Late last night, the gaming world was shocked to hear reports of the legendary game developer Shigeru Miyamoto, the man responsible for series such as Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, was stepping down from his current position. Nintendo has denied these claims, but it brings up the question: what will Nintendo do when Miyamoto leaves?

It is an inevitability that the figurehead, the company’s guiding hand creatively for the past 25 years, will eventually have to step down from his position and hand off the reins of the franchises he has made famous to someone else at some point. The developer is only human, after all, and cannot go on forever at the same pace, despite what many fans and the company wants.

When this does finally happen, where will that leave gaming’s landmark company? Will it be good or bad for the future of Miyamoto’s most famous series? One man does not a development team make.

Despite my love for Miyamoto and all of his franchises, part of me cannot help but wonder if his leaving would be a good thing, both for him and for the future of the company his creations fostered.

I was saddened to hear of his stepping down, like any Nintendo fan would be, but I was also a little excited for the possibilities brought about by new people heading the icons of gaming.

I am sure Miyamoto still loves working Mario and Zelda, they are what made him in the first place, and still has fresh ideas about what he can do with these characters, but after the rumors that have come out, I can’t help but wonder if he is ready to work on something new, but feels like he is trapped working on the same franchises much like Kojima does with Metal Gear Solid. For this reason, I was excited to learn more about the smaller games that he wanted to work on. I am all for an impassioned Miyamoto with fresh ideas in his head and a personal attachment to the game that is not drained after working with it for five years.

Nintendo could also benefit by Miyamoto stepping down, even if the step down is temporary. Don’t get my wrong, it would require many of the younger developers at the company to step up big time and even then Miyamoto’s shoes could not possibly be completely filled, but allowing a fresh take on the classics and not relying on one man to run your company creatively would be a good thing for the gaming giant. Many of those younger developers are probably bursting with ideas for new franchises or interesting ways to take the old ones but have not had a chance with Miyamoto running the show all these years. Fans would also enjoy playing pure Miyamoto again and the ability to do so more often with smaller projects.

Miyamoto stepping down is unescapable for Nintendo, it is just a matter of when he feels he has done enough to walk away. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing for the company either. While many feel Miyamoto is Nintendo, and evidence to the contrary is slim at this point, it does not have to be that way. With studios such as Retro, the developer behind the wheel of Donkey Kong Country Returns, and plenty of untapped, young development talent just waiting to head their own project.

Nintendo is a gaming giant that can survive the departure of its most famous employee and will do so when the time finally does arrive.