Following last night’s news that Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, had stepped down from his position at Nintendo, the company responded with a denial and suggested that the initial report was a misunderstanding.
Here is Nintendo’s official statement on the matter:
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.
The “media interview” was with Wired, which reported that Miyamoto was to “step down from his current position at Nintendo but remain with the company to work on smaller, more personal projects.”
This conclusion came from a quote by Miyamoto in the interview where, through his translator, the legendary developer said he would be “retiring” from his “current position.”
When a Nintendo representative responded to Reuters Japan after the story and prior to the official statement, the spokeswoman claimed that Wired did not fully understand what Miyamoto really meant by the statement.
“This is absolutely not true,” she claimed. “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. Please do not be concerned.”
It seems that Miyamoto’s “retirement” is merely metaphorical and not literal.
[IGN]
