Shigeru Miyamoto to appear at Virgin Megastore Oxford Street

Shigeru Miyamoto is to appear at Virgin Megastore Oxford Street (14-16 Oxford St, London) on Friday 21st February from 1-3pm.

Legend of the video games world, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, will be making his first ever European public appearance exclusively at the Virgin Megastore Oxford Street on Friday 21st February at 1pm. This is your chance to meet one of the most creative minds of today and the genius behind many of the world's most popular and enduring video games, including Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros., and The Legend of Zelda. Over the years these and many other titles have graced the NINTENDO GAMECUBE, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Game Boy, and Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

Miyamoto-san is making a rare visit to the UK to promote new Nintendo titles The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for Game Boy Advance, out 28th March, and the awesome new NINTENDO GAMECUBE title The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, out on May 3rd, which is the 1st anniversary of the NINTENDO GAMECUBE.

On the day fans can buy or bring along any Miyamoto Nintendo title for him to sign, from a list of over 70 titles since 1981. Not only will Miyamoto-san be signing games, but the first 10 people in the queue will take away their very own signed copy of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for Game Boy Advance, a month in advance of its UK release in March, so get there early.

Lastly, but by no means least, an exclusive competition will run from Thursday 6th February on virgin.com/megastores where those in search of an extra special memento of the day will have a chance to win their very own piece of hand-drawn signed artwork by Miyamoto-san.

Stephen Lynn, Marketing Manager, Virgin Megastores comments:

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for gaming fans to meet one of the most revered figures in the video game world. We are extremely thrilled that Miyamoto-san has chosen to make such a rare appearance at the Virgin Megastore, Oxford Street. We are firmly behind bringing the best in gaming to our customers and we feel this collaboration with Nintendo will not only broaden our direct involvement in the gaming arena but will demonstrate Virgin Megastores innovation within the industry."

Considered by his peers to be the greatest video game designer in the world and called "The Spielberg of Video Games" by Time Magazine (May 1996), Shigeru Miyamoto is Senior Managing Director, Entertainment Analysis & Development, of Nintendo Co., Ltd. in Kyoto, Japan.

Miyamoto-san joined Nintendo in 1977 as an industrial designer. In 1981, Nintendo released Mr. Miyamoto's first masterpiece, the arcade game Donkey Kong. The NES was released in 1985 with Miyamoto's Super Mario Bros., the classic side-scrolling action game which set the standard for all future home console video games. Eventually, more than 40 million units were sold worldwide, and a series of mega-hit titles was born, including the 1996 N64 best-seller, Super Mario 64.

To date, Miyamoto has worked on more than 70 different Nintendo video game titles. More than 165 million video games in the Mario series have been sold world-wide. As well as the forthcoming Legend of Zelda titles, Miyamoto-san's most recent projects include Pikmin and Super Mario Sunshine on the NINTENDO GAMECUBE as well as Super Mario Advance: Yoshi's Island and Mario Kart: Super Circuit on the Game Boy Advance.