Shigeru Miyamoto



Shigeru Miyamoto is the creator of The Legend of Zelda series, as well as the characters of Mario and Donkey Kong. He is considered to be one of the fathers of video games and frequently cited as the greatest game designer of all time. Some also feel he is the man who shaped the Nintendo we know right now. His titles are characterized by sophisticated control-mechanics and interactive worlds in which the player is encouraged to uncover things for themselves.

Employed by Nintendo (then a toy company) as an artist, in 1980 he was given the task of designing their second arcade video-game after their first one, Radar Scope, was a horrible failure in America. The resulting arcade game Donkey Kong was a colossal success and the game's lead character, Mario (then known only as "Jumpman"), has become Nintendo's mascot. Miyamoto rapidly became Nintendo's star producer and built a large stable of franchises for the company, most of which are still active and very well-regarded.

At odds with customary industry practices, Miyamoto showed unwillingness to repeat existing titles and would rarely create a sequel without significantly evolving the game into an innovative experience. He is still considered one of the greatest minds and creators of our time. He continues to live and work in Japan.

Notable Games
Every game on this list has had involvement from Shigeru Miyamoto in some way.