Rumor: Tezuka taking over as EAD General Manger, new Miyamoto division, Iwata changes
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata is purportedly planning a number of changes inside the company that will begin to take effect over the next few months.
Perhaps biggest of all is that Shigeru Miyamoto will be stepping down as EAD General Manager in December. Takashi Tezuka, who has worked on Mario and Zelda games (among other titles) for the past thirty years, will take over the role.
Miyamoto won’t be leaving Nintendo. He’ll instead form a new team that will work on smaller projects – something that’s been talked about before.
There are other notable upcoming changes, including a shift in Kyoto development sources, the possibility of Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai joining EAD Tokyo (Super Mario Galaxy 1/2, Mario 3D Land), and more.
Here are the full list of changes in full (via Guardian UK, Nikkei, Wired):
2013 Expected Iwata Changes
+ Major shift in Kyoto development sources involving 3 R&D buildings
+ Shigeru Miyamoto stepping down as EAD General Manager
+ Takash Tezuka becoming new EAD General Manager
+ New Groups / New Producers announced for EAD Kyoto / SPD Kyoto
+ EAD Tokyo Expansion / Masahiro Sakurai Possibly Joining EAD Tokyo
+ New Division lead by Miyamoto with younger staff focused on smaller scale games
+ Miyamoto’s Departure Inspiring New IPs for the EAD Kyoto Division
