honoured.”
Three cheers for Mr. Miyamato are surely in order! Well done, that man!