Former Nintendo Devs Hail 'Celestial' Colleagues

Takaya Imamura, a renowned video game designer and manga artist celebrated for his contributions to F-Zero, Star Fox, and The Legend of Zelda, has revealed that despite his impressive résumé, the sheer talent at Nintendo made him feel "inferior." He ultimately found relief in leaving the company.

"Nintendo was filled with so many incredible individuals," Imamura wrote on X, in a post spotted and translated by Automaton. "I constantly questioned how I could prove my own value in that environment," he added, noting a persistent "sense of inferiority."

"When I departed, I genuinely felt a wave of freedom, as if released from a years-long burden," Imamura added. "Yet, there was also loneliness in thinking, 'I won’t collaborate with these people anymore.' However, with retirement approaching and game development being a lengthy process, I felt a stronger urge to pursue creative projects at my own pace."

While this admission may be surprising, it appears many former Nintendo employees share this sentiment. Former designer Shinji Watanabe, now heading Epsilon Software, likened his ex-colleagues to "celestial beings." Ken Watanabe, who spent a decade at Nintendo before becoming an indie creator, agreed, stating, "The company is truly full of amazing people. Striving to distinguish myself among them was both exhausting and rewarding."

Speaking of Nintendo, are you aware that Super Mario Strikers—known as Mario Smash Football in Europe—joins the Nintendo Switch Online GameCube library next week? It's the first title added since the Switch 2 launched earlier this month. Also, for a major nostalgia boost, an incredibly cool replica GameCube controller is now available.

The Nintendo Switch 2 is enjoying a strong start, with 3.5 million units sold. However, an analysis of its launch week sales reveals a mixed performance for third-party games.