Shigeru Miyamoto says he’s still not thinking about retiring

Shigeru Miyamoto just celebrated his 71st birthday last month, but retirement still doesn’t seem to be on his mind.

Miyamoto, the creator of hit franchises like Mario and The Legend of Zelda, was asked if he’s ever tempted to retire in an interview with The Guardian. He’s spent well over four decades working at Nintendo.

Miyamoto shared the following 

“More so than retiring, I’m thinking about the day I fall over. In this day and age you have to think about things in a five-year timespan, so I do think about who I can pass things on to, in case something does happen. I’m really thankful that there is so much energy around things that I have worked on. These are things that have already gone out into the world… they’ve been cultivated by others, other people have been raising them, helping them grow, so in that sense I don’t feel too much ownership over them any more.”

Something else a bit noteworthy from the interview is that Miyamoto said he doesn’t think of himself as a game designer these days, and is “about finding unique opportunities for Nintendo.” That makes sense given how he’s put a lot of focus into other areas such as Super Nintendo World and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.