Nintendo deny claims Miyamoto is to retire

Shigeru Miyamoto1

The Internet was abuzz in a mass panic this morning, as an interview Wired conducted with acclaimed video games designer Shigeru Miyamoto led to the belief that he was due to retire.

“Inside our office, I’ve been recently declaring, ‘I’m going to retire, I’m going to retire,'” Miyamoto had commented. “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.”

With the Nintendo 3DS having only just begun to pick up pace again, and with the Wii U now looming on the horizon, such comments caused investor hysteria as Nintendo’s stock prices began to plunge.

Within a matter of minutes of the story spreading Nintendo immediately responded to such claims, with a spokesperson commenting to Reuters: “This is absolutely not true. There seems to have been a misunderstanding. He has said all along that he wants to train the younger generation. He has no intention of stepping down. Please do not be concerned.”

Later, Nintendo then clarified further in a statement to Eurogamer, reiterating that Miyamoto would remain to be “a driving force” in Nintendo’s continual development efforts: “This is not true, he will not be stepping down. Video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto’s role at Nintendo is not changing. He will continue to be a driving force in Nintendo’s development efforts. In discussing his priorities at Nintendo in a media interview, Mr. Miyamoto explained how he is encouraging the younger developers at the company to take more initiative and responsibility for developing software.

“He attempted to convey his priorities moving forward, inclusive of overseeing all video game development and ensuring the quality of all products. Mr. Miyamoto also discussed his desire to pursue fresh ideas and experiences of the kind that sparked his initial interest in video games.”

Panic over.

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