Shigeru Miyamoto, the man responsible for creating Mario, says his next big project is getting people to use the Nintendo Wii as an educational tool.
It’s the latest push from the company to go beyond the typical video game realm.
When Miyamoto, the 33-year veteran legend at Nintendo, helped create the Wii, his ideas were far from traditional. Instead of shooters and RPGs, his initial vision led to the creation of games like Wii Fit and Wii Music.
Now he wants to turn to education. According to an AP interview, Miyamoto said the portable DS system is already set to be used “in junior high and elementary schools in Japan starting in the new school year.”
He added that video game applications for school study “is maybe the area where I am devoting myself (the) most.”
Education and video games have been mixing practically since the inception of the medium. However, the idea of educational games has remained a secondary idea and never gained much traction. Miyamoto hopes to change that.
He talked about the idea during an interview in London, where he is accepting a prestigious fellowship from a British media group. Miyamoto has receive numerous awards during the span of his career, which dates back to working for Nintendo years before it even made its first video game product.
Photo: AP
