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Nintendo have denied that games icon Shigeru Miyamoto is to step down from his leading games developer role with the company, despite the man himself previously saying that he wanted to devote himself to smaller games.

One of gaming's most visionary people, Miyamoto has been responsible for creating the Super Mario Bros, The Legend Of Zelda and Wii Fit in his thirty years with Nintendo.

The 59-year-old had told Wired: "Inside our office, I’ve been recently declaring, ‘I’m going to retire, I’m going to retire. I’m not saying that I’m going to retire from game development altogether. What I mean by retiring is, retiring from my current position.

"What I really want to do is be in the forefront of game development once again myself. Probably working on a smaller project with even younger developers. Or I might be interested in making something that I can make myself, by myself. Something really small."

After shares dropped 2 per cent, Nintendo issued a statement which read: "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."

In other words, total utter confusion, a crossing of wires, and a chance that something got lost in translation...

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