Shigeru Miyamoto is definitely not retiring from Nintendo. But the question of whether he is "retiring" from his high-level executive position has been pointlessly contentious, with Nintendo PR countering his own claims.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the game design legend was more guarded in his words, saying that the company should be "structured" to continue operations without him, to transition toward his eventual departure. "I should also admit that it might be better without me," Miyamoto said. "I mean that a different approach and different talent might emerge, though I shouldn't dwell on this because then the article might indeed say 'Mr. Miyamoto is thinking about retiring,' because that is not the case." Of course he will have to leave Nintendo at some point, because he ages at the normal human rate.

He reiterated his interest in spending time on smaller ideas, though the WSJ reports that he said those ideas could "blossom" into larger games.