Though Shigeru Miyamoto has teased at lessening his role in Nintendo’s big budget development before, the results have yet to really be felt by consumers. Despite clear attempts to nurture the younger staff at Nintendo, the fact is that Miyamoto has still been running the show on a fair number of recent Nintendo titles. It’s well known that Pikmin 3 was his baby, and though perhaps not quite as heavily or directly involved with Super Mario 3D World as with past Marios, it’s still been a focus of his as of late. If Miyamoto’s words in a recent interview with Gamekult are to be believed though, he may never be fully “in charge” of a Mario title again.
When asked whether he’d return to Mario, Miyamoto had the following to say.
Creating a Mario of 3D World‘s calibre demands enormous energy and there is little chance that I’d be able to take the time necessary to work on the next Mario. Instead, I want to get involved more heavily in the development of new, smaller-scale projects, but that doesn’t necessarily mean just modest downloadable titles. It’s not impossible that I’ll present a new game as principal creator in the future, but even though I’m not directly in charge of a project, I’m always keeping an eye on what the teams are doing in terms of gameplay and I have confidence in them. Don’t worry about Mario!
You know, I can’t quite place it, but that last bit is actually very reassuring. Maybe it’s because Super Mario 3D Land is one of my favorite Mario titles of all time, and was created with Miyamoto serving as nothing more than “General Producer.” It’s scary, but EAD Tokyo is ready to function without him – Mr. Hayashida has proven his worth!
Either way, it will be exciting to see what the legendary designer can come up with if and when he does turn his attention to a “new game as principal creator.” I’m sure he wouldn’t mind churning out one last new IP before his real retirement arrives.
In the meantime, let’s all go back to ogling every last screenshot from Super Mario 3D World.
