PRESS RELEASE

Japan Game Awards 2008

“Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Prize”
The First Recipient is Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo Co., Ltd. was selected to be the first recipient of the newly-established “Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Prize” at the Japan Game Awards 2008, an event sponsored by the Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association (CESA, Chairman: Yoichi Wada; Location: Nishi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo). The award ceremony was held at 16:00 on October 9 at the Event Stage in the Tokyo Game Show 2008 venue.

The “Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Prize” is awarded to an individual or to an organization that from the results of a work created and announced in recent years has been evaluated as having made a contribution to the development of the Japanese home-use video game console and software industry. The recipient was determined by the selection committee after the candidate was recommended by a Japan Game Awards selection committee member (Takeshi Yoro, Chairman of the Selection Committee, Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo and Professor at Kitasato University).

Shigeru Miyamoto, the first recipient of this prize, has created a large number of games that have surprised and moved many game fans in the thirty-year period from the dawning of the home video game age until the present day.
In recent years in particular, his innovative designs that make skillful use of the continually evolving special characteristics of game consoles have completely changed the image of existing games. He has succeeded in expanding the definition of video games through products with new game concepts that address themes such as “healing”, “family communication” and “health”.

Since 1996, CESA has been sponsoring the Japan Game Awards, an event that selects and gives awards to outstanding game software. CESA’s aim is to have games perceived as a culture, to raise the social status of game software, and to make a contribution to the development of the game industry. By adding the “Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Prize” for “persons involved in games” to the existing awards for “game software”, the Japan Game Awards aims at further developing the award system into a more open system that recognizes both “game software” and “people” and that has more meaning.

Each year, through the Japan Game Awards event which is linked to the Tokyo Game Show, the world’s largest festival that disseminates the latest computer entertainment information, CESA strives to further improve the nurturing of talented people and increase the ambition of game developers while communicating the wonder and enjoyment of computer entertainment to even more people.

Japan Game Awards Official English Website：http://awards.cesa.or.jp/English

General Information:

Japan Game Awards Office c/o CESA
Nishi-Shimbashi Annex 3F, 1-22-10 Nishi-Shimbashi,Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0003 Japan
Tel: +81-3- 3591 9151 Fax: +81-3- 3591 9152　Email: awards@cesa.or.jp