Miyamoto is Not Stepping Down

Andy Chalk

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Nov 12, 2002
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Miyamoto is Not Stepping Down


Nintendo wizard Shigeru Miyamoto is not retiring after all.

The news from Nintendo was big last night: Shigeru Miyamoto is retiring! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114612-Miyamoto-is-Stepping-Down] Sort of. The statement was actually a little ambiguous; Miyamoto told Wired that he'd been telling people in his office that he's going to retire, although not within any particular time frame and not in such a way that would actually lead to, you know, retirement. "I'm not saying that I'm going to retire from game development altogether," he said. "What I mean by retiring is, retiring from my current position" in order to focus on making games and bringing along the next generation of developers. But - and this will come as a big surprise, I'm sure - all the world heard was, Miyamoto is retiring!

Well, no. Nintendo has since made a point of denying that Miyamoto is leaving his position as Senior Managing Director and General Manager of Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development Division. "This is absolutely not true," the company told Reuters Japan [http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/08/us-nintendo-idUSTRE7B70C520111208]. "There seems to have been a misunderstanding. [Miyamoto] has said all along that he wants to train the younger generation. He has no intention of stepping down."

Further clarification came in a statement issued this morning. "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," it said. "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."

Something lost in translation, then? That's always a possibility with interviews like this. There's no question that the loss of Miyamoto would be a serious blow to Nintendo, a fact illustrated by the two percent tumble Nintendo's share price took in Japan immediately following the story. That's a pretty good reason for all this clarifying, and a pretty bad sign for what Nintendo is up against when Miyamoto's real retirement finally comes.

Source: IGN [http://wii.ign.com/articles/121/1214255p1.html]


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Fappy

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Jan 4, 2010
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Well that's good news I guess. Kind of feel bad for Wired though.
 

Epona

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Jun 24, 2011
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Kind of like that mixup where everyone thought Sakaguchi was retiring after The Last Story.
 

Aiddon_v1legacy

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Nov 19, 2009
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proving once again that Nintendo's investors are morons. And that too many gaming journalists lack properly journalistic skills.
 

Sight Unseen

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Nov 18, 2009
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The escapist headline bar is now extremely confusing. There's an article that says "Miyamoto is retiring!" and then next to it an article that says "Miyamoto is not retiring!". lol.
 

YonderTunic

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Mar 4, 2010
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so wait, he is retiring, but not really retiring. but now it turns out that his sort-of retiring is not really happening?

So nothing changes? >.>
 

Richardplex

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randomguy425 said:
so wait, he is retiring, but not really retiring. but now it turns out that his sort-of retiring is not really happening?

So nothing changes? >.>
He was retiring, then Nintendo saw that shit started hitting the fan at that, so they're scrambling to undo the damage. His plans are staying the same (having more direct effect on the younger developers), Nintendo are just getting getting rid of the whole retiring-to-remove-a-barrier thing.

So yes, nothing changes :D
 

Atmos Duality

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Mar 3, 2010
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I still hope this means less of a burden placed on him and his projects.
Nintendo very badly needs some new blood in their lineup, and a less restricted Miyamoto working with younger developers in a sort of training think-tank could help everyone involved at the company.
 

Scarim Coral

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Oct 29, 2010
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Geez I thought people understood he wasn't fully retiring at all (just stepping down his current position) the first time round but yet again I didn't read everyone comment from the first news.
 

megapenguinx

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Jan 8, 2009
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SnootyEnglishman said:
I can see someone getting a disciplinary notice over at Wired for this mixup.
Er no. The original headline was a bit ambiguous (which is why people thought he was retiring) so it was changed. Just another case of people not being able to read on the Internet.
 

Formica Archonis

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Nov 13, 2009
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He's stepping down! Wait, he's not! He's stepping down! Wait, there he is again!

Perhaps this is all a complex ad for a new Wii game: Whack-a-Miyamoto.
 

SonOfVoorhees

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Didnt care either way. Never liked any of the games he made anyway. Although once he goes, Nintendo is screwed as he is the only one that makes games worth playing on Nintendo platforms.