“A Great Ambassador for Videogames” – Neil Druckmann Lauds Elden Ring in a Glorious Message for Hidetaka Miyazaki, One of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People List of 2023

The year 2023 has become one of the most monumental ones for the gaming industry. After 16 years, a figure from the industry has made their way into TIME’s ‘Top 100’ influential list. Hidetaka Miyazaki, the president of FromSoftware and the brains behind Elden Ring, was named on this prestigious list.

He joins the likes of people like MrBeast, Joe Biden, and others. Another interesting aspect of this list is that it contains a blurb that introduces the accoladed personality, and for Miyazaki, his competitor Neil Druckmann penned it down.

Neil Druckmann pens an appreciative blurb for the mastermind behind Elden Ring

Druckmann is one of the most revered figures in the gaming industry. Being the CEO of Naughty Dog, which brought masterpieces like the Uncharted series and The Last of Us franchise, Druckmann is a pioneering figure. Thus, he is the apt personality to talk about someone like Miyazaki.

Hidetaka Miyazaki, under whom the 2022 Game of the Year Elden Ring was developed, is the second figure after Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto to be included in the prestigious list.

Druckmann began his address by talking about his own personal experience playing a Soulsborne game. He admitted that it was not his forte, but after spending time playing such a unique genre, he started to appreciate the beauty of what it encapsulates.

“That’s why Elden Ring … is a great ambassador for video games and the unique feelings they can affect in the player,” stated Druckmann, while giving high praises for the Game of the Year winner.

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Additionally, there was one more aspect that he said which is quite intriguing, especially in regard to his own franchise. Druckmann stated that a passive medium like TV shows lacks the depth to re-create the quintessential elements that a video game brings.

This sort of is a confusing statement as HBO’s The Last of Us season 1 became a massive hit, and many were pretty happy with the adaptation.

Though under a different lens, what Naughty Dog’s CEO stated can be considered true to some degree. That is, the ‘infamous curse’ of video game adaptions was haunting the industry for a long time. Live-action adaptions were considered under par, compared to their original version. Thus Druckmann’s statement is right to a large degree, but the success of Last of Us and Mario falls outside that purview.

Coming back to the man of the hour, Hidetaka Miyazaki is yet to respond to the recognition. This accolade is another silver feather for Elden Ring and for the gaming industry alike.

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