A Belated Birthday Salute to Shigeru Miyamoto, the Craziest Man in Video Games

Nintendo's resident games design guru, Shigeru Miyamoto, is known for two things. Firstly, creating some of the most enduring and endearing franchises in history. Secondly, pausing during interviews to whip out his banjo (literally, that's not a dick euphemism) like the mad bastard he is. Today, we're celebrating only one of these things.

Because, hell, we like the banjo. Almost as much as that bald dude from Deliverance.

But anywho. Now 61, Miyamoto has been with Nintendo since 1977. At that time, these newfangled ‘video game' things were practically unheard of, and considered the kind of witchcraft that would get your balls roasted at the stake in most parts of the world. Still, as with most technological matters, Japan was light-years ahead in this area, and this young apprentice would show the company the way.

His first project as Nintendo artist was the decrepit and craptacular arcade shooter Sheriff. But we'll forgive him, because next up was the much ballyhooed Donkey Kong. This Popeye-inspired tale (Bluto is easy to mistake for a big ol' hairy-assed gorilla, after all) introduced the world to both the ape and Mario himself. Instrumental as he was in the design of these icons, credit must also go to the man who told Miyamoto, Jumpman? Let's be frank, Shigeru, that's a bit shit, right there. How about... Mario?

Y'know, that being totally how it happened and all.

From those humble beginnings, he gave non-bloody, non-screamy birth to some of Nintendo's hottest properties. Quite apart from Super Mario as we know it, Sir Shigeru also brought the world Zelda, F-Zero, Starfox, the particularly lunatic Pikmin, and more besides. He has served as director and/or producer for such ball-busting blockbusters as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

So, to sum up, birthday salutations, Shigeru Miyamoto (it was actually November 16, but let's not get pernickety).