Shigeru Miyamoto Imagines What Nintendo Will Be Like After He’s Gone

For more than 45 years, Shigeru Miyamoto has worked at Nintendo in some capacity, so it’s hard to imagine the home of Mario without the veteran director and designer. However, Miyamoto thinks Nintendo will “probably be the same” even after he’s gone. 

In an interview with NPR, Miyamoto spoke about his inspirations, Nintendo’s future, and how a shared vision at the company drives its familiar essence. When asked about a Nintendo without him, Miyamoto thinks the creators and executives still there will keep things mostly the same.

“You know, I really feel it’s not going to change, ” Miyamoto said. “It’s probably going to be the same. There’s, you know, people on the executive team, creators within the company, and also people who create Mario, they all have this sense of what it means to be Nintendo.” 

Miyamoto chalks that outlook up to a shared understanding at Nintendo. Even as the company introduces new ideas, he described a Nintendo where everyone is mostly on the same page. 

“There’s always the fact that it’s a new idea, but also the fact that, is it a new idea that really has the essence of Nintendo or not? And I think that’s something that, you know, we have this incredible shared vision, almost a little scary shared vision, about this. So I think there won’t — it’s not going to change,” he said.

On that same note, when NPR asked the director which Nintendo world he would like to live in when it’s time for the afterlife, Miyamoto offered a bittersweet sentiment. He loves his current environment, as he can “engage in so many different things.” He joked he’d like it to remain in a similar place, but maybe at his desk or bathtub instead. 

The Nintendo of today seems to demonstrate Miyamoto’s vision. After his decades there, iteration after iteration on hardware still offered familiar faces like Mario, just in new ways. Most recently, Nintendo hosted a soft opening for its Super Nintendo World theme park at Universal Studios Hollywood. It’s the second location of its kind, and the park continues to expand with Nintendo staples like Pokemon.

In IGN’s recent interview with Miyamoto, the creator offered another look at the past and present of the company. While he may see things mostly staying the same, Nintendo’s delivered on surprises in the past. When speaking to IGN, he explained his skepticism over a theme park venture but was glad to see it finally take shape. 

Andrea Shearon is a freelance contributor for IGN covering games and entertainment. She’s worn several hats over her seven-year career in the games industry, with bylines over at Fanbyte, USA Today’s FTW, TheGamer, VG247, and RPG Site. Find her on Twitter (@Maajora) or the Materia Possessions podcast chatting about FFXIV, RPGs, and any series involving giant robots.