After an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto Nintendo have moved to deny the reports that Miyamoto is stepping down in order to work on smaller projects. The report caused Nintendo shares to drop 2 per cent. This is what Miyamoto told Wired (though Edge).
"Inside our office, I've recently been declaring: 'I'm going to retire, I'm going to retire'," Miyamoto, 59, explained. "I'm not saying that I'm going to retire from game development altogether. What I mean by retiring is retiring from my current position.
"What I really want to do is be in the forefront of game development once again myself. Probably working on a smaller project with even younger developers. Or I might be interested in making something that I can make myself, by myself. Something really small.
"In other words, I'm not intending to start from things that require a five-year development time."
Other than The Legend of Zelda series it is hard to imagine Miyamoto having worked on games that have taken 5 years to complete, but still it's an early sign that he is thinking about a different role in the organisation.