It’s not a stretch by any means to say that the gaming industry wouldn’t be the same without Shigeru Miyamoto. He’s the man who made Mario, Donkey Kong, Link and Zelda, the Pikmin, and so on. He’s the mastermind behind many legendary titles and helped influence Nintendo many times (for better and for worse) over the years. Despite being 71, he’s still working and helping expand the Nintendo brand. In other words, he’s not going to retire anytime soon, and as he told The Guardian in an interview, “I’m thinking about the day I fall over”.
As in, he’s working until he dies, and we can appreciate that mentality. He also noted:
“In this day and age you have to think about things in a five-year timespan, so I do think about who I can pass things on to, in case something does happen. I’m really thankful that there is so much energy around things that I have worked on. These are things that have already gone out into the world … they’ve been cultivated by others, other people have been raising them, helping them grow, so in that sense I don’t feel too much ownership over them any more.”
Of course, right now, he’s been having a hand in helping Nintendo’s best characters get into new IPs and settings, such as the Super Nintendo World theme parks or the Mario movie that made a billion dollars, and the Legend of Zelda film that he’s helping produce! So, yeah, he’s got a lot to do still before he hangs up his Mario cap.
