Miyamoto Is Developers' Hero

[John Funk]

Miyamoto Is Developers' Hero

According to a Develop survey, 30 percent of game developers claim Nintendo guru Shigeru Miyamoto as their "ultimate development hero."

And no, "Ultimate Development Hero" is not Activision's newest property. Just throwing that out there.

A survey of over 9,000 (Develop [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBtpyeLxVkI] asked them to name the industry figure that they considered to be their hero. A whopping 30% - that's about 3,000, for those doing the math at home - answered Shigeru Miyamoto, best known as the father of some of Nintendo's most timeless series, such as Mario and the Legend of Zelda.

Really, is anybody surprised? Develop sure isn't. "It's no surprise that Miyamoto-san is the development hero of developers - over the last thirty years he has created games that have not only driven the evolution of the games industry but also changed people's lives," said Andy Lane, managing director of the Brighton, UK-based Develop conference. "He has mastered the art of developing titles that are innovative but never at the cost of gameplay: games that are ground breaking, yet still mass market."

Following Miyamoto at #2 was John Carmack, the man who pioneered the FPS genre all but single-handedly. Maxis founder Will Wright, creator of SimWhatever, The Sims, and Spore took 3rd, while Briton Dave Jones - founder of Realtime Worlds, and creator of Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto placed fourth. Rounding out the top five was Sid Meier, creator of, well, the Sid Meier's Civilization series. Meier was the second person ever to be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame - right after Shigeru Miyamoto.

The rest of the top ten is hardly surprising, either: Peter Molyneux, the man who is the picture-perfect definition of "dream big," Elite and Tycoon series creator David Braben, PaRappa the Rapper father Masaya Matsuura, Blizzard pioneer Mike Morhaime, and indie darling Jonathan Blow.

Which makes the full list:

1. Shigeru Miyamoto
2. John Carmack
3. Will Wright
4. Dave Jones
5. Sid Meier
6. Peter Molyneux
7. David Braben
8. Masaya Matsuura
9. Michael Morhaime
10. Jonathan Blow

Agree? Disagree?

(Via VG247 [http://www.vg247.com/2009/06/15/miyamoto-is-developer-hero-says-survey/])

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[Ranooth]

Is it wrong to have a man crush on him?

 

[MrPop]

No surprises here then. He's proably the best known developer

 

[curlycrouton]

I'm glad Sid Meier's there, although I reckon he should be top of the list. He's a veritable genius.

 

[D_987]

Jonathan Blow is number 10? Wha...

 

[pantsoffdanceoff]

I'm glad Sid Meier's there, although I reckon he should be top of the list. He's a veritable genius.

In concurrence.

Also what has the Zelda series done that's innovative, they are [b/]great[/b] games but nothing that was revolutionary?

 

[Humppaporo]

I'm glad Sid Meier's there, although I reckon he should be top of the list. He's a veritable genius.

I concur

 

[oliveira8]

Well..half of that list is just...plain wrong.

Peter Molyneux? Jonathan Blow? David Braben? Masaya Matsuura?

 

[Lord_Ascendant]

wheres Hideo Kojima? the man who invented the only game that plays itself should be up there

 

[Florion]

>9000 x 30% = >2700

But yes, it is easier to say "over 3000."

._. sorry, that was just bugging me. Still, holy cow, Miyamoto! *_*

 

[LoopyDood]

A whopping 30% - that's more than 3,000, for those doing the math at home

30% of 9000 is almost 3000, not over.

Also,

""t's no surprise that Miyamoto-san is the development hero of developers - over the last thirty years he has created games that have not only driven the evolution of the games industry but also changed people's lives,"

Nit-pickery makes me feel important. Don't bug me about it.

>9000 x 30% = >2700

But yes, it is easier to say "over 3000."

._. sorry, that was just bugging me. Still, holy cow, Miyamoto! *_*

Aw, I got ninja'd.

 

[PureChaos]

from the list of responses, Shigeru and Johnathan Blow are the only 2 i know, and Blow was only because Yahtzee mentioned him at some point. but, yeah, Shigeru rules!

 

[not a zaar]

I can't believe that one guy actually called him "Miyamoto-san". What a weeabo Japanophile dickweed.

 

[Quadtrix]

Aspiring game designers probably dream of being able to sit down with Shiggy and discuss ideas.

 

[Ben66]

If i recall Zelda 1 layed the ground work for epic-type RPGs, etc.

Anyway, no surprise here. Miyamoto is my personal hero too and such.

 

[PxDn Ninja]

All names are excellent to be on the list, though I would have swapped a couple of names around.

Instead of Blow and Dave Jones, I would have had Kojima and Shaffer.

 

[PxDn Ninja]

I can't believe that one guy actually called him "Miyamoto-san". What a weeabo Japanophile dickweed.

It's called being respectful to someone. Might try looking into it.

 

[ShadowKirby]

I'm glad Sid Meier's there, although I reckon he should be top of the list. He's a veritable genius.

In concurrence.

Also what has the Zelda series done that's innovative, they are [b/]great[/b] games but nothing that was revolutionary?

The Legend of Zelda was the first game to have a save feature.

Miyamoto is great because he was able to take personal experience and create imaginative games out of them. Zelda came from his childhood adventures in the woods behind his home, Pikmin came from his love of gardening and Wii Music came from his new interest in music.

 

[pigeon_of_doom]

Jonathan Blow is number 10? Wha...

That's a piss take. A developer with one successful game ahead of people like Kojima, Yu Suzuki, Yasumi Matsuno, Garriot, Michel Ancel, Shafer...*litany of names slowly fades out*

Well deserved top spot for Miyamoto imo, although perhaps the other developers are only jealous of his ability to constantly be involved in pioneering technology in money-printing devices. I almost wish Cliffy B was in there, just to see the outrage it would provoke.

 

[Asehujiko]

Does that guy do anything at all other then heading press conferences and receiving a lot of cash? Carmack should have been first for his actual achievements. There aren't many directors who actually outperform their employees when it comes to coding things.