The results of Time's online poll to determine the "World's Most Influential People in 2009," as decided by the mouth-breathing internet, has ranked Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto as the world's 42nd most influential person.
That's one spot behind pop star Miley Cyrus, which might sting a bit for Mr. Miyamoto, but many, many spots ahead of people who have actual influence. Miyamoto scored a spot much higher than folks like Pope Benedict XVI, the Dalai Lama and United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The creator of Donkey Kong and Mario sits far below 4chan founder "moot," however, who crushed the competition thanks to people who know how to use the internet really, really well.
The only other gaming personality to rank was Will Wright, who missed the Top 100 by a good 47 spots. Better luck next year, Will.
For Time's 2008 version of the publicly voted list, Miyamoto landed at numero uno. Clearly after the release of Wii Music, the man's good faith with the teeming masses has dipped.
Your TIME 100 [Time.com]