Miyamoto awarded BAFTA Fellowship

Shigeru Miyamoto will be given a BAFTA Fellowship next month.

The famed Nintendo designer, who created Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong, will be the third person to receive the Fellowship after previous recipients Nolan Bushnell and Will Wright.

"I am very grateful to be able to receive such an honourable award from the British Academy," Miyamoto said.

"Our video games cannot be created by one person. Since Donkey Kong until the most recent New Super Mario Bros Wii, I have been working closely with a number of friends for three decades in order to develop fun and enjoyable games.

"I would like to receive this honourable award on behalf of all of these dependable colleagues."

BAFTA chairman David Parfitt said: "The Fellowship is the highest accolade the Academy can bestow on an individual for their creative work and we are honoured to have Miyamoto with us to accept his award.

"With previous honorees including Hitchcock, Kubrick and Pinter, it is only fitting that Miyamoto be recognised alongside these other pioneers for his groundbreaking work. He helped to develop an entire creative industry and is still a major force in its continuing success."

The BAFTA Video Games Awards, which will be hosted by Dara O'Briain, take place on March 19.