Proving that no bit of news is to trivial for E3, Computer and Video Games presents (via a Nintendo press release) a list of the presenters planned for tomorrow's Nintendo press conference. They are:

• Nintendo Co Ltd. President Satoru Iwata
• Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime
• Designer/producer/supervisor/god Shigeru Miyamoto
• NOA Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing Cammie Dunaway
• NOA Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Affairs Denise Kaigler

Exciting, no? Really, there's nothing especially revelatory about this list of speakers. The question remains though, what will they all speak about? We'll find out tomorrow morning at 9 AM Pacific. Until then, of course, rampant speculation is welcome using the comments link below.

Though we usually award it to a particularly irascible commenter, the latest Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award simply cannot be pried from the clutches of one Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Donkey Kong, Mario, Zelda and just about half of your best childhood memories.

Tucked inside Wired's 15th Anniversary retrospective, a quick interview with the renowned developer reveals his secret to maintaining "quality control" in a company as large as Nintendo. "I'm always instructing my game designers on the history of the characters and worlds we've created," says Miyamoto. "Often we're in development and I'll say, 'Oh, this looks like a Sega game. We need to make it look more like Mario.'"

Oh my. Not to worry, Sega, at least Mr. Miyamoto knows about your games. He's never even heard of Ratchet & Whatshisface.

Following Time Magazine's announcement of Shigeru Miyamoto as the most influential person of the year (as chosen by you!), The New York Times has a lengthy biography of the legendary game designer, focused around a candid talk with the man.

Among other things, Miyamoto discusses his emphasis on gameplay over characters (it sounded strange to us too), and Nintendo's transition from fantasy games to those grounded in reality. He also briefly discusses Wii Music, Nintendo's original music title, which will emphasize creating original musical compositions, unlike Guitar Hero or Rock Band. More details on Wii Music are expected this summer.

WiiWare's up and running now in North America and not a single one of those games comes from the big N itself. Speaking to Wired, Shigeru Miyamoto, head of Nintendo's game development division, says the company wanted to foster indie games, which are more prolific in the US than Japan, with Wiiware. In fact, Miyamoto says, "I think America has always been better at creating unique products."

Excuse us one moment while we crack open a Bud and beat our chests ... OK, back. Miyamoto explains that US indie developers have managed to acquire the skills and hardware needed to "let their own personality and their own kind of unique interests really flourish." Asked if he would ever consider getting involved in making a small-scale game again, the Nintendo guru responded that it might be "fun" to do.

You did it! You helped beat out politicians, celebs, scientists, babes, a funny man, and even a weather-oriented Korean pop star. You've nominated fitness guru Shigeru Miyamoto as Time's (not officially Time's) most influential person of the year. Sure, this may appear to be just another pointless popularity contest, but never underestimate free advertising and its potential to sell a few more (million) Nintendo-brand scales later this month.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in. (Mr. Miyamoto thanks you too!)]

Our drinking buddies at GameDaily were invited to an exclusive, two-hour roundtable with Mr. Wii Fit himself, Shigeru Miyamoto yesterday, along with several other industry outlets like IGN. But Miyamoto also stretched his way over to 1UP and MTV News in what we can only imagine is the warmup of a pretty significant Wii Fit media blitz. While there isn't much you haven't already read in the Wii Fit installment of Nintendo's Iwata Asks series, there are a handful of interesting comments.

Iwata discussed a Wii Fit game modeled after Sumo wrestling, called "Ultimate Balance Test." It was pulled from the final product for being "too difficult" but, lucky for you Sumo wrestlers out there, will be available as a hidden game. While there's talk of a Wii Fit channel to bring additional content to the game, Miyamoto mentioned they've been "tinkering" with the idea of DS connectivity. He also talked about other uses for the Balance Board peripheral, suggesting they may incorporate it into other games – he pondered a rhythm game where you tap your feet – or even a Mario game, though it wouldn't likely be a requirement in that case.

A seemingly innocuous comment to 1UP – intended to assuage worries that Nintendo has gone totally casual – has curiously generated the most internet interest though: "The Zelda team is forming again to work on new games!" So, a team of developers that recently shipped a game are working on a new game? Incredible. But seriously folks, we're heartened to hear that too.


Read – Shigeru Miyamoto on Wii Fit [GameDaily]
Read – Creator Demos Wii Fit [IGN]
Read – Miyamoto on Wii Fit, Hardcore Gamers [1UP]
Read – Shigeru Miyamoto MTV Interview Preview [MTV Multiplayer]

In a new edition of the contrived Iwata Asks, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto and product development guy, Kenichiro Ashida, sit down with president Satoru Iwata to talk about the Wii Wheel shipping with Mario Kart Wii.

Ashida regales that in early 2007 the product development team got the first build of Mario Kart Wii and started messing around with developing a steering wheel. Some 30 prototypes laters the team had a design that was about the size of a real go-kart steering wheel and added a B button to the underside of the wheel for a child's fingers to reach. Mario Kart Wii drives into stores April 27... coincidentally, two days before that other driving game.

In the latest edition of "Iwata Asks," a series of articles in which Nintendo president and CEO Satoru Iwata interviews colleagues about their recent work, Shigeru Miyamoto finds himself discussing the origins of Wii Fit. Much like Pikmin and Nintendogs before it, the popular balancercise board has its roots in Miyamoto's everyday life. After a hectic work schedule heaped pressure and extra pounds onto the renowned designer's body, he swapped smoking for swimming and steadily grew more conscious of his body and his weight.

Next came a special diet which required frequent measurement and recording of body weight. "Personally, I quite enjoy doing things that become habitual, as if it was daily routine work," explains Miyamoto. "I put the scale and graph paper in the bathroom, and after continuing the pattern for a month, it became like a ritual before getting into the bath. I wasn't able to relax without doing it!" Transforming the habitual measurement into something fun was the next step, one that preceded months of prototyping and "upending the tea table" -- a reference to Miyamoto's tendency to make last-minute decisions and cause a panic right before a deadline.

Famitsu has published (via 1UP) the first part of its reader's choice awards looking back at the year in Japanese gaming. A number of gamers and retailers were given a questionnaire by the magazine, and this week's issue debuted the initial results.

The major winner is Nintendo, who topped the developer lists for both gamers and stores, the hardware lists (DS for retailers, the Wii for gamers), industry figures (Miyamoto), and even won the category for what kanji character represents 2007 best? (Readers picked "Nin," the first character of Nintendo's Japanese name.)

Capcom (thanks in no small part to the Monster Hunter series), Sony and Level 5 (Professor Layton) also placed high on the lists, and Mistwalker founder Hironobu Sakaguchi tied with Miyamoto on the stores' list of which industry figure put in the best showing. Conspicuously absent from the list? Microsoft. Okay, we're not that surprised.

Coy or truly confused, Nintendo's maestro has disputed Insomniac's cry for attention, firmly denying that Super Mario Galaxy's spherical worlds were torn out of a page from the Sony developer's Ratchet & Clank book. Miyamoto claims he and the gang were working to disprove the 'games are flat' theory back on N64, when Insomniac was merely taking its first baby steps into the industry (and, Ludwig, years before Sonic Adventure 2 pulled off 'the rounded level' – FYI). "I'm sorry but I have to admit that I've never seen the game in question," Miyamoto told Official Nintendo Magazine UK when questioned about Ratchet & Clank, "Is it a PC game?"

Nintendo's corporate Wii site has an "interview" between Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and Nintendo guru Shigeru Miyamoto, meaning it's not exactly the most authentic conversation you'll read this decade. There is, however, something interesting about Miyamoto's ideas on co-op in Super Mario Galaxy.

Now, if you read it on the American Wii site the headline is "Cooperative Game Play, a Secular Challenge," while on the British site it's "The Old Issue of Two-Player Play." Either way, Miyamoto explains that Galaxy was originally going to have more cooperative elements (like the second person might have controlled jumping, for instance), but a player would only end up getting in the other's way. By having the second player collecting things on screen and being able to point at objects, Miyamoto envisions parents being able to play with their children and the generations assisting each other in the experience. Considering Mario has always been a solo experience (or a player-at-bat concept), it'll be nice to have a friend or significant other be able to do something other than watch. It's a subtle co-op design choice, but one we can see other games picking up if it works.

Apologies to hasty readers who initially saw that as "Miyamoto makes out with Economist award." That isn't to say Nintendo's revered game designer is ungrateful to be in the company of an "Innovation Award for Consumer Goods," but his joy isn't likely to extend beyond a hearty smile, tinged with concern over just how many of these things that mantelpiece can support.

The UK publication announced its recognition of Shigeru Miyamoto's contribution to society at a ceremony held at London's Science Museum, reports MCV. Tom Standage, business editor at The Economist, added that when it comes to video games, Mario and his maker are quite unavoidable. "No one is more identified with modern video games than Shigeru Miyamoto," he said. "His pioneering vision and creativity truly created a new category of entertainment."

You won't catch us arguing with that. ('Specially not with the comments section activated.)

[Via DS Fanboy]

In an interview with Dean Takahashi, Shigeru Miyamoto said that Nintendo may introduce some new characters next year "in the same way [Nintendo] came up with Pikmin when [they] introduced the GameCube." While that's all well and good for getting us pumped for The Next Big Thing, we're more interested in Miyamoto's explanation of why it's taking so long.

"I guess I don't necessarily see my job as creating new characters as it is creating new experiences," he said, later adding, "For characters, we came up with the concept of the Miis and that allows people to come up with their own characters." So don't forget you read it here first, the next big Nintendo characters are Chuck Norris, Kenny, Dr. Zoidberg and, of course, indie rockers Wilco. Wow ... the next Smash Bros. is going to be awesome.

It seems you're not just Time Magazine's overall person of the year, you're also the most influential. At least when it comes to influencing a poll on the 100 most influential people of the year. After being nominated for Time's own top 100, it comes as little surprise to see Nintendo's legendary designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, place highly in the list constructed by internet users. With an average rating of 75 (out of 100) and 129,573 votes, the Mario maestro places 9th and effortlessly defeats the likes of Oprah Winfrey (43rd), George W. Bush (97th), George Clooney (26th) and Nelson Mandela (24th). Sure, the anti-apartheid, pro-democracy Nobel Peace prize winner wasn't involved in the creation of a new video game system this year, but we'd be remiss not to point out the amusing and somewhat bizarre priorities of voters.

And what of the list above Miyamoto? There you'll find Kiefer Sutherland (8th), J.K. Rowling (6th), Dane Cook and, nestled snugly in first position, Rain (who?). Time Magazine's own list wisely does away with rankings and lumps the designer on page 92, but not before suffering a critical lapse in sanity and asking Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel to extend his fingers beyond the WASD keys. Noting that Miyamoto "opened the world" to a host of "people who never even wanted to visit it before" is about all Wendel's article can manage before losing the plot and discussing his 12 championship wins, ultra-performance PCs and how he'll spend the rest of his life "championing video gaming as an equal to pro football or basketball."

Good thing he didn't write the Mandela bit, then.

In 2004 it was Ken Kutaragi. In 2005 it was the Halo designers. In 2006 it was ... no one.

Yes, Time's last list of the 100 most influential people in the world broke from tradition and didn't feel the need to include anyone from the game industry. While nobodies like Nicolas Ghesquiere and Rain got coveted spots on the list, the leaders of a $12.5 billion industry got bupkis.

Luckily, you can help rectify this situation. Yes, you, as Time's person of the year, can go independently rate the nearly 200 candidates who are being considered for the 2007 list, including Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto. As of this posting, Miyamoto is ranked 60th, between Indra Nooyi and Albert Osterhaus (a.k.a. two people you've never heard of) with 113 votes and an average rating of 75 out of 100.

The ranking system is based on total points accrued, not the average, so more votes equals a better rank. Vote early and vote often -- it's not like you have anything better to do at work.

[Thanks hvnlysoldr]