Miyamoto to keynote GDC

Nintendo's star game designer will headline San Francisco's Game Developers Conference in March.

Shigeru Miyamoto, the man dubbed "the Spielberg of Video Games" by Time magazine, will be putting in a rare public performance at this year's Game Developers Conference.

Miyamoto originally joined Nintendo back in 1977 as an artist and was tasked with designing one of Nintendo's first coin-op arcade games, Donkey Kong, which was first released in 1981. Since then, he has worked on more than 100 Nintendo games, including Wii Sports, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Nintendogs, Metroid Prime, Luigi's Mansion, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

He was also the creator of Nintendo's best-known character and mascot--Mario, originally called Jump Man. Miyamoto currently holds the position of Nintendo's senior managing director and general manager of its entertainment analysis and development division. His next release, Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii console, is expected later in 2007.

In the keynote address, called "A Creative Vision," Miyamoto will be discussing how a singular creative vision drives his work both in software and in developing hardware technology and will then "challenge the audience to apply his approach in their own distinctive style."

Other confirmed speakers include Nintendo's software development manager and producer, Eiji Aonuma. In "Twilight Reflections in the Hourglass," the Nintendo veteran of 19 years will discuss the evolution of the Zelda series, the challenges posed by his most demanding Zelda game to date--Twilight Princess--and also his current project, Phantom Hourglass.

Also speaking will be Mario and Zelda composer Koji Kondo with "Painting an Interactive Musical Landscape." Square-Enix's chief strategist, Ichiro Otobe, will be providing the keynote address for the Serious Games Summit, while maverick Suda-15 (Goichi Suda), the boss of Grasshopper (Killer7, Contact), will be talking on the topic "Punk's Not Dead."

GDC 2007 will take place March 5-9 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco.

122 Comments

  • fon1988

    Posted Feb 26, 2007 3:42 pm PT

    Well as a huge Nintendo fan, I can't wait to hear about what Miyamoto will talk about, and I hope we all finally get an update on Super Mario Galaxy. Nintendo has stolen the ball this time around and have improved on just about everything that has ever brought them to where they are now. Long live Nintendo!

  • Zacek1000

    Posted Feb 26, 2007 1:22 pm PT

    Great, very interesting speakers!

  • gigabrowser12

    Posted Feb 9, 2007 4:00 pm PT

    Cool. I hope phantom hourglass is good.

  • Super_Mario_man

    Posted Feb 8, 2007 3:58 pm PT

    This will live up to all the hype

  • aflactive

    Posted Feb 5, 2007 1:29 pm PT

    I really hope Metroid Prime 3 has online support...and SSBB too.

  • Tudio

    Posted Jan 28, 2007 2:36 pm PT

    nice topics for each speaker

  • acid_ice

    Posted Jan 27, 2007 8:34 pm PT

    same as Poodishplayer

  • tylerdurden-x

    Posted Jan 26, 2007 3:04 pm PT

    let me correct Time magazine. Spielberg is the Miyamoto of films! Nuff said

  • Poodishplayer

    Posted Jan 26, 2007 1:44 pm PT

    Oh God... I hope they release more info about Super Smash Bros. Brawl in this conference... I mean, im kinda excited about Metriod Prime 3 and all, but there were only 2 reasons I got a Wii: Twilight Princess and Brawl. And since I beat Zelda about 2 weeks after it was released, all I have REALLY had to look forward to is Brawl... Can't wait (still play melee for 5 hours every week with friends!)

  • NandoSupes

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 7:44 pm PT

    Shigeru Miyamoto is without a doubt the greatest video game designer of all time,just ask any video game designer who has not been inspired more by him.

  • Logeth

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 1:58 pm PT

    Sure, the Wii might have weak hardware when looking at the specs. But the thing is, Nintendo knows exactly how to use that hardware to its fullest. I've just played Zelda: Twilight Princess through, and I'd say (like iheartmario... ) it beats the pants off of Gears of War. As far as I know, GoW is pretty much the standard shooter - go there, shoot whatever moves, repeat. It's a nice and good-looking game, but I think it's overrated. The Legend of Zelda has much more feel to it, and the graphics are just as good if you ask me. And not to mention the controls... Aim your bow with the Wii Remote and you won't want to go back to a pair of control sticks. The day I got it, I was at school for 3 hours. I played Zelda almost 8 hours, and could hardly go to bed at night.

    But I agree Nintendo could need more third party developers. It's just that it seems they look at the graphics first... And that's where Nintendo falls behind. But still, Wii is powerful and the online possibilities are quite good. Can't wait 'til SSB Brawl comes out... hope that'll support online play

    Well, I guess what I'm really trying to say is that at least I think that quality of the GAMES is a lot more important than having a ridiculously powerful, expensive console. Logeth out.

  • Stonetowerghost

    Posted Jan 24, 2007 11:45 am PT

    iheartmario, i have never seen anyone in this world comment better than you ever, you see, the reason im not buying a wii is 90% it will suffer like gamecube and 10% im looking out for the online (what i mean by "90% it will suffer like gamecube" is that 90% of the reason im not buying a wii is becuz...)
    so please 3rd party people PLEASE make this console have really good and a plentiful amount of 3rd party games, then nintendo, you have +1 wii from me and many many others and for that to happen nintendo, you should care less about extremely violent games and accept al like you friends sony and microsoft and also, support online very much because apparently 3rd party is very fond of it -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    MoodyFlame, have you not seen the sales for Wii versus PS3? The Wii is outselling that thing by millions. I go to stores quite a bit, and all I see is several dusty PS3s in the cases, and no Wiis to be found. My cousin just bought one, and so many people showed up at Circuit City that MANY went home empty handed. Vouchers were handed out to assure first come-first serve. All I ever here about is the Wii's success, and a guy actually had his cash out, and then decided not to buy a PS3 when he heard the price. He said Sony's F@cking crazy. The success of Nintendo's Wii is a span from the DS which is extremely popular; Much more than the PSP. Why does every store I go to have zero Wiis, but PS3s are stacked up in dusty piles. If that's not success, what is? Iheartmario, don't worry, every platform takes a while to grow from launch. Everything's coming together.

  • 2w-sephiroth

    Posted Jan 24, 2007 6:05 am PT

    I hope that the Wii sells like hotcakes so we get a much more sharper suport from third delepoment. Ubisoft is doing great and I thank em. We need some other publisher that simply concentrates with the wii (I hope that the guys behind rare that left rare could come back)

  • MoodyFlame

    Posted Jan 23, 2007 11:39 pm PT

    iheartmario, i have never seen anyone in this world comment better than you ever, you see, the reason im not buying a wii is 90% it will suffer like gamecube and 10% im looking out for the online (what i mean by "90% it will suffer like gamecube" is that 90% of the reason im not buying a wii is becuz...)
    so please 3rd party people PLEASE make this console have really good and a plentiful amount of 3rd party games, then nintendo, you have +1 wii from me and many many others and for that to happen nintendo, you should care less about extremely violent games and accept al like you friends sony and microsoft and also, support online very much because apparently 3rd party is very fond of it

  • iheartmario

    Posted Jan 23, 2007 3:26 pm PT

    1. Miyamoto = the Man
    2. I'm really really pushing for more Third Party Developers to get involved and get EXCITED over the Wii. I worry that it will suffer just at the Gamecube did. The Gamecube software consisted of strong first-party releases, but the third party games dwindled and ranged from liscened children's games to crappy ports. I want developers, like Ubisoft is, to be excited about the Wii and make some games. The list at this point is looking distressingly Gamecube-ish.
    3. Phantom Hourglass will rock.
    4. Mario Galaxy better beat the pants off ot Mario Sunshine.

  • Superlink00

    Posted Jan 23, 2007 10:17 am PT

    No Reggie Fils-Aime?

  • robzan

    Posted Jan 23, 2007 10:16 am PT

    Miyamote...That spells respect!

  • Sil3n7Knight

    Posted Jan 23, 2007 8:48 am PT

    Man I cannot wait to hear his words of divine wisdom!

  • gatsbythepig

    Posted Jan 23, 2007 7:00 am PT

    Miyamoto is awesome

  • DuckSol

    Posted Jan 23, 2007 6:12 am PT

    I didn't even know Aonuma would be speaking also. New Phantom Hourglass footage confirmed... Seriously though, the speakers representing Nintendo (Miyamoto, Aonuma, and Kondo) will definitely give at least some insight into where Nintendo is taking the Wii... if they continue their tradition of revealing something big at the GDC.

  • GKBeetle

    Posted Jan 23, 2007 5:55 am PT

    I remember a game called Jumpman for the Commodore 64. That dude did not look anything like Mario. I wonder if the game was related to Mario or if it was something totally different. The game was a lot of fun anyway, so I wouldn't be surprised to find out it was made by Shigeru Miyamoto.

  • Rect_Pola

    Posted Jan 23, 2007 5:46 am PT

    Sweet. They better post these keynotes.

  • Dolacide

    Posted Jan 23, 2007 1:30 am PT

    Sounds like a great group of speakers.

  • cobrax80

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 9:42 pm PT

    Awesome!, but nobody should get their hopes up

  • link-rune3472

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 7:16 pm PT

    "jump man" ah good times goood times

  • dudeperson2006

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 6:48 pm PT

    Jump Man i didnt know that that was what Mario was orriginally called

  • faridmon

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 6:37 pm PT

    did i read that right? did you say Suda51 (Goichi Suda) and Shiguru Myamoto?
    ok. now i need to cance my plans for March 5-9, lets see: - cancel my date, no more school in these days, ahh, preparing a locker so i could lock all my games, lets see, no more for Everton checking news for me, and set..... and yeah i need a snacks and am ready to go.
    *finger crosses for new F-Zero game on the Wii*

  • luis_aek

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 5:37 pm PT

    Miyamoto, creator of the earth and the heavens, will rule the planet industry of video games as fast as he does his perfect job. I do really like his games, mostly The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, for N64™ and Wii™, respectively.

  • teknicz

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 5:26 pm PT

    Koji Kondo is what I usually see it written as...

  • MJOLNIR562

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 5:24 pm PT

    i think it will be awsome but i hope the game isnt all cracked out and hard using the nunchuck, just hoping the nunchukedness doesnt ruin one of the best franchises out there

  • Samus_Aran_18

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 5:01 pm PT

    Ive heard that Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3 are coming to Aus in April...

  • Plucking

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 4:45 pm PT

    i didnt ever think that "punks not dead" would make it into a video game conference... ahh it brings back junior high haha

  • wooooode

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 4:41 pm PT

    We should get a Galaxy release date and possible MP3 date at this time along with some new projects I hope.

  • haiyami72

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 4:28 pm PT

    miyamoto = genius

  • Re_ensurer

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 4:23 pm PT

    Mario aka "Jump Man."

  • YearoftheSnake5

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 4:22 pm PT

    This should be interesting.

  • DouglasBuffone

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 4:21 pm PT

    Shiggy! I love that guy, notice the avatar people?!

  • PuffstaJones

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 4:06 pm PT

    god i love miyamoto

  • IpodHero176

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 3:56 pm PT

    Sweeeeet

  • Siddiqui

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 3:56 pm PT

    I usually see it as Koji Kondo. But it's a Japanese name anyway, so there's no real 'right' way to spell it.

  • omega397

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 3:50 pm PT

    Hooray!!!!1

  • crithon

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 3:49 pm PT

    this is very important because a lot of people criticize Japanese developers to be more distence to the USA and Europe. At least Nintendo is trying to go out of it's way to make itself a presence and share to other developers. I doubt Miyamoto isn't going to add anything new since he hasn't made a game since Orcarina of Time and has worked more as a mascot for Nintendo, still he's brining Eiji Aonuma and Suda-15 very influential game developers.

  • HyperMetaDragon

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 3:26 pm PT

    I thought it was Koji Kondo, not Koji Condo...whatever, sounds interesting, looking forward to SMG.

  • luigimario_64

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 2:49 pm PT

    They spelled "Koji Kondo" wrong......

    But yes, this is exciting.

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 2:43 pm PT

    Woot!

  • Kbs64

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 2:41 pm PT

    You just wait, When get a new Miyamoto game, everyone's going to say, "oh that how Wii games are supposed to work". Then we'll see Wii games with good control.

  • Nomad013

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 2:40 pm PT

    the man the industry believes can do no wrong, where games are concerned. it should at least be interesting to see what he has to say...

  • DrCLos

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 2:15 pm PT

    Too bad I live in LA. I would LOVE to go see these living legends speak. It would be such a great experience.

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 2:15 pm PT

    looks cool. hopefully there will be some good news about more wii games...the selection right now is rather limited...

  • djayshaggy

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 1:48 pm PT

    I'm so excited. I was debating on going or not because it costs so much, but I'm definately gonna go now.

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