Shigeru Miyamoto has been nominated for inclusion in the Time 100, the magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2006.
Miyamoto, legendary among gamers of all stripes as the most prolifically successful videogame designer of all time, received the nomination for his continued success in the games industry. The Time 100 website describes him as, “Most successful game designer, creator of Super Mario, Donkey Kong and The Legend of Zelda, whose new platform, the Wii, is currently the top-selling game console.”
The magazine also notes, however, that “his perfectionist tendencies often result in games being significantly delayed,” as well as the Wii’s lackluster graphics in comparison to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Gamers appear unconcerned with these supposedly-negative points; as of April 24, Miyamoto was ranked second in online voting, behind only Stephen Colbert, and ahead of such luminaries as J.K. Rowling, Bono and Bill Gates.
The Time 100 list was first published in 1999 as a list of the 100 most influential individuals of the 20th century, and became an annual ranking in 2004. In spite of his long history of success in the videogame industry, Miyamoto has never before been included in the list.
