Shigeru Miyamoto is going to receive a high honor from the Japanese government, as he has been selected to be the recipient of the Person of Cultural Merit award, which is given out annually to people who have made a cultural impact in Japan.
It's not hyperbole to say that Miyamoto is one of the most important figures in the history of video games. Miyamoto is the creator of series like Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, and he was pivotal in the development of other popular series, such as Pokémon. The library of titles that Miyamoto has worked on has included some of the greatest video games of all time.
Miyamoto's contributions to the world of video games will be officially recognized by the Japanese government in 2019, as Senkai News is reporting that he has been named as a recipient of the Person of Cultural Merit award, which is an honor given to those who had made a positive impact to the culture of Japan. The previous recipients of the award include artists, actors, athletes, scientists, and writers. Miyamoto will be the first video game developer to receive the award.
It's hard to think of any other video game developer more deserving of this honor than Miyamoto. His accomplishments in the video game industry are comparable to that of Stan Lee and the comic book industry. Without Miyamoto, some of the most important video game franchises of all time would never exist. The history of video games is littered with his work and its surprising that it took so long for him to be honored in this way in his own country.
Miyamoto has been a key player at Nintendo since the '70s and doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. He told Senkai News that "We will continue to do everything we can to avoid retirement. We want to make people around the world smile", so it doesn't seem as if he plans on hanging up his hat at Nintendo just yet.
The ceremony for the 2019 Person of Cultural Merit award will be held on November 3.
Source: Senkai News