When talking about folks who have made the video game industry what it is today, it’s tougher to get any more influential than Shigeru Miyamoto. He created the Donkey Kong arcade game, exploding Nintendo’s popularity overseas. He developed Super Mario Bros., the Citizen Kane of video games and a revolutionary mascot sidescroller that revived game consoles alongside the NES. And since then he’s been responsible for all kinds of legendary Nintendo characters and design ideas, from The Legend of Zelda to Wii Sports.
Sounds like someone with a lot of cultural merit. Well now Japan finally agrees. The Japanese government’s Order of Culture has just honored Miyamoto as one of twenty Persons of Cultural Merit for the year, the first video game designer to receive the award.
If this prize sounds long overdue, here’s some perspective. Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki is a pretty titanic figure of anime artistry all over the world, while never compromising the inherent Japanese essence of his works. But as reported by Kotaku (via Nikkei), he didn’t receive this cultural merit award until 2012, right at the cusp of his alleged retirement.
But better late than never. Japan’s overall influence on video games is immense. Its artists deserve recognition from their home country. And Miyamoto, now in his own sort of semi-retirement while younger employees take charge at Nintendo, is as good a place to start as any.
Miyamoto said he’s “thankful that light is being shined upon the genre of games.”
For more on Nintendo legends, reminiscence about Reggie Fils-Aime‘s time as the beautiful Black president of Nintendo of America. And check out this collection of interviews from late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata.
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