UPDATE: It would appear that Miyamoto isn’t going anywhere… literally. A spokeswoman for Nintendo contacted Reuters Japan and claimed his “stepping down” as head of creative development was a misunderstanding.

“He has no intention of stepping down,” she said. “Please do not be concerned.”

This message is unfortunately a bit late, as the heavy amounts of world “concern” prompted Nintendo’s stock share price to drop 2 percent. At this point, we’re just hoping we don’t see headlines reading “Nintendo Pitchfork Mob Gathered Outside of Wired” or “Interpreter Falls from Skyscraper.”

[Via: Reuters Japan]

Shigeru Miyamoto, industry veteran and Nintendo’s Head of Game Design, is retiring from his current position at the popular video game company.

According to Game|Life on Wired, the 59-year-old game designer is finished contributing towards larger titles within the company, but plans to continue working on minor–if not personal–projects.

“What I really want to do is be in the forefront of game development once again myself,” said Miyamoto via his interpreter. “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.”

Miyamoto began working for Nintendo in the 1980s, when he was recruited to design Donkey Kong, a game that would capture arcade audiences everywhere. Since then, Miyamoto has been credited for creating games like Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Star Fox. His latest contributions include The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Super Mario 3D Land, two of Nintendo’s 2011 holiday releases.

Though the term “retiring” sounds grim to many Nintendo fans, his desire to create “something really small” by himself means gamers can look forward to… well, that’s the great thing about Miyamoto, we never have a clue.

[Via: Game|Life]