Nintendo has denied that Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of the Mario and The Legend of Zelda franchises, is considering retiring from his role as head of game development.
In an interview with Wired, Miyamoto said he was considering stepping down from his current role supervising Nintendo’s big releases to make smaller projects within Nintendo.
“Inside our office, I’ve been recently declaring, ‘I’m going to retire, I’m going to retire,’” Miyamoto told Wired.
“I’m not saying that I’m going to retire from game development altogether. What I mean by retiring is, retiring from my current position. What I really want to do is be in the forefront of game development once again myself. Probably working on a smaller project with even younger developers.
“Or I might be interested in making something that I can make myself, by myself. Something really small. In other words, I’m not intending to start from things that require a five-year development time,” he said.
However, Nintendo quickly denied this, saying there was a misunderstanding and he meant that he wishes to train a younger generation of game developers.
Miyamoto is considered as a visionary in the games industry, having created titles such as Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda. The 59-year-old currently leads Nintendo’s blockbuster games, including the recent The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, which has attracted much critical acclaim.
The loss of Miyamoto would come as a major blow to Nintendo, particularly during such a challenging time for the company. Its Nintendo 3DS console has not sold as well as expected as it faces up against the rising popularity of mobile gaming. Economic difficulties in the US and Europe has also caused consumers to hold off their year-end spending, further impacting on the company.
