Miyamoto Voted The Game Developers’ Game Developer Hero
Top 10 industry development heroes revealed
A survey commissioned by the Develop Conference (14-16 July, Brighton) has revealed that Japanese games legend Shigeru Miyamoto is the game developers’ game development hero.
In a poll of 9,000 game developers from across the globe, almost one third (30 per cent) of respondents recognised Miyamoto as their ultimate development hero, ahead of an impressive top ten, which reads as follows:
1. Shigeru Miyamoto - often referred to as ‘the father of modern video games’ for his role in creating legendary games franchises Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Pikmin and F-Zero and titles such as Nintendogs and Wii Music
2. John Cormack – cofounder of id Software and lead programmer on Doom and Quake
3. Will Wright - co-founder of Maxis and brains behind SimCity and The Sims franchise and, more recently, Spore. He now runs entertainment think tank Stupid Fun Club
4. Dave Jones* - founder of Realtime Worlds (Crackdown, All Points Bulletin) and co-founder of Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design), Jones created major game series Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto
5. Sid Meier – founder of MicroProse and developer of Civilization. Second person to be inducted in the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame behind Shigeru Miyamoto
6. Peter Molyneux, OBE** - creator of God games Dungeon Keeper, Populous and Black & White, as well as Theme Park, Fable and Fable 2
7. David Braben*** - Brit programmer and founder of Frontier, Braben is best known for co-writing the hugely popular Elite. The studio’s work on The Outsider promises to deliver yet another ground-breaking title and a number of gameplay firsts
8. Masaya Matsuura**** – famed for pushing the frontiers of computer music, Masaya took the games industry by storm with the release of PaRappa The Rapper, winning notable awards and changing the landscape of gaming forever
9. Michael Morhaime – president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, the legendary creator of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo series and the world’s biggest MMORPG World of Warcraft
10. Jonathan Blow – developer of award-winning title Braid
“It’s no surprise that Miyamoto-san is the development hero of developers – over the last thirty years he has created games that have not only driven the evolution of the games industry but also changed people’s lives. He has mastered the art of developing titles that are innovative but never at the cost of gameplay: games that are ground breaking, yet still mass market,” said Andy Lane, managing director of Tandem Events, organiser of the Develop Conference in Brighton.
“And we’re thrilled that three of the top 10 development heroes – Dave Jones, David Braben and Masaya Matsuura – will be addressing delegates at this year’s Develop Conference in Brighton, which runs from 14-16 July.”
Notes to editors:
* David Jones is presenting the conference keynote at Develop at 0930 on Wednesday 15 July 2009
** Peter Molyneux sits on the Develop Conference advisory board
*** David Braben is presenting at 1330 on Wednesday 15 July 2009
**** Masaya Matsuura is presenting It’s Time for Music Games 2.0 at 1430 on Thursday 16 July 2009
To purchase conference passes, please visit www.developconference.com
About the Develop Conference: The fourth Develop Conference will take place at the Hilton Metropole in Brighton, UK, from 14-16 July 2009. It attracts around 1200 game developers from over 30 different territories and has become firmly established as the leading conference for European games developers. Delegates can apply for conference passes at: www.developconference.com
The Expo pass is free of charge.
Evolve - a new addition to the programme for 2009 - will focus on how to develop games for new platforms including mobile, iPhone and XBLA, new technologies and new markets like social and casual gaming. It opens on Tuesday 14 July then continues with individual sessions within the main conference programme on Wednesday 15 July, which are cross-discipline and have a more general appeal.
Running alongside Evolve will be GAMES:EDU, a one-day conference, which brings together the UK's foremost educators from across all disciplines to connect directly with developers and games producers, to exchange ideas and perspectives.
About Tandem Events: Tandem Events has over 20 years of experience in organising market-leading exhibitions, conferences and events across a number of industry sectors, including the Develop Conference, Develop Evolve, GAMES:EDU, Games Marketing Forum, Casual Games Forum and Games Grads.
In a poll of 9,000 game developers from across the globe, almost one third (30 per cent) of respondents recognised Miyamoto as their ultimate development hero, ahead of an impressive top ten, which reads as follows:
1. Shigeru Miyamoto - often referred to as ‘the father of modern video games’ for his role in creating legendary games franchises Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Pikmin and F-Zero and titles such as Nintendogs and Wii Music
2. John Cormack – cofounder of id Software and lead programmer on Doom and Quake
3. Will Wright - co-founder of Maxis and brains behind SimCity and The Sims franchise and, more recently, Spore. He now runs entertainment think tank Stupid Fun Club
4. Dave Jones* - founder of Realtime Worlds (Crackdown, All Points Bulletin) and co-founder of Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design), Jones created major game series Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto
5. Sid Meier – founder of MicroProse and developer of Civilization. Second person to be inducted in the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame behind Shigeru Miyamoto
6. Peter Molyneux, OBE** - creator of God games Dungeon Keeper, Populous and Black & White, as well as Theme Park, Fable and Fable 2
7. David Braben*** - Brit programmer and founder of Frontier, Braben is best known for co-writing the hugely popular Elite. The studio’s work on The Outsider promises to deliver yet another ground-breaking title and a number of gameplay firsts
8. Masaya Matsuura**** – famed for pushing the frontiers of computer music, Masaya took the games industry by storm with the release of PaRappa The Rapper, winning notable awards and changing the landscape of gaming forever
9. Michael Morhaime – president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, the legendary creator of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo series and the world’s biggest MMORPG World of Warcraft
10. Jonathan Blow – developer of award-winning title Braid
“It’s no surprise that Miyamoto-san is the development hero of developers – over the last thirty years he has created games that have not only driven the evolution of the games industry but also changed people’s lives. He has mastered the art of developing titles that are innovative but never at the cost of gameplay: games that are ground breaking, yet still mass market,” said Andy Lane, managing director of Tandem Events, organiser of the Develop Conference in Brighton.
“And we’re thrilled that three of the top 10 development heroes – Dave Jones, David Braben and Masaya Matsuura – will be addressing delegates at this year’s Develop Conference in Brighton, which runs from 14-16 July.”
Notes to editors:
* David Jones is presenting the conference keynote at Develop at 0930 on Wednesday 15 July 2009
** Peter Molyneux sits on the Develop Conference advisory board
*** David Braben is presenting at 1330 on Wednesday 15 July 2009
**** Masaya Matsuura is presenting It’s Time for Music Games 2.0 at 1430 on Thursday 16 July 2009
To purchase conference passes, please visit www.developconference.com
About the Develop Conference: The fourth Develop Conference will take place at the Hilton Metropole in Brighton, UK, from 14-16 July 2009. It attracts around 1200 game developers from over 30 different territories and has become firmly established as the leading conference for European games developers. Delegates can apply for conference passes at: www.developconference.com
The Expo pass is free of charge.
Evolve - a new addition to the programme for 2009 - will focus on how to develop games for new platforms including mobile, iPhone and XBLA, new technologies and new markets like social and casual gaming. It opens on Tuesday 14 July then continues with individual sessions within the main conference programme on Wednesday 15 July, which are cross-discipline and have a more general appeal.
Running alongside Evolve will be GAMES:EDU, a one-day conference, which brings together the UK's foremost educators from across all disciplines to connect directly with developers and games producers, to exchange ideas and perspectives.
About Tandem Events: Tandem Events has over 20 years of experience in organising market-leading exhibitions, conferences and events across a number of industry sectors, including the Develop Conference, Develop Evolve, GAMES:EDU, Games Marketing Forum, Casual Games Forum and Games Grads.
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Shigeru Miyamoto