SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic - Miyamoto to step down in favor of smaller projects

Posted: Dec 08 2011 12:39 am

Quote:

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — The creator of Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda will step down from his current position at Nintendo but remain with the company to work on smaller, more personal projects, Wired.com has learned.

In an exclusive interview with Wired.com on Wednesday, the 59-year-old head of Nintendo’s game design department said that he will move away from supervising the development of massive games like this year’s Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Super Mario 3D Land, passing the torch to the younger designers in the company and working on projects that won’t take as long to complete.

“Inside our office, I’ve been recently declaring, ‘I’m going to retire, I’m going to retire,’” Miyamoto said through his interpreter. “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,” 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.”

Miyamoto said that he’s hoping to start work on a project in 2012, and hopefully show the game off publicly within the year.

“In other words, I’m not intending to start from things that require a five-year development time,” he said.

I think I've mentioned this here before, but I often wonder what Nintendo will be like once the people who made it what it is today are gone. How will a Nintendo without Miyamoto handle the franchises he built on his own? The loss of Gunpei Yokoi was big enough, so how will Nintendo adapt to the loss of the biggest influence in gaming ever? Will there be another Miyamoto within his lifetime? Are Miyamoto's proteges ready to fill his shoes? Nintendo has shown that they're capable of putting out perfectly good games without his involvement, so am I just thinking too much about this?

Miyamoto said he's going to work on more "personal projects" that don't take five years to finish. I've read stories of Miyamoto being gagged on his personal interests for fear that the competition will capitalize on interviews about what he likes to do in his spare time, so maybe now he'll get to doing more of those.

Posted: Dec 08 2011 01:14 am

Wow.....kinda speechless.

Joined: Jun 08 2010 Location: Termina Field Posts: 1541

For some reason, I see Nintendo going the way of Sega eventually and just being a third-party, now that he stepped down. Or I'm just exaggerating.

(but still, I think it would be awesome if I could play original Mario, Zelda, Pokémon, etc. games on my phone)

Posted: Dec 08 2011 01:57 am

wow....

Posted: Dec 08 2011 01:59 am

It is kinda sad to see him go. Yet maybe this will allow some changes in the big Nintendo flagship series to innovate and keep them fresh for older gamers and still draw in new ones. I don't think he would step down if he wasn't confident that Nintendo could survive it.

Posted: Dec 08 2011 02:47 am

It definitely means some big changes are in store for Nintendo.

Joined: Sep 25 2009 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 395

I am out of words for this. I know its just video games, but this is by far my biggest shock in a long time. It will be really interesting to see how Nintendo goes on without Miyamoto as their creative genius at the top, I guess it means there will be quite a few changes. I guess its good for those who wants Nintendo to produce more story-based games.

I wonder what his role will be in the future, hopefully he will continue to come at stage with sword and shield at E3 presenting new Zelda-games, designing original content like Pikmin, and have a hand in the development of the input method of their consoles like the wiimote. I am fine with him giving up control of Mario and tons of other franchises, but he should continue to focus on the core of his job, and we probably won't feel the changes to much. I hope.

Posted: Dec 08 2011 05:23 am

Yea, so apparently this isn't true...Crisis averted!

http://kotaku.com/5866218/nintendo-denies-that-marios-creator--is-retiring

Kotaku wrote:

According to the original Wired report, Miyamoto apparently said he was stepping down from his current management position so he could work on smaller projects with younger developers.

"What I really want to do is be in the forefront of game development once again myself," Miyamoto told Wired. "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."

According to Nintendo, this does not mean he is stepping down. "This is absolutely not true," a Nintendo spokesperson told Reuters. "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."

My poor little heart...

Posted: Dec 08 2011 10:11 am

Some commenters on other gaming sites are saying "good riddance" and that maybe we'll see some real changes from Nintendo that they desperately need to do today. While I don't necessarily agree with them that Miyamoto is in any way responsible for any of Nintendo's current problems, they have a point. I'm excited to see Nintendo's new creative minds come up with new franchises and methodologies. I think Nintendo will become unrecognizable from the one we grew up with in 10 years.

Posted: Dec 08 2011 10:21 am

Joined: Apr 17 2011 Location: US Posts: 58

Not sure how any of you ever thought he was leaving Nintendo in the first place. He was only stepping back slightly so he could concentrate more on developing games rather than helping others develop games and maybe get a few out that don't take years to complete. This was amazing news for me to read and I'm the biggest Nintendo fan you'll find in the neck of the internet. Either way if you were panicking before, there's no reason to now. As Andrew has stated, it's all a misunderstanding anyway.

Posted: Dec 08 2011 12:50 pm

Miyamoto isn't holding the company back and there's no reasonable argument that he is. He makes games, not business decisions, and it's not like the company is short on money. It's not like other projects get cancelled in favor of Miyamoto projects. Does Nintendo need to diversify? Yes. But they still need Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, and Pikmin too. And as long as Miyamoto is alive, I don't realistically see him not having a guiding hand in major projects involving those franchises.

Nintendo's current president is the former head HAL Laboratories, and the current president of NOA is a gigantic Nintendo fanboy. You will NOT see an "unrecognizable" Nintendo ten years from now. Nintendo continue to push its major franchises, because they have charts that show them that Mario and Zelda make piles of money. Mario will always be Mario. You could potentially see Zelda become a darker, more mature franchise without Miyamoto.

And in any case, Nintendo doesn't need to stop being Nintendo to regain its former spot as the indisputable king of the gaming industry. It needs to do what Sony, Microsoft, Activision, and EA have been doing for years: buy up other studios. Nintendo has a handful of smaller first and second party studios such as HAL, Intelligent Systems, Sora, Camelot Software Planning, Monolith, Treasure, Next Level, Alpha Dream, and Retro Studios, but since the sale of Rare and the end of their partnership with Silicon Knights, they have been in need of new and major acquisitions.

There aren't many developers left out there worth acquiring, but the ones that are pretty attractive:

Platinum Games: The makers of MadWorld and Bayonetta, comprised of former Clover Studios employees, are one of the hottest new upstarts out there. And they make mature games. Sega currently has a five game deal with them with extends through 2012, Nintendo should start talking to them now. And by talking to them, I mean walk into their offices with wheelbarrows of money.

Sega Sammy: Or let Sega Sammy buyout Platinum Games, and then buy Sega Sammy. Sega apparently isn't doing too well: http://www.qj.net/pov/psp/sega-game-sales-and-profits-fall-weak-market-or-poor-titles-to-blame.html

Capcom: Capcom is being kept afloat right now by selling shitty mobile games and re-releasing popular games with slightly more content. Capcom has valuable IPs, but no idea how to manage them properly.

Konami: Konami is currently in the middle of a slow, agonizing death that begins with it relying on mobile, casual, and downloadable sales to keep them in business and ends with them fading into bankruptcy, with their IPs and Kojima Studios being sold off to the highest bidders. If Nintendo makes a reasonable offer before this happens, they could own the all the Konami IPs, which include Silent Hill, Contra, Castlevania, Metal Gear, and as well as the entire Hudson Soft library.

Tecmo Koei: Also suffering from prolonged financial difficulties. Dead Or Alive kinda sucks, but it has a fanbase. And the resurgent Ninja Gaiden has been one of the hottest franchise in recent years. It would be a good thing for Nintendo to own. Nintendo seems to be flirting with this idea, with Metroid: Other M seeming like a potential audition.

Joined: Apr 17 2011 Location: US Posts: 58

Syd pretty much says it exactly as I've seen it for years. Nintendo is never 'in trouble', but they certainly could be doing a lot better by acquiring these companies. I for one would love to see them claim Konami. All those games deserve to return to Nintendo platforms anyway and would be a major boost in moving their consoles.

Joined: Sep 25 2009 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 395

I am so glad this turned out to be false alarm.

On the discussion of Nintendo. I hate that lots of people want Nintendo to be more like Sony or Microsoft. The reason why I and many others still like Nintendo so much is because they do things differently, and in a world where also Nintendo starts to pump out 8-hours fps titles with an heavy emphasis on multiplayer, is a world with much less diversity, and probably the day I stop gaming. Why can't people who don't like Nintendo play other things, while we who like them can continue to have an awesome time with their creative ideas and gameplay-focused games.

On buying other developers, I would LOVE to see Nintendo own IP's like Mega Man, Castlevania and Street Fighter and other IP's that have a history on Nintendo-consoles. However, I do not think buying studios outright is the way to go. Even if you do buy a studio, there is no guarantee that the talent there, which is what ultimately gives any studio its value, will stay, and this is the reason why tons of buy-outs ends up with studio-closure a few years later when the original talent has left. What Nintendo should do however, is continue to nurture bonds with thirdparties like Tecmo Koei, maybe buy some exclusivity once in a while, subsidize smaller studios like Mistwalker, Cing, Silicon Knights, N-Space and also Platinium, and build up new internal development groups like they have done with EAD Tokyo (which have produced the awesome Galaxy-games, Jungle Beat and 3D Land). I think this would be a much wiser way to spend their money than outright buy tons of developers.

Posted: Dec 08 2011 01:48 pm

Owning an IP is half the battle, and Nintendo has proven that they can find eager talent to successfully manage IPs, if the original talent is either unable or unwilling to do so. Nintendo's in-house teams may have had no idea what to do with Metroid or Punch-Out, but Retro Studios and Next Level Games sure did.

Joined: Sep 25 2009 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 395

No matter what, Nintendo today employs around 4500 people, but they need tons more in the future. Not only because it takes more manpower to create HD games, but because the thirdparty-support Nintendo gets is never secure, so they should start to pump out more games also in genres they don't have a long history in like rpg's and thirdperson action games. Retaining Mistwalker to make The Last Story 2 would be a wise first step, and have Platinium and Grasshopper around to produce flashy action-games would also be wise. However, they should also expand in the west with a few developers. I guess it is inevitable that they will start build an fps-franchise of their own, but they should also have a western studio dedicated to adventure-games, something like Telltale, and a studio that can build a western rpg for them. Also Retro Studios should start making that Star Tropics-reboot. If it can be made into something on the visual quality of Uncharted combines with the more puzzle-based gameplay of Zelda, I think Nintendo might have a winner here.

Joined: Apr 17 2011 Location: US Posts: 58

Oh wow, if they were to start pumping out awesome RPGs again like the 90's, that would be freakin amazing. On the Wii U specifically the tablet could make RPGs a lot of fun when it comes to customization and item management.

Posted: Dec 08 2011 05:24 pm

I think it could be argued that Nintendo is more of a toy making company than video game company. They are always willing to try some new gimmicks, whether it be make strange controllers or bizarre peripherals. I agree with Syd, Nintendo should acquire some of those companies to gain some of those great IPs, if nothing else. Nintendo is and probably will always be about FUN, while Microsoft, Sony and others are more about ENTERTAINMENT.

I would absolutely love to see a Konami/Capcom merger. Also, if Nintendo owned the rights to Mega Man, you know they would be cranking out a ton of games featuring the Blue Bomber. There is no way they could just ignore that franchise and it's potential to be a huge cash cow.

Posted: Dec 09 2011 10:33 am

Nintendo needs to buy Konami and Capcom, for real.

Posted: Dec 09 2011 12:11 pm

Well, the articles have said that he is merely stepping down in favor of smaller projects, right? It's not all too bad, especially since he is still working for the Big N, and while I don't entirely agree with him stepping down from his general producer position, I totally respect and support it.

And I'm looking forward to some of his smaller projects. I hope to play one of them in the future.

Posted: Dec 09 2011 02:14 pm

taterfyrings wrote:

On the discussion of Nintendo. I hate that lots of people want Nintendo to be more like Sony or Microsoft. The reason why I and many others still like Nintendo so much is because they do things differently, and in a world where also Nintendo starts to pump out 8-hours fps titles with an heavy emphasis on multiplayer, is a world with much less diversity, and probably the day I stop gaming. Why can't people who don't like Nintendo play other things, while we who like them can continue to have an awesome time with their creative ideas and gameplay-focused games.

I appreciate most of what you're saying, but I do have to raise an objection. Why are 8 hours shooters your characterizations of Microsoft and Sony? Skyrim, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, the modern Fallout games, Fable and Assassin's Creed were all released on Microsoft and Sony systems and not the Wii. The other consoles don't produce "dumber" games if you're buying the right ones. In fact, their hardware has allowed some pretty complex creations that The Wii's couldn't handle. If Nintendo really wants to draw down on the criticism they recieve, they need to have hardware that matches that of their competitors. I don't say that because of any superficial need for the best graphics available, but because it would help stem the mass exodus of 3rd party developers from Nintendo that this current generation has seen.

As for Miamoto, this is sad news. The franchises he remains involved with are all still turning out modern classics on a regular basis. If he says he's stepping down to smaller projects, I can't seem him juggling the top tier franchise titles that he's had his hands all over the last few years. I'm no expert on Nintendo's inner workings, but I'm betting that Mario and LoZ titles are as big as projects get over there. The man's almost 60 years old. Eventually there's a point where we all want to slow down.

Posted: Dec 09 2011 05:12 pm

I think Nintendo should buy out George Foreman's grills and create a console that plays games and grills my chicken while draining the fat. That's the only way to save Nintendo.

Joined: Sep 25 2009 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 395

Fighter_McWarrior wrote:

I appreciate most of what you're saying, but I do have to raise an objection. Why are 8 hours shooters your characterizations of Microsoft and Sony? Skyrim, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, the modern Fallout games, Fable and Assassin's Creed were all released on Microsoft and Sony systems and not the Wii. The other consoles don't produce "dumber" games if you're buying the right ones. In fact, their hardware has allowed some pretty complex creations that The Wii's couldn't handle. If Nintendo really wants to draw down on the criticism they recieve, they need to have hardware that matches that of their competitors. I don't say that because of any superficial need for the best graphics available, but because it would help stem the mass exodus of 3rd party developers from Nintendo that this current generation has seen.

Everything you say here is true, and I agree that there are tons of great deep games on the other systems (I have both of them as well, and I did not mean to generalize to such an extent that you seems to have believed. I guess my english could have been better).

I would also be fine with Nintendo releasing a machine that is competitive with the competition regarding specs so they could get these games. However, I do prefer the Nintendo who spends resources trying out new ways of play like the motion-technology, touch-control on the DS and the upcoming screen on the Upad, even if I don't consider all of them successes (the 3D-gimmich on the 3DS comes to mind). And a console can only have so many features to stay within a competitive price, which is why I feel it would be better if Sony/Microsoft should continue pushing the specs, while Nintendo should continue to give up some specs (and some thirdparty-support) to create other kinds of experiences. Even though it means that not all the consoles will get all the different thirdparty games, which I am fine with. Let Nintendo be Nintendo! (And Sony be Sony, MS be MS etc). In that way we get more diversity, more choices, and ultimately, more interesting games.

Joined: Apr 09 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 3112

I'm with Fighter on this one. Sure, there are publishers who demand samey sequels (and lots of re-makes in Nintendo's case) for a consistent and reliable source of revenue, but there are plenty of developers out there big and small who are trying to create new and fun games. I have a wonderful range of awesome games on my 360. This year alone the 360 got Bastion, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, Stacking, Ilomilo, Bulletstorm, Outland, El Shaddai, Catherine, Child of Eden, Shadows of the Damned, etc. Those were all new IP's, not to mention great sequels like Skyrim, Arkham City, Dark Souls, and so on. Those games are all over the place in terms style, gameplay, and presentation, and that's awesome.

Now imagine if the Wii could have run, or in many cases, attracted all of those. Imagine if the Wii could have played Call of Duty (in a way that could match the 360/PS3, at least), Assassin's Creed, or the Arkham games, and how different things would be if it could. Maybe there wouldn't be a desperate petition movement just to get a few notable games released outside of Japan. I'm not cheering for any one company. I want to see Nintendo compete, so they can light a fire underneath Sony/Microsoft's tail and vice versa. The Wii lead to the Move/Kinect, and whether you think that's good or bad, competition and innovation helps prevent stagnation, which is a good thing in a creative industry.

Posted: Dec 09 2011 09:43 pm

^Exactly. I didn't defect from the Wii (which was my first buy of the new consoles) because of explosions and tits. I did it because they got all the 3rd party games. I guess I've been miffed at Nintendo for a while now because they sold me an inferior product (the Wii) with the promise of a bunch of features that were never fully utilized. Their first party Wii titles have really been fantastic, but that's all they've got. My 360 purchase ended up being one I got a ton more use out of.

I love Nintendo. If I saw that their next console was getting the kind of 3rd party support that I'd like to see, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. But I got cheated on that Wii purchase and I won't do it again.