Nintendo Pres Outlines Departure

In a recent Asahi Newspaper interview, Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi, 69, stated when and why he would be leaving Nintendo Co. Ltd.

"I will work until the year 2000," he told Japan's Asahi Newspaper.

Yamauchi will time his departure to follow what he claims will be a giant leap forward in video gaming, the introduction of Nintendo's 64DD. "The machine will cause a revolution in the gaming industry," Yamauchi said.

The 64DD is scheduled for release next spring, and Yamauchi intends to see the machine hit its stride before he steps down. While he expressed high hopes for the new gaming unit, he also injected a dose of pragmatism into his statements.

"I want to make sure the 64DD changes the face of gaming, although if my thinking is wrong, I want to see that too."

The 64DD is the much-talked about Nintendo 64 peripheral that will allow players to not only save, but add new information to their games.

He indicated that when he retires as president he will not seek to remain with the company in any other capacity. Yamauchi took the reigns of Nintendo - the Yamauchi family business - back in 1949, when it was still a playing card company.

"I can't work forever. Now is the time to think about this period of my career," Yamauchi concluded.

When contacted earlier this week, a Nintendo of Japan spokesperson acknowledged the Asahi interview and felt little need to clarify the statements, indicating Yamauchi's words stood on their own.