Miyamoto. The man needs no introduction. He has been a mainstay in the industry almost since it’s inception, and today it has been revealed that he is stepping down from his position as Senior Managing Director and General Manager of Nintendo’s Entertainment Analysis and Development Division.
In an interview with Wired’s Chris Kohler, Miyamoto stated will be passing the torch to younger developers within the company, and working on smaller projects.
“Inside our office, I’ve been recently declaring, I’m going to retire, I’m going to retire. 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.â€
“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 timeâ€
“I’m saying this because I have a solid reaction from the existing teams. I was able to nurture the developers inside Nintendo who were able to create something like this or something like that. The reason why I’m stressing that is that unless I say that I’m retiring, I cannot nurture the young developers. After all, if I’m there in my position as it is, then there’s always kind of a relationship. And the young guys are always kind of in a situation where they have to listen to my ideas. But I need some people who are growing up much more than today.â€
I for one will miss Miyamoto and all the eccentricity he brought to the table. How do you feel? Tell us in the comments.
UPDATE: Nintendo has denied that Miyamoto is stepping down.
loganb
this is one of the saddest gaming news to ever break. i hope he at least has big roles in the mario and zelda games, at least conceptually.
Grimreaper
What I think is he is getting older realizing he hasn’t got many years left, and wants to be able to teach a much younger generation to be a miyamoto if that makes since, and since he is getting older he wants to be able to do what he wants to do as long as he put’s his special touch on mario and zelda games I’m happy, but since he is making his on games his way, prepare for some wicked games.
Blaise
Although most of us didn’t want to think about it, those who have followed Nintendo since the NES knew this was coming soon. I actually did a Strategic Plan for a college course this semester on Nintendo, and one of the topics I included was the inevitable retirement of Miyamoto, and how the company and industry may need to respond.
The good news is he will be able to serve as an adviser if Nintendo should ever call on him for help.
And this is totally off topic, but Infendo, though I know they have the dollars to pay well, don’t post Monsanto ads! By far one of the most horrible companies that exist today. They patent seeds, which is life, and needless to say, its disgusting. Corporate greed at its finest
Brian Foster
and the stocks just dropped.
LegendofPaperZelda
Off topic, but where’s the editorial from Jack that Blake promised us?
Richard
Definitely the end of an era! He certainly deserves to do what makes him happy, and I really hope he gets to create some fun, quirky out-of-left-field games in his new role. I don’t blame him for stepping away from the more time-consuming blockbuster projects. He’s made his mark and created magic, and now he can pass the torch to the people he taught, but—Dang, I hope he doesn’t stop bring Nintendo’s “voice” just yet!
wrackune
End of an era? Sadness and stock dropping? Wha?
Why should this be bad news? This is great news! Miyamoto is rolling up his sleeves and getting his hands dirty again! We might be able to expect the birth of really new IPs (I say “really”, because Nintendo considers Miis, Nintendogs, and the submarine from Steel Diver as “new IPs”).
Fear not Infendo readers, Shiggy said himself he would die before fully retiring for development.
And, as a caveat, Miyamoto has anticipated his eventual stepping down and has trained Aonuma well. Eiji Aonuma has had more to do with the last few Zeldas than Miyamoto himself, and now he’s been given the reins. Trust Aonuma, he has good plans for the series. He’s Miyamoto’s protege. The world will be fine 🙂
CZsWorld
It was a good run Nintendo.
I remember in an interview. Someone asked if there would be a change to the “Zelda Secret Noise”. Aonuma started to say there are some things, like the noise, that would eventually change to keep the series fresh. Then Miyamoto stepped in and assured us all, the noise would not change.
I fear Aonuma…
XCWarrior
IF true, Nintendo stocks are going to plummet tomorrow.
magnum
I think it’s good he’s investing in the youth of the gaming community. Miyamoto isn’t going to be around forever, so he’s doing his best to train the upcoming developers for when he shuffles off this mortal coil.
Skotski
What magnum said.
wrackune
Uh… despite all this hubbub, it’s apparently not true.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/08/us-nintendo-idUSTRE7B70C520111208
Mohan
I don’t necessarily see it as a bad thing, everyone needs to step aside to let the younger generation take over, and this is what is happening. Who knows with younger generation at the helm we might see newer IPs or a newer twist to old games (i.e. the original Metroid Prime to 2D Metroid games). 🙂
Hitokiri_Ace
He’s moving back into directly handling the games he wants to make. I call that a win. I would much rather have that anyway. Being a producer must not have been his thing. I say, let the man make his own smaller games! I’m sure I’ll enjoy ’em.
Yossarian
Nintendo says its not true. He’s sticking around.
Artefacto
Oh boy, this was such a PR disaster. Even in the original article, he never meant to say retire from the company, only to be more hands on with the development and let the younguns step up their game. He was never leaving the industry, nor Nintendo.
Infendo
What wrackune said. Either way, I hope there’s truth to the idea that Miyamoto will flatten development teams, open himself up to younger (aka fresher) ideas, and reduced the number of people between gamers and himself when playing his creations.
Archaic
Ugh, so much misinformation and misunderstanding about Miyamoto’s stepping down, especially after the Nintendo “denial”. A lot of people evidently never read further than alarmist headlines, which was probably why Nintendo had to release this in the first place, but even this seems to have been misrepresented and misunderstood. Miyamoto was stepping down, but NOT leaving Nintendo. The way Miyamoto described it himself, he’s basically getting his hands dirty on more personal projects rather than just being a manager. If anything, that’s something us gamers should celebrate. Like wrackune noted earlier, this is exactly the kind of thing which should lead to new IP’s from Nintendo.
EdEN
Makes sense. At least he’ll still be working on smaller games which means the eShop and the WiiUware store will have new content from the master.
Brian Foster
Why are we assuming this his new career path will help Nintendo? I could see Sony falling all over themselves to get him developing these smaller games for them and cutting off Nintendo.
Don’t think for a minute they wouldn’t pour money into courting him.
HyperSonic
@Brian:
He’s not leaving Nintendo. =P
InvisibleMan
What seemed at first disastrous news for Nintendo (and Nintendo fans) actually turned out to be a win-win for all: Miyamoto is not stepping down from Nintendo, but minimizing his management role so he can have a more hands-on role in his next gaming project! Can’t wait to see what he comes up with…