Say it ain’t so! Super Mario Bros. creator and popular Nintendo icon Shigeru Miyamoto recently told a French outlet that he wants to step away from future Super Mario Bros. games. In Miyamoto’s own words, he told Gamekult:
“Creating a Mario of [Super Mario] 3D World‘s calibre demands enormous energy and there is little chance that I’d be able to take the time necessary to work on the next Mario. Instead, I want to get involved more heavily in the development of new, smaller-scale projects, but that doesn’t necessarily mean just modest downloadable titles. It’s not impossible that I’ll present a new game as principal creator in the future, but even though I’m not directly in charge of a project, I’m always keeping an eye on what the teams are doing in terms of gameplay and I have confidence in them. Don’t worry about Mario!”
I’ve honestly never been a huge Super Mario Bros. fan (my blood is Sonic the Hedgehog blue), but you’d be hard-pressed to find a gamer who can’t understand Mario and Miyamoto’s legacy and influence on all video games. While it’s true that he’s found himself in smaller roles over recent years, it’s difficult to imagine a Super Mario Bros. game without Miyamoto’s direct presence guiding the game. However, it’s great to see his interest being drawn to smaller-scale games, especially with the rise of indie games over the current/last generation of gaming.
[via IGN]