Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Mario, Donkey Kong, Link and many more is easing his work load at Nintendo and focusing on smaller projects.

Shigeru Miyamoto has been to gamers what his creations are to the mass public; a character that has become iconic of Nintendo itself. Mr. Miyamoto's joyous nature, love for Nintendo and his enviable ability to create characters that have become known worldwide has made him an enduring figure at the centre of a company that has suffered some turbulent times.

In an interview with Wired he is quoted as saying, via translation, "Inside our office, I've been recently declaring, 'I'm going to retire, I'm going to retire". He followed this up by claiming what he means he will retire from his current position as he wants to be at the "forefront of game development" and hopes to work on "a smaller project with even younger developers", or perhaps even something completely independently.

While the interview made it clear that Shigeru Miyamoto has no plans to completely leave the company many people have begun to worry that one of Nintendo's key creative forces is going to leave and Nintendo, presumably keen not to be seen as losing one of their most beloved employees, has tried to clarify the issue.

Reuters cites an official statement from Nintendo, stating quite simply: "He has no intention of stepping down. Please do not be concerned." The statement also points to Mr. Miyamoto's comments that he simply wants to train a younger generation, something he has long expressed a desire to do.

Nintendo fans can be thankful for the fact that Shigeru Miyamoto is not leaving the company and is fact helping to train more developers. However, Shigeru Miyamoto is aware that he can't be around forever and apparently is telling the young developers that he will retire so that they do not always have to rely upon him and become independent. This may have led to some confusion in regards to Wired's original article but Nintendo are keen to assure us that Shigeru Miyamoto is most certainly sticking around for now.

Update: To further quell confusion, Nintendo has moved to issue its own official statement on the matter to the press.

"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."