Nintendo Producer Kensuke Tanabe Has Seemingly Confirmed His Retirement

Not to be that guy, but…

Does this mean Paper Mario can be weird again?

I feel like he may have once been a great developer, but it feels like everything he has touched in the last 15 years has turned out for the worse - Paper Mario, Chibi-Robo, Federation Force and now Prime 4... I can't say for certain if any of this is necessarily his fault, I think it's more likely a combination of issues, but the pattern is too apparent to ignore.

Despite that though, I appreciate his contributions to the industry. Enjoy retirement, Tanabe-san.

This man directed THE 28 time winner of GOTY, the indomitable Super Mario Bros 2??? Truly we have lost a legend. May he enjoy his retirement.

Yikes…. I’d do one more to try to leave on a high note

@cvrator actually he directed doki doki panic, because fun fact, mario bros 2 was called like that in Japan. Can you imagine having that game as your first thing on your resume

This guy is a legend. Worked on all paper marios, most luigi’s mansions, was the producer of punch-out on the wii and mario strikers, etc.

That’s a big loss for Nintendo but he’s had an amazing career and wish him all the best for the rest of his days.

_{folks are totally gonna be normal and not vilify him because his name is on a bunch of Paper Mario games people don't like}

Anyways, while Tanabe may have had some misses here and there, he still had a hand in enough stellar titles throughout his career; enough for me to look past his missteps(unlike some others here). Wish Tanabe all the best, and congrats to Tabata.

Likely to be replaced by Risa Tabata. That will upset the misogynists.

Ousted for his failure. Never should have let the bad writing stay.

This is it, everyone. As time passes, more and more of the veteran Nintendo developers will retire and pass on. Hopefully Nintendo continues its mostly amazing track record of creating amazing games far into the future, even with a new generation in charge.

Thanks for the fun games, Tanabe-San 🫡!

I think Tanabe got worn out by Prime 4, and maybe it's time for some new blood.

@FrenchVaniIIuxe He didn't fail.

Other have said it but I feel like I have to reiterate because people will of course say terrible things because of Prime 4 and some Paper Mario games, Tanabe is a legend. He has had an incredible career and was absolutely instrumental in developing nintendo and its identity that we love so much. Thanks for everything and enjoy a well deserved retirement.

Tanabe had a great legacy, but it may be time to leave franchises like Metroid in better hands. I remember seeing in the credits of Prime 4 that all scan entries were written by him. There was barely any environmental storytelling there, most of the scan entries were meaningless and added no world building, unlike prior entries. Until the final scan of the game revealing the plot when this should have actually been a part of the story (how Sylux used Metroids) and not simply text in a scan entry.

@michellelynn0976

You don’t “leave” a company immediately after such a high profile release that was contentious at best.

@CaptainQuo which, let's be real, they're fun to upset.

While Tanabe's overall resume is mixed depending on who you ask, he has still had a hand in some very influential titles over the past 40 years. I wish him a wonderful retirement.

@FrenchVaniIIuxe "You don't 'leave' a company immediately after a high-profile release that was contentious at best."

Why not? If Tanabe planned on retiring, why wouldn't he leave soon after finishing a major release? Besides, most people generally found that the game was serviceable, and that would hardly ever justify a producer with such an impactful legacy being fired.

@Friendly I know, I'm 46. Amazing game, though! I was super disappointed when Mario 3 was closer to the first game than the second

He made some great games and so I personally didn't enjoy too much. But no matter what, I hope he has a wonderful retirement. Everyone deserves that (except Ubisoft executives)

I hope he has a good retirement! I really wonder what paper Mario is going to look like moving forward now

@FrenchVaniIIuxe At his age why not? Especially after Prime 4 which was probably one of (if not the) most difficult projects he’s ever worked on. OK, it wasn’t the game most people were hoping for but he saw it through to the end and we got a game that was at least good if unremarkable. I don’t think Prime 4 is a sour note to leave on at all.

A very significant departure indeed!

Paper Mario, Metroid Prime, Donkey Kong Country, WarioWare, Luigi's Mansion and Mario Strikers all under his wing, although Risa Tabata has been by his side for 20+ years so I'd imagine this'll be one of the smoother transitions of leadership.

Oh, so HE'S the one person that cares about Sylux 😄

He has a very impressive resume having been the producer on many of my favorite games of all time, Link's Awakening and Donkey Long Country to name a couple. It's a shame but not surprising that he wants to hang it up after the long tortured development of Prime 4 that ultimately didn't pay off, he's only 62 so I have to imagine he would have had a few more games in him otherwise.

THANK YOU Tanabe.

I’m always sorry to see Nintendo veterans like Tanabe-san and (last year?) Imamura-san depart. Even if they’re not credited with any smash hits recently, they contributed greatly to the company’s legacy and no doubt worked hard in supporting roles and mentoring over the years. You lose a lot of intangibles when people retire.

Super Mario 2 (doki-doki panic) to this day is one of my favorite Mario games. Thank you Tanabe-san! Wishing you continuing success and plenty of fulfilling pursuits during retirement.

Wow. People are rude here, never mind the fact the poor man has achieved far more than any of you losers will.

Myself at the head of that list.

Best of wishes to Tanabe. He’s earned his retirement many times over.

@FrenchVaniIIuxe Look at how people have treated him for the Paper Mario games over the years. Lol You're giving yourself more credit than you deserve. Lol

Having finished Metroid Prime 4, it makes a lot more sense to me now it's being described as the first in the "Sylux Saga"

Even great movie directors have misses, seemed like a solid number of games he was involved with were good. Enjoy your retirement

I wish him luck! Hopefully Retro can just cook on the next one. The game really needs an overhauled combat system in my opinion.

Seeing his name in a lot of my all-time favorites such as Metroid Prime, Mario Strikers, Punch-Out!! Wii, ExciteBots: Trick Racing, Kirby Super Star Ultra, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, the WarioWare series and LEGO City Undercover, I'm glad he had a hand on those.

Even his apparent failures such as Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash, Paper Mario: Color Splash and Origami King did get appreciation from me. And I'm sorry hate mob, but I did enjoy Metroid Prime 4 as well.

Thank you Tanabe, your retirement has been well earned.

Sorry you had to go out on a down note. Thanks for the memories.

I'll just say this:

Anyone who lets Yoshito Sekigawa (the best composer to ever work with Int Sys) compose for Paper Mario is based in my book.

I'll say nothing more.

Hopefully no more questionable design choices in the next entries. Sticker Star annoyed me the most back then. Federation Force, Color Splash, Prime 3, so many games with lots of potential being dragged down by his corporate persona trying to sanitize and trivialize as much as possible.

That said, I wish him the best.

For what it's worth, the producer role in video games is generally a management one who handles things like budgets, scheduling, staff appointments, and so on.

They generally don't have a huge input in game design decisions. However, as someone who worked his way up through the ranks, I wouldn't be surprised if he had a bit more than usual.

Still, I'd think it incorrect to place the blame for failings in such matters at his door, because it really wasn't his job. That was to ship games, preferably on time and under budget (and you can have a go at him over MP4 for that) but mainly complete and finished to a high standard.

@Nintendolife that second paragraph of the interview contains spoilers. Haven't played the game yet and now I know the final battle is unfinished.