Miyamoto Less Involved with Key Nintendo Franchises, Still Has Final Say

Shigeru Miyamoto talks about decreased responsibilities and other producers picking up the slack.


Can you imagine a Nintendo without Shigeru Miyamoto, the man who brought us some of the most entertaining games and franchises ever created? That’s apparently how Nintendo is currently operating according to the man himself in an interview with the Official Nintendo Magazine for its 100th issue. Miyamoto talked about how Nintendo is functioning with the help of several producers including Eiji Aonuma of Zelda fame.

“As you saw at our presentation at E3, Mr Aonuma chased me off stage…he doesn’t need me any more! The final responsibility for the title still comes down to me and I’m still involved in the games, but I’m definitely able to leave the series up to him in a way. I don’t have to look at every minute detail of every game any more. I know there’s going to be the level of quality that we expect under his supervision.

“Similarly we have Koizumi-san, who’s the producer or the Mario series and it’s the same type of situation. And certainly Konno-san with Mario Kart, too. And Mr Eguchi, producer of the Animal Crossing series. These are the main producers that we’ve trained who are talented enough and we can allow them to oversee the project and manage all the details and still maintain the Nintendo level of quality.”

While it does mean that he has a somewhat decreased role, it appears more like Miyamoto taking less strain since other producers are able to deliver the same level of success. If the success of Animal Crossing: New Leaf is any indication, this formula appears to be working. Still, what are your thoughts on Miyamoto’s current responsibilities? Let us know below.

Animal Crossing: New LeafindustryNintendoShigeru MiyamotoZelda