Mario 'Will Prevail Without His Creator'Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto has been in headlines across the web this week, after an interview with the Mario creator indicated his desire to step down from his current position in order to work on smaller game projects that don't take 5 years to complete. IndustryGamers chatted with analysts about the potential move and the legend's eventual retirement from Nintendo. Will Nintendo be ready?
"Mickey Mouse didn't disappear when Walt Disney died, people are still buying the iPhone 4S months after the passing of Steve Jobs, and Mario will prevail without his creator," remarked Asif Khan, CEO of Panoptic Management Consultants. "If you read the interview, Miyamoto says he believes he has created a team at Nintendo that no longer needs his help in making quality games with their already existing IP. This man loves games, and he wants to get back to making them."
Khan sees Miyamoto's move not only as something that would be desirable for the great designer, but ultimately beneficial to Nintendo as the company seeks to counter the rise of smartphone and tablet gaming.
He continued, "A big criticism surrounding Nintendo is that they don't have enough software support, and he seems to be addressing that problem with this move. He wants to work with smaller dev teams, maybe even alone, on games with faster development cycles. His creativity is being held back by these 5 year projects that he has been overseeing over the past generations. It is clear that he sees how fast games are coming out on iOS and Android and this move should help Nintendo release more software going forward on Wii U and 3DS. At the same time, he finally gets to work on new intellectual property for the company. After 30 years of making Mario games, wouldn't you be tired of doing the same thing?"
Scott Steinberg of TechSavvy Global largely agrees, as he sees Nintendo getting ready for the inevitable.
"Shigeru Miyamoto’s contribution to Nintendo’s historical success and influence can’t be discounted, given his involvement in nearly every major franchise and system that have helped the company rise to the position it enjoys today. He’s also every bit the smiling, jovial face of the company as much as Mario, the iconic mascot he helped create. But as much as Miyamoto’s influenced the company’s culture and continually challenged it to explore new gameplay concepts and ideals over the decades, his retirement has long been a possibility, and he’s actively worked to train a generation of new talent and leadership to follow in his footsteps. Likewise, he’s formally stated his intention to remain a part of the company, and work on smaller projects, which means he’ll still be available to provide counsel and advice to current leadership," Steinberg said.
"It seems very likely, that Nintendo may have to consider market opportunities beyond their own hardware, which would require a significant change in the Company’s culture, and subsequently a change in executive leadership."
He continued, "He’s simply stepping back to focus on more of a design-oriented role, where his historical passions lie. After decades of bar-raising service, it’s only natural that such an accomplished designer might wish to step back and take on a less demanding role, and allow others to step up and enjoy the spotlight. The added benefit being that, by returning to his roots in day-to-day design, he can expand his own repertoire by working with up and coming talent, and today’s more nimble, social, digital, connected and agile titles. Miyamoto’s long been an advocate for continued education, and the need to explore new concepts and horizons – I suspect his ‘retirement’ will simply give the talented creator more time to tinker and experiment, and perhaps gain added perspective on the shape of today’s industry."
And as Steinberg points out, even in "retirement" odds are that Miyamoto will always have a say, or that higher-ups at Nintendo will consult with him: "While he might not be as involved in corporate strategy or operations going forward, he’ll still remain a trusted advisor, and source of ideas, to the company. Until such a time, if ever, he decides to actively abandon his work with the company, and in the games industry, from a practical perspective, his ‘retirement’ will likely be in name only, and he still has ample time, where needed, to train others to carry the torch forward when he decides to ultimately wave goodbye to the business."
One of the downsides from such a move, however, is that Nintendo will have to explain what's going on to investors. "Miyamoto is obviously a crucial creative asset for Nintendo and he can choose how he wants to spend his time. This will mean mostly a PR hit for Nintendo, as the company will have to explain Miyamoto's new role and he may be less accessible for press interviews going forward. I think he'll continue to be a company spokesperson at Nintendo events," M2 Research analyst Billy Pidgeon said.
The silver lining in Miyamoto taking a less prominent role is that Nintendo can perhaps elevate some new leadership, which may be needed if the company wants to continue to make its mark in the current marketplace, observed Mike Hickey of National Alliance Capital Markets. "We suspect Miyamoto is struggling to find a balance between the creative culture he has actively developed and the potentially disruptive market realities Nintendo must eventually acknowledge. It seems very likely, that Nintendo may have to consider market opportunities beyond their own hardware, which would require a significant change in the Company’s culture, and subsequently a change in executive leadership, in our view," Hickey told us.
Miyamoto has forever changed Nintendo and the games industry as a whole. When he does retire completely from Nintendo, it'll be sad for all of us, but the legacy that Miyamoto has left the company should at least enable it to carry on without a hitch for quite some time.
