Nintendo Denies Miyamoto's "Retirement" After Stock Drops 2% in One Day

Are they correcting a misunderstanding or backpedaling to salvage stocks?

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Wired's news that Shigeru Miyamoto, the driving creative force behind Nintendo, was "retiring" was met with outrage and sadness by illiterate fans everywhere. We say illiterate because if they had actually read the news, they would have realized that he was simply stepping down from his current role at Nintendo and assuming a different one—one that would allow him more direct involvement in games and, therefore, would be beneficial to gamers everywhere.

Unfortunately, most people just read headlines, and Nintendo's stocks dropped a full 2% in just a day, claims IGN. Now Nintendo's claiming Miyamoto's message to Wired was lost in translation all along, and that he'll absolutely be continuing in his current role as Senior Managing Director and General Manager of Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development Division.

An official statement reads, "Video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto's role at Nintendo is not changing. He will continue to be a driving force in Nintendo's development efforts. In discussing his priorities at Nintendo in a media interview, Mr. Miyamoto explained how he is encouraging the younger developers at the company to take more initiative and responsibility for developing software. He attempted to convey his priorities moving forward, inclusive of overseeing all video game development and ensuring the quality of all products. Mr. Miyamoto also discussed his desire to pursue fresh ideas and experiences of the kind that sparked his initial interest in video games."

We were looking forward to the iconic developer working on something a little lower-profile than Mario or Zelda for once. Let's just hope he gets to do what he wants in the long run. Do you think he was misunderstood, or is Nintendo trying to save face? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter or Facebook.

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