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Miyamoto to get knighthood News

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News by Ellie Gibson

9 March, 2006

Top videogame creators Shigeru Miyamoto, Michel Ancel and Frederick Raynal are to be awarded with knighthoods in the Order of Arts and Letters in Paris next Monday, becoming the first game creators ever to receive this honour in France.

Miyamoto is the creator of many of Nintendo's world famous franchises, including Mario and Zelda, while Ancel is the designer behind Rayman, Beyond Good and Evil and last Christmas' hit title King Kong. Raynal is best-known as the creator of Alone In The Dark.

Up to 200 people are knighted in the Order of Arts and Letters every year, but this is the first time that creators of videogames have been included in the list. The awards will be presented to the trio by French Minister of Culture Renard Donnedieu de Vabres next Monday.

Unlike British knighthoods, the French knighthoods do not allow the holder to add "Sir" in front of their names. No game creator has ever been knighted in the UK, although both Argonaut founder Jez San and Lionhead and Bullfrog founder Peter Molyneux have been awarded OBEs.

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Comments: 1-27 of 27 in total

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shot_to_the_gun
09/03/06 @ 14:41
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respect - the french doing it right for once...
Frogger
09/03/06 @ 14:47
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His first name is "Renaud", not "Renard" (which means "fox" in french).
Dr Strangelove
09/03/06 @ 14:47
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yeah cos they get everything else wrong don't they...

/sigh
Mildew
09/03/06 @ 14:53
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I'd hardly put the other two geezers in the same league as Miyamoto though...bring me the head of Rayman!
Scientist
09/03/06 @ 14:59
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"Unlike British knighthoods, the French knighthoods do not allow the holder to add "Sir" in front of their names. "

But this isn't the same as a British knighthood. Think of it just as an honour, like OBE, CBE, MBE etc.
lambtron
09/03/06 @ 15:04
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BG&E was awesomo.
Kon
09/03/06 @ 15:06
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Maybe the French should give Miyamoto the keys to France then...
Edited 1 times, most recently on 09/03/06 @ 15:07
Darkedge
09/03/06 @ 15:11
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Not like a British knighthood, more of a minor honour like CBE or MBE
Knighthoods have to be given by the Ruler of a country, e.g. the Queen but the french murdered all theirs so they can't no more
Rambaldi
09/03/06 @ 15:20
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Cool. Maybe I'll get one for finishing all those games ;)
Nige
09/03/06 @ 15:39
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A Knight of the French Emprire(?) - I bet that's an easy life... "Send in the ladies chaps "Prepare to disagree vigorously" etc.
kangarootoo
09/03/06 @ 16:03
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""Send in the ladies chaps "Prepare to disagree vigorously" etc."

That sounds like here.... only without the ladies... well, without many of them :(
dk_rare
09/03/06 @ 17:11
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Shigsy deserves it.
Xerx3s
09/03/06 @ 17:33
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"respect - the french doing it right for once..."

As in, they have done everything else wrong? 0_o Get yourself sorted out.

"Knighthoods have to be given by the Ruler of a country, e.g. the Queen but the french murdered all theirs

... and so should you!"

Carefull now, your on very slippery ice.
smoison
09/03/06 @ 17:42
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Ya, its nice to see governments being a bit grateful to the video games industry.

And what kind of pre historic nations still need royalty....
ekko
09/03/06 @ 18:31
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"A Knight of the French Emprire(?)"

France is a republic.
azmol01
09/03/06 @ 18:34
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Miyamoto and Ancel deserve it ain't got a clue who the 3rd one is.
kgthatsme
09/03/06 @ 20:03
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France dont exactly have a HUGE developing industry do they....
Drakron
09/03/06 @ 20:42
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Really ... ever heard of Atari and Ubisoft?

Or VU games for that matter ...
kenty
10/03/06 @ 01:34
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How does one go about nominating a person for knighthood in the UK?
'Sir Shigsy' has a nice ring to it! Surely Miyamoto-san has had significant impact on the lives of sufficient number of brits to warrant her majesty's attention.. let us begin the petitioning!
Dirtie
10/03/06 @ 02:37
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Sir Miyamoto! Come hither at once!
Jonathan_Fakenham
10/03/06 @ 03:12
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That's bullcrap.
Shigsy should be made King, ffs..
Talha
10/03/06 @ 05:37
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Finally. I think this is the best gaming development for 2006 - for those too blind to see that, my words will haunt you in 2016 when Half Life 3 will win Best Picture Oscar.

Jokes apart, this has been a long time coming.
Daikon
10/03/06 @ 05:58
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Unlike British knighthoods, the French knighthoods do not allow the holder to add "Sir" in front of their names.

Even if Miyamoto would be knighted in the UK, he still wouldn't be able to use the title "Sir".
Only subjects of the queen who have been knighted may do so. Miyamoto is Japanese.
Nige
10/03/06 @ 08:34
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>France is a republic.

Indeed, although it still has room for chivalry it would appear.... which was the point I was trying to make, perhaps a bit too subtly.

Perhaps they've changed their mind - and they're going to go and glue all the aristo heads back on.
Triggerhappytel
10/03/06 @ 13:49
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So they are giving Miyamoto a much-deserved honour and heaping 2 French game designers in there with him.

Ancel - I enjoyed BG&E, it's a shame the series did not carry on. King Kong was okay but not spectacular. A decent rental game. The Rayman games were very average platformers.

Raynal - Alone in the Dark may have been standard-setting in it's day but the genre has gone in many different directions since then, leaving AitD forgotten in their wake.

How can two such designers get noted in the same breath as a living videogames legend like Miyamoto?! It's almost insulting.
ROCKSTORM
10/03/06 @ 19:42
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It's about time someone gave Miyamoto an award!
Genji
13/03/06 @ 10:58
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"...my words will haunt you in 2016 when Half Life 3 will win Best Picture Oscar."

+1

Nice work.

Comments: 1-27 of 27 in total

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