Nintendo has swiftly and unequivocally responded to a report that quoted Shigeru Miyamoto, one of its most influential employees, saying he wanted to step down.
According to the quotes, from Wired magazine, the legendary game designer was planning to lighten his workload but still remain in game development, but wanted to let a younger generation of designers take the spotlight.
Understandably, this led to a lot of murmuring around the gaming community but Nintendo was quick to respond and say Miyamoto was misquoted.
Referring to the Wired article, a Nintendo spokesperson was quoted by Reuters as saying, “This is absolutely not true. 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.”
Miyamoto’s command of the English language is very minimal and he usually talks to American media via a translator.
Miyamoto became a legend by creating such amazing franchises as Mario and Donkey Kong, and has continued to capture the same kind of magic to this day throughout his decades-long career at Nintendo.
He is as important to Nintendo as Steve Jobs was to Apple, and if he were to step down it would be a huge blow to the company. Luckily, at least for now, that does not appear to be the case.
