Today, Shigeru Miyamoto's works have become synonymous with Nintendo, but for a while, Shigeru Miyamoto was just a college student who went to job interviews like others.He took his portfolio to Nintendo for an interview, and it seemed that before he was officially hired, Nintendo tried to patent one of the works he showed.
Miyamoto graduated from an industrial design college. At that time, he wanted to design household appliances, or design toys and rides for kindergarten children.That was in the 1970s, when Nintendo was known primarily for its toys and traditional game companies - far before it devoted itself to the video game field.
"Nintendo was not hiring designers at the time," Miyamoto explained in an interview with the Japanese book "Game Maestro" in 2000. The interview was recently translated by the "Shmuplations" website. "A familiar to my father and an acquaintance with mePresident Hiroshi Yamauchi said it, and then I was invited to attend the interview. At that time, Nintendo not only produced amusement equipment, but also made strollers and ball hitters. I thought this was a very interesting company. My impression at that time wasThey made a lot of money from playing cards and scribble, so they felt like they would be happy to let me do what I wanted to do.”
Miyamoto said that he brought his "student works" as a portfolio of works for interviews."One of them is a clothes hanger for kindergarten children. It is a clothes hanger with animal facials and handles, so that even short children can easily use it. There is also a seesaw with swings."
When Miyamoto met Hiroshi Yamauchi, "he was very considerate and said, 'I want you to know that we hired you not because of a letter of recommendation, but because we want you to work for us.' But listen to this-—After I joined the company, I found that they had applied for a design patent for the hanger I designed. (Laughs) I mean, I can get the patent without applying for it myself, so it is also pretty good. (Laughs) I rememberI was thinking, 'This is a smart company!' But for me, they allowed me to do what I wanted, so I saw them as generous benefactors or sponsors."
It is hard to imagine that someone would be so optimistic about potential employers trying to patent their inventions before they can, but I think Japan in the 1970s was indeed a different time and space.Hiroshi Yamauchi is famously ruthless - Tetris co-founder Henk Rogers once said that Nintendo employees "are afraid of him. If you disagree with him in a meeting, you will be fired immediately. That's it. He even fired the Nintendo European president, merciless! "If Shigeru Miyamoto had a big fuss about patent issues at the time, I doubt we might be living in a place without Mario and Donkey Kong nowIt's in the world.
