Eiji Aonuma

Infobox Person
name = Eiji Aonuma

---

caption = Eiji Aonuma at the Game Developers Conference 2007
birth_date = 1963
birth_place = flagcountry|Japan
occupation = Director and producer of video games at Nintendonihongo|Eiji Aonuma |青沼 英二|Aonuma Eiji|extra=born 1963 is a Japanese designer and director of video games. He currently works for Nintendo, and the latest game he oversaw was "", the latest installment in the popular "The Legend of Zelda" series.

Biography

Education

Aonuma attended the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music where he majored in design, working on moving mechanical figures (whose members were articulated), which were essentially marionettes. He graduated in 1988 and then acquired his job at Nintendo, with whom he has remained since.

Nintendo

Aonuma began work on the Super Famicom game ', which was only released in Japan and was influenced by '. Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo's renowned game designer, saw his work and asked him to be game system director on ', destined for the company's Nintendo 64 system. He is also the director of the next titles in the "Legend of Zelda" series, ', the Nintendo 64 successor to "Ocarina of Time", and ', the first "Zelda" game for the company's GameCube console. After "The Wind Waker", Aonuma considered moving onto other projects, but was convinced by Shigeru Miyamoto to continue with the "Zelda" series.Electronic Gaming Monthly, Issue 213, March 2007. Page 79.] He said he "would like to make a "Zelda" that somehow surpasses the "Ocarina of Time", [cite web | title=N-Sider.com: Eiji Aonuma | url=http://www.n-sider.com/personnelview.php?personnelid=6 | accessmonthday=July 16 | accessyear=2004 ] and Aonuma later finished working on ', the second major Zelda title to be released for the GameCube and a launch game for the Wii. He was voted Designer of the Year for his work on "Twilight Princess" in "Electronic Gaming Monthlys 2006 1Up Network Awards. He then completed work on a sequel to "The Wind Waker" for the Nintendo DS, '. He also assisted in making Link's Crossbow Training which was the first game which incorporated the use of the Wii Zapper. The game has since been released and it is unknown what game he and his team are working on now.

Other work

Aonuma is also member of a wind orchestra called "The Wind Wakers", named after "The Wind Waker", which is composed of several Nintendo employees who perform concerts four times a year for other employees of the company, and in which he plays percussion (instruments as diverse as bongos, congas and timpani).

References

External links

* [http://cube.ign.com/articles/616/616559p1.html IGN E3 2005 Interview]
* [http://unlimitedgamer.net/coverage/loz/loz_ea_interview.php Unlimited Gamer: Eiji Aonuma Interview]
* [http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=60183 Eurogamer: Eiji Aonuma expresses discontent with "The Wind Waker"]
* [http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/specialArt.cfm?artid=13110 NintendoWorldReport GDC 2007 Interview]
* [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1554644/20070314/id_0.jhtml MTV GDC 2007 Interview]
* [http://media.wii.ign.com/articles/773/773005/vids_1.html IGN GDC 2007 Interview]
* [http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/07/e3-interview--2.html Game|Life E3 2007 Interview]
* [http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200708/N07.0802.1741.54921.htm Game Informer August 2007 Interview]
* [http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=1&cId=3163610 1UP October 2007 Interview]
*moby developer |id=36621|name=Eiji Aonuma's profile