10 Things You Never Knew About The Original Legend Of Zelda
6. The Developers Weren't Credited
It's common knowledge that actors, writers, and directors are sometimes credited under a fake name for their work. Many people don't realise that video game developers can also be assigned with a pseudonym. This practice can be voluntarily made by the employee or the decision can be forced upon the staff by the company's higher ups.
Excluding the president of Nintendo at the time, Hiroshi Yamauchi, every person who worked on the original Legend of Zelda were credited with a fake name. The directors, Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, are referred to in the closing credits as "S. Miyahon" and "Ten Ten".
But why all the secrecy? Are they shy? Well, since Nintendo took the world by storm with the NES console, competitors were desperate to derail the company's success. Hiroshi Yamauchi was worried that other gaming companies would hire Nintendo's developers or tarnish their reputations. As a result, Yamauchi believed it was in the company's best interest to keep his employees' identities anonymous.
There are companies that still utilise this practise today, although it's normally done to stop employees being physically or virtually harassed by trolls.