Along with the release of its reasonably positive earnings report today, Nintendo has announced that Genyo Takeda, the company’s long-serving director, is stepping down in June.
Holding the position of ‘technology fellow’ alongside visionary video game creator Shigeru Miyamoto, Takeda has played a significant role in defining Nintendo’s hardware and software.
Takeda has worked for Nintendo for a total of 46 years and played a significant role in the development of classic games like Punch-Out and Pilotwings 64. He also worked on the design of the Nintendo 64’s analogue stick. While the system’s joystick seems primitive by today’s standards, when the N64’s controller was first released back in 1996, it fundamentally changed the video game industry and helped usher in the modern era of three-dimensional games.
He was also behind Nintendo’s move towards motion-controlled gaming with 2006’s Wii. It’s currently unclear if Takeda is retiring completely or just stepping down from his role as director and to take on a smaller role at the company.
Ko Shiota, the current head of Nintendo’s platform technology development division and hardware lead on the Wii U, will be taking over his position.
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