Master Miyamoto takes BAFTA Fellowship

Nintendo talisman Shigeru Miyamoto has this week been honoured for his inestimable impact on the game industry – picking up the highest prize the BAFTAs has to offer.

The 57 year old Mario and Zelda creator has become the newest entertainment icon to receive a BAFTA Fellowship – an award handed over some thirty years after Miyamoto started his career in game development.

Humbly accepting the award in London on Friday, Miyamoto insisted that he couldn’t have created his works on his own.

He added, “I made first game when I was 27 years old, and looking in the faces of people in front of me tonight, reminds me that I am getting very old.”

Miyamoto said he was lucky to get a job that involved making videogames from the dawn of the industry, adding that he was embarrassed to receive such an award.

His place in the hall of BAFTA Fellows puts him next to the likes of Alfred Hitchcock, David Attenborough, Nolan Bushnell, Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick, Will Wright, Dame Judi Dench and Sir Anthony Hopkins.

Miyamoto said he makes games with an eye on how people play rather than the content being coded in.

“So instead of focusing on content, I am more interested in atmosphere where player can interact with each other,” he said.

“Our imagination and creativity takes us to countless fascinating places were we hope to make new experiences for people of all ages. This I call a recipe for joy.”

Go here to read the winners list in full.