Kotaku
Nintendo luminary Shigeru Miyamoto tops the list of Time Magazine's Most Influential People of 2008, as determined by reader vote, soundly demonstrating that he is more important to the entire universe than Al Gore, Heidi Klum, Stephen Colbert and a Korean pop star named Rain.
55 year-old Miyamoto, who's never been on a Time cover, comes out on top in his very first outing on the list with 1,949,634 votes, an achievement that foretells a future populated with towering statues in his likeness. Here's Time's stats on him:
PRO: As if creating Mario, Donkey Kong, and The Legend of Zelda weren't enough, the "father of modern video gaming" is still designing franchises for Nintendo and its best-selling Wii console. His latest, Super Mario Galaxy, redefines VG physics once again with its springy re-imagining of that old chestnut, gravity.CON: Can he reverse gravity for all the obese, video game-playing kids out there? Miyamoto himself has said that the purpose of his Wii Fit game, with its balance board and full-body focus, isn't to make you fit, but "aware of your body." Aware enough to go outside before atherosclerosis sets in?
Your TIME 100 [TIME]
Comments
Go Shiggy!
So did he beat Rain?
Shows you what Nintendo fans can do.
I agree.
How is that con even really a con? An iffy one at best, but could even be a pro. How many other designers out there have made a successful game with the word "Fit" in it?
@Ryumeka: Unfortunately so.
I like that he beat out Rain but there are other people doing more important work that deserves mention from an *ahem* "respected" publication such as Time magazine.
Gotta admit, he was a big part of influencing how I grew up...a feeling that would appear to be mutual for the majority. Glad to see him get a nod.
Is this somehow tied to that article in which Rain won last year?
Because that was rally cry enough for me.
And rain still beat colbert... bah!
@RPGr: Quite.
Miyamoto was somewhat influential back in 1992 or something. If anything, he's just ruining 'gaming' and making me angry nowadays.
I know I'll get a lot of attacks but Mario Galaxy was easy, fun for the first few planets and overrated terribly.
Wow, that's amazing. Gamers FTW, indeed.
This was up on Digg, well when the voting started, and easily nabbed him 8k+ votes.
Go MIYAMOTO!
In the original entry of this post, which has been deleted now, I commented that when he finally puts his influence to use and makes a game that isn't the same thing repackaged I'd actually say his place as #1 was deserved.
@RPGr: This isn't Time's top 100 list. This is just the result of their "users poll" which last year ended up being a mockery because of the feud between Rain (#1) and Colbert (#2).
Hell yeah! They forgot to mention how he is the second coming of Jesus...
hey ryumeka, ask any game developer of the games you think are great, and they will say the same thing, "Miyamoto is completely influencial, down to the last puzzle. withouth him, we would be playing crappy atari games"
If I'm a fanboy for any entertainment thing on this Earth, it's Stephen Colbert. He should be #1. Can't wait to see what he says on The Report about this.
He'll probably blame it on Bears though. Godless, Marauding, killing machines.
*waits for screams claiming Time magazine readers are a bunch of Nintendo fanboys*
VIVA MIYAMOTO!
If the world was ran by Miyamoto, we would all be running around in his garden (world size) eating mushroom's and other power-up's and having a good time.
Gee, I wonder what that implies?
Steven Colbert isn't going to be happy.
@Roto13: It's most likely just a handful of Nintendrones spreading the word.
@Ryumeka: You're free to have your own opinion, as wrong as it is. ;)
And who rounded out the bottom of the the list????
You guessed it. The DALAI LAMA.
Proving once again how ridiculous and worthless internet polls are.
@RPGr: It's called "Most Influential" not "Most Important". I'm sure many kids are influenced by sports stars but how important is hitting or throwing a ball? This is when reading comes in handy.
@Ryumeka: Ryumeka hate new things! Innovation bad! Miyamoto bad! Ryumeka smash!
@Ryumeka:
He isn't ruining gaming, no one is. Gaming is not yours, so adapt and please PLEASE stop shouting 'person x/System y is ruining gaming'. I thought we got over this last year.
As for the time - nomination. Good for him. Though I always feel a bit bad with these 'awards' of some sort. I'd rather have awards that target a team or a company. The time that one person can be significant in a whole area has passed in my opinion, and it would make a lot more people happy.
Well I can understand Miyamoto being there but Rain? How is Rain so influential? Of course I only know him as some Korean pop star so unless he's helping the world in some aspect someone needs to explain this to me. I wonder how Colbert will deal with this.
We'll never hear the end of this :)
@dsmx:
What about Stephen Colbert? I think he'd be more offended...
@Fallible: You mean just like GTA, MGS, Gran Turismo, Madden, Final Fantasy, Halo, Call of Duty, Devil May Cry, and the Elder Scrolls series just continue to be "repackaged," right? Because I just want to clarify.
*looks at the top 5*
*looks at watch*
Aaaaaannnnnnd........ Now.
*world catches on fire*
@mva5580: thumbs up
@mva5580:
In fairness, GTA IV was considered better than Ocarina of Time, something none of the more recent Nintendo offerings (Twilight Princess, Galaxy, Brawl, Prime 3, and Kart Wii) have been able to accomplish.
@Fallible: Or you know, take initiative for something that matters. Or at the very least make Nintendo not the least eco-friendly of the big 3.
What a joke.
@mva5580: Yep, GTAIV is exactly like London in it's boring storyline and 'nothing-special' cinematic views. MGS hasn't told a good story since the NES has it? Call of Duty hasn't taken the step from WWII shooters into Modern Warfare and added a multiplayer system that has become vastly successful. This entire paragraph is, of course, sarcasm. The next one isn't.
I'm inclined to agree with FF, Halo and DMC. I don't know enough about Elder Scrolls to comment but the rest is generic material that's churned out and given acclaim.
@Metropolis:
What's so great about the Dalai Lama?
Seriously. He's not a holy man. He's just a deposed leader in exile.
I just hope Miyamoto being #1 is because he actually earned that much respect from people and not because he somehow won out in the "Let's make this internet poll a total joke between the Mario guy, a C-list Mortal Kombat character and Steven Colbert". That would make me sad.
Lame. Stephen Colbert should have won. This also makes me wonder what will happen with Colbert's challenge to Rain to have him come on the show.
It's fun to see Miyamoto at the top but the rest of the list reveals a lame celebrity worship, which should probably be expected but that doesn't temper my sinking realization that this reader vote means little to Time's real selection process.
The best man won.
@MehGinla: Global warming is everyones problem, you shouldn't be awarded for doing something that you should be inclined to do anyway. That's the joke.
+ Watch video
Well it looks like Miyamoto wont out again. I love that guy! Hey everybody!!! Lets dance!!
I think he won because Rain fans downvoted Colbert. Colbert fans downvoted Rain and voted Colbert. Its possible that a percent of the two groups also voted a high score for Miyamoto. Yay!
I hope Stephen Colbert makes a big deal about this on his next show. When Rain beat him he made a Korean music video... who knows what he'll do for Miyamoto.
@Truvill: Clearly, then, the next step of evolution is to have a collaboration between Rockstar and Nintendo EAD to create 'Grand Theft Triforce: Kakariko'.
...what? I'd buy it.
@nintend0nick: Can't be. If that was the case I'd be gone right now...^_<
Really? He won? So... this must have been an internet poll then, right?
@exstrat: it's called drugs
Sorry to come of crass but what the fuck has he done to influence so many peoples lives? I'm sure he's made things that have given people fun and enjoyment but so have others... he's made more fun then anyone else or something or is it that fun is on the list of priorities that must be dealt with by influential people. Shenanigans! I call shenanigans!
Ahhhh... I had that hate pent up since yesterday. It's good to let it all out on someone. Thank god Miyamoto came along ore someone I love would be very angry at me right now. Thanks again Nintendo <3
Ahahaha, humans are dumb.
@Sinnix: Of course, who would you have chosen Kaz Hirai??
This calls for celebration!
[nintendoolander.ytmnd.com]
not forgetting, if he hadn't made Super Mario Bros. we wouldn't be playing video games since the 80's...
@WhoreofSpamylon: Wake me Up! Before you go go!
If it was 1985, then yeah. But now? What?
@VakeroRokero: Oh please. That was a home console vdeogame crash. Arcades were fine.
LOL, Super Mario Galaxy redefined Gaming Physics? Seriously??
@Truvill: Who said GTA 4 is better then OoT? No way in a million hells is it even close...
None of the people you mentioned in the article(including Miyamoto) should be listed as "most influential" of the year. Maybe Al Gore, but that's debatable.
@I_Hate_This_Place: Who then, who has done anything this year besides kill gas price's and bring down economies? Miyamoto influence's people every year to do all sorts of things, but I would like to hear your list of people.
Well, that sure sounds like something the internet's community of millions of gamers would do when presented with a ballot box :-/
I like my video games easy. If they're hard, they take up time from a) real life and b) other video games. Would you watch a movie knowing that there's a chance you'd have to re-watch ten minutes of it over and over fifteen times before you can see the last three? No. You wouldn't.