Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto is on the long list of developers not planning on taking their hard-earned retirement when given the opportunity.
I don’t know what it is about game developers, but a shocking number of them really don’t want to retire. When Metal Gear Solid developer Hideo Kojima turned 60 a few years back, he pledged that he will never retire, while Bethesda’s Todd Howard recently said that he used to think about what his retirement would look like, but no longer does after seeing the work being done at the studio.
Speaking to Famitsu (via Nintendo Everything), Miyamoto was asked if there is anything he is especially eager to pursue, and outside of saying “I would be happy if I could start a movement where ‘everyone and their dog’ joins in,” he admits: “There’s nothing that I feel like I’m going to see through to the end.”
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Miyamoto also adds: “My family is telling me, ‘Isn’t it about time you stopped?'”
Famitsu then asks if he hopes to be doing the same thing he’s doing right now in 10 years time when he’ll be 83 years old, and Miyamoto responds: “Yes, that’s right. The feeling of ‘I hope we can keep going’ fits perfectly.”
He appears to refer to the making of The Legend of Zelda movie when he says: “On set, we say things like, ‘It wouldn’t be surprising if I collapsed tomorrow, so make sure you’re OK (laughs).’ I just hope we can keep going without any problems.”
And granted, Miyamoto’s role at Nintendo has changed somewhat significantly, with the last game he was credited with a director role being Super Mario Run 10 years ago (and his last original concept credit being Super Mario Maker the year prior).
While he’s still been involved as a producer on many games, Miyamoto has also been seemingly focused on leading the charge on Nintendo’s presence outside of gaming, with him being involved in the Super Nintendo World areas at Universal parks and the production of Mario and Zelda movies. But regardless, it’ll be sad to see him go when he does decide to hang up the moustache.