Shigeru Miyamotoone of the veterans of Nintendo, doesn’t think the company will change after he leaves. For now there is no separation between the creative and the company, but obviously sooner or later it will have to happen. Mainly because Miyamoto (until proven otherwise) isn’t immortal.
Miyamoto was recently interviewed by NPR: the newspaper asked Miyamoto how he might change the company when he one day leaves. “You know, I really think he won’t change,” Miyamoto replied. “Probably it will remain the same“.
Miyamoto recalls that the other Nintendo executives “who create Mario all have a sense of what it means to be Nintendo.” The veteran doesn’t think there will be “a lot of different opinions” and he doesn’t think there will be fights once he’s gone. Instead, he believes that there will be one clear vision.
“We have an incredible shared vision, an almost scary shared vision,” Miyamoto explained, adding that it just “won’t change.” Miyamoto it seems incredibly sure of Nintendo’s future as a creative force when he leaves the company.
Recall that Miyamoto is 70 years old and certainly won’t be able to work forever. The creative joined the company in 1977 and has continued his career at Nintendo for 46 years. He helped create famous sagas like The Legend of Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong and more, but clearly it’s not all his sack flour: many other developers have played a key role and there are always new levers ready to carry on the tradition of Nintendo.