Miyamoto retires?

nomad

"Bring the light of day"
Just read the news, and though it is a sad day all together, if his reasons are true? Then I believe he is doing the right thing. I am sure that we will all be interested to see what "smaller" project he will come up with.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCEQqQIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.joystiq.com%2F2011%2F12%2F07%2Freport-shigeru-miyamoto-retiring-from-current-position-at-nin%2F&ei=yFjgTqmYG8PftgeGpqXNCQ&usg=AFQjCNEe5BCD15sH4P1NJwZz8hTY7g9_bg
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Re: Miyamoto retires

Here's the direct source, Wired's article: http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/12/miyamoto-interview/

My first emotion upon hearing this was sadness, but after reading his actual quote about what he's going to do, I got excited.

“What I really want to do is be in the forefront of game development once again myself,” Miyamoto said. “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.”

This sounds very promising to me. The last game I can think of that Miyamoto did without the help of anyone else was Donkey Kong. Not that brilliant people like Koji Kondo haven't helped tremendously along the way. Obviously the best games of his career were ensemble works. But as a huge Miyamoto fan, I'd love to see something more personal from him.

Still, I can't help but feel that this is the end of an era for Nintendo, and thus for gaming. Before today, I've considered what Nintendo would be like without Miyamoto leading the charge, and it's not a happy thought. But I didn't think this day would come so soon.

Update: Nintendo says Wired misquoted Miyamoto's intentions.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/08/us-nintendo-idUSTRE7B70C520111208

I don't think they did...
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Re: Miyamoto retires

I don't think they misquoted him either, but the spin cycle may have blown it out of proportion, as if he's leaving Nintendo when he might just be moving down the hall. So, I'm taking all of these statements with a grain of salt as they pertain to his continued level of involvement. Frankly, I already considered him semi-retired compared to the days of say Mario 64 or OoT, and like you said I'd love to see him return to the front lines, even on a smaller scale.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Re: Miyamoto retires

Griffith said:
I don't think they misquoted him either, but the spin cycle may have blown it out of proportion, as if he's leaving Nintendo when he might just be moving down the hall. So, I'm taking all of these statements with a grain of salt as they pertain to his continued level of involvement. Frankly, I already considered him semi-retired compared to the days of say Mario 64 or OoT, and like you said I'd love to see him return to the front lines, even on a smaller scale.
Indeed. The true misconception here is that Miyamoto was doing serious hands-on directing at Nintendo the past few years. He hasn't. He's been there mostly as a producer or guiding light on the company's biggest projects -- Wii Music aside. I remember hearing in an interview with the Mario Galaxy team where they would ask Miyamoto to review their work, and he'd reply very briefly and vaguely about the direction he'd like it to go: "Spheres. Needs more spheres."

The guy's a brilliant designer, but I can imagine that after so many years, taking only a supervisory role in these games probably wears on him.
 

Scorpio

Courtesy of Grail's doodling.
Re: Miyamoto retires

After reading the original article I was very excited to see him get back to doing what he loved most, using his creative talents to directly make new and interesting games. I had a feeling after reading it that Nintendo was on exactly the right path, training new designers to take on the top mantles in the company and preparing for the future while having the best established minds create new IPs and experiences. It would set them up well for years to come.

Hopefully Nintendo's response was simply to quell some wild rumors because otherwise it sounds like they want to keep Miyamoto on a leash.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Re: Miyamoto retires

Scorpio said:
Hopefully Nintendo's response was simply to quell some wild rumors because otherwise it sounds like they want to keep Miyamoto on a leash.
We can only hope that they have the foresight to give him free reign to do what he wants in his final few years at the company, and not keep him locked in a trophy case.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Re: Miyamoto retires

Walter said:
This sounds very promising to me. The last game I can think of that Miyamoto did without the help of anyone else was Donkey Kong. Not that brilliant people like Koji Kondo haven't helped tremendously along the way. Obviously the best games of his career were ensemble works. But as a huge Miyamoto fan, I'd love to see something more personal from him.

Yeah, what he actually said according to that Wired article is good news as far as I'm concerned.

Griffith said:
I don't think they misquoted him either, but the spin cycle may have blown it out of proportion, as if he's leaving Nintendo when he might just be moving down the hall.

Pretty much. They all went for an extremely sensationalistic approach. Not what I call good journalism.

Walter said:
We can only hope that they have the foresight to give him free reign to do what he wants in his final few years at the company, and not keep him locked in a trophy case.

Iwata doesn't strike me as the type to do that.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Re: Miyamoto retires

Another chapter emerges: http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/12/08/nintendo-game-chief-sees-better-times-ahead/?mod=google_news_blogahead/?mod=google_news_blog

“We have to construct the structure so that the organization so that it can make it without me,” he said. “I should also admit that it might be better without me; I mean that a different approach and different talent might emerge, though I shouldn’t dwell on this because then the article might indeed say ‘Mr. Miyamoto is thinking about retiring,’ because that is not the case.”
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Re: Miyamoto retires

Looks like his good will didn't prevent people from spinning what he said (no surprise). Anyway, while I love the guy, I have to agree with him here. The end of his absolute oversight of every big project is not at all guaranteed to be a bad thing. So I'm both at very excited to see what he can cook up "all by himself" or almost (meaning more freedom for him) and what the big teams will do without his shadow permanently cast over them.
 

nomad

"Bring the light of day"
I guess an apology is in order. I changed the thread topic with a question mark to make it less of a statement. It's interesting to see what kind of power some people have over their companies, or the ones they work for when situations like these occur. It's nice to read Miyamoto's opinion of things and his position, but in the other hand I believe saying the word retire in an interview wasn't the smartest thing to do. Nintendo lost points in the stock market as a result plus all the cluster of speculation that followed. But I truly stand positive in however direction he may go. Whether if it's a "step back" or just going solo. We are all going to be looking forward to what comes out as a result.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Nomad said:
I guess an apology is in order. I changed the thread topic with a question mark to make it less of a statement.

Well it's not your fault so much as how it was relayed by the press. They pushed that angle hard, and the market followed because the market's retarded. As for him talking about retiring, honestly, he should be able to do so without having people extrapolate. Especially considering that he speaks through an interpreter.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Wired exagerrated the facts, but Nintendo understated Miyamoto's intentions. It's no wonder things got blown out of proportion. Everyone's trying to get a handle on the truth while also processing the potential of the announcement.

Speaking as a journalist, what it should have read like is this: Miyamoto discusses his eventual retirement, and plans to begin working on smaller, more personal projects.
 
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