Nintendo is "not going to change" when Miyamoto eventually departs

Nintendo icon Shigeru Miyamoto doesn't think the company will change after he inevitably departs.

The veteran Nintendo creator was recently interviewed by NPR, who asked Miyamoto how the company might change when he one day leaves. "You know, I really feel like it's not going to change," Miyamoto answered. "It's probably going to be the same." 

Miyamoto points to others in positions of leadership at Nintendo "who create Mario," and "all have this sense of what it means to be Nintendo." The veteran doesn't think there's going to be "a lot of different opinions that go back and forth" and clash with one another once he leaves - instead, it'll all be one clear vision.

"We have this incredible shared vision, almost a little scary shared vision, about this," Miyamoto explained, adding that it's simply "not going to change." Miyamoto, at least, seems incredibly assured about Nintendo's future as a creative force when he eventually leaves the company.

It's not unreasonable to expect Miyamoto, now 70, to depart Nintendo within the foreseeable future. The designer has been with the company since 1977, helping create internationally-recognized hits like The Legend of Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong. In recent years though, Miyamoto has stepped back a little from the spotlight.

Whereas the creator would've once regularly appeared on Nintendo Direct presentations, he's handed off those duties to others, only appearing to give updates on projects that he's personally close to, like Pikmin 4 or the Super Mario Bros movie. 

Despite stepping back from the spotlight, Miyamoto remains synonymous with Nintendo and its games, for both older generations and more modern players. When Miyamoto does eventually retire from Nintendo, there's no doubt the industry will lose one of its defining figureheads.

Head over to our upcoming Switch games guide for a look at everything on Nintendo's radar for the immediate future.