Nintendo has seen a handful of internal changes in its presidency and development department, with many of these throughout the lifespan of the Nintendo Switch. One of the constants over the last twenty years has always been the man labeled as the father of Nintendo, The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, and Super Mario, Shigeru Miyamoto. 

In recent years, Miyamoto has taken a more executive role outside of video games, such as overseeing production of 2023's Super Mario Bros. The Movie, which shattered the record for the highest grossing video game adaptation film of all time, grossing $1.26 billion dollars worldwide, and the manufacturing of Universal Studios' Super Nintendo Land theme parks. Now turning 71, and seeing a state of flux with the company, the iconic game designer has only had his hands on a few projects in recent years, namely Pikmin 4, where he served as producer. In a recent interview with The Guardian, when asked if he considered retirement, Miyamoto stated he's more concerned with death than giving up the mantle.

“More so than retiring, I’m thinking about the day I fall over,” he replied. “In this day and age you have to think about things in a five-year timespan, so I do think about who I can pass things on to, in case something does happen.

“I’m really thankful that there is so much energy around things that I have worked on. These are things that have already gone out into the world … they’ve been cultivated by others, other people have been raising them, helping them grow, so in that sense I don’t feel too much ownership over them any more.”

With most of his key franchises passed on to other leaders within Nintendo (The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom overseen by producer Eiji Aonuma and director Hidemaro Fujibayashi), Miyamoto still aims to challenge himself to adapt to the modern ebbs and flows of video games and video game related media. Nintendo has invested in a computer animating studio, Dynamo Pictures, in 2022, perhaps seeing a broader future in films. Miyamoto also appears to be playing a significant hand in the plans for a live action The Legend of Zelda movie. 

Personally, I'd like to see one more hand thrown at Star Fox before he hangs it up, but pipe dreams.

SOURCE: The Guardian