Miyamoto Draws Thousands in NYC

Nintendo's main man arrives to a suitably rockstar-esque reception.

The video game industry may rival those of music and movies in sales, but, unlike its competitors, it has a serious dearth in personalities. Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, however, is the exception.

Fresh from his appearance in Tokyo at the unveiling of the Revolution controller, Miyamoto was in New York this past weekend to visit the new Nintendo World Store and the usual pandemonium was in place.

The legendary creator of the Mario and Zelda franchises and the lynchpin of Nintendo's success over the past two decades was in New York for the launch of his latest favourite project, Nintendogs.

Fans - or "nerds", as the New York Post put it - started arriving at the Nintendo World Store more than two days before the event, which took place on Sunday. Even though only the first people were guaranteed an audience with the creator, the lines outside soon swelled to more than 1,500 people.

Miyamoto spent the afternoon shaking hands and signing memorabilia for the Nintendoscenti, who had come from all over the US and outside it too to meet their hero.

"It's no secret that Nintendo has the best, most loyal fans in the world," said Nintendo of America's Reggie Fils-Aime. "These events demonstrated that Nintendogs has huge momentum to carry it through the holidays."

Fils-Amie has reason to be confident. Nintendogs has been a big success since its launch in the US at the end of August, selling than 250,000 copies in its first week alone.

The next stop for Nintendogs is Europe, where the game will land on October 7th.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games