The father of modern day gaming and creator of some of the best loved franchises in history, Shigeru Miyamoto, turns 56 today!

Shigeru Miyamoto, affectionately known as "Shigsy" by the most devote Nintendo fans (including us) is today celebrating his 56th birthday.

Born in 1952, Miyamoto-san has worked in the gaming industry for 31 years as Nintendo's most valuable asset. Responsible for rescuing gaming after reprogramming the failed arcade game Radar Scope into the world-renowned Donkey Kong, Miyamoto has since been responsible for bringing us Mario and The Legend of Zelda, with his most recent project being Wii Music, released on Friday.

We'd like to wish Shigeru Miyamoto a very happy birthday, and thank him for bringing such wonderful service to gamers over the past three decades.