14 DAY TRIAL // The real world is beginning to slowly accept the fact that the videogames culture is both profitable and relevant. One of the most important signs came about a week ago, when TIME conducted its poll to name the Most Influential Person of the Year. That person is Shigeru Miyamoto, the legendary game designer that works for Nintendo. Another sign is the person that tops the list of the wealthiest people in Japan, as compiled by Forbes.
The man that tops the Forbes classification, which relies on public financial data and limited disclosures from various audit firms, is Hiroshi Yamauchi, the man that used to be the president of Nintendo, now retired both from his business position and from the public eye. His net worth has gone up by about 3 billion dollars last year, which was enough to beat former number one, Akira Mori, a property developer, to the number one spot on the Forbes list, as Akira only gained 2.2 billion dollars in the same period. The former president of a company that creates mainly consoles, handhelds and games for the above has risen to become the wealthiest man in all of Japan, a society that values videogames, their culture and the people that stand behind them. It must be a sign of new times.
No points will be awarded for the people that guess which is the main reason for the sudden wealth gain of Mister Hiroshi Yamauchi. Yes, it's the same now apparently ubiquitous Nintendo Wii console, which has taken the gaming world and the real world by storm in the last months, making Nintendo a very profitable company, while making its top managers extremely rich in the process. Creating a few big game hits, like the Wii Fit, also doesn't hurt one bit.
Forbes states that the 40 wealthiest people in Japan are now worth about 89.9 billion dollars together, a rise of more than 10 billion from last year. Six people on the list, Mr. Hiroshi Yamauchi included, added more than $1 billion apiece to their fortunes.