It’s the end of an era; but maybe it’s time. Keiji Inafune—Head of R&D Management Group, Consumer Games R&D Division, Contents Management Division and CEO subsidiary Daletto—has decided that the path to go where he wants, is no longer aligned with where his. Not willing to compromise his own value system, Inafune-san is leaving Capcom.
Inafune-san hasn’t been happy in his current job. When asked about his job he replied “I hate it”, and added that he wanted to retire early. He even (which may have been a sign of things to come) compared himself to Peter Petrelli, who often found himself emotionally overwhelmed many times with everything expected of him. On his blog, Inafune said that working as a CEO “speaking about your dreams and evaluating your subordinates” he added:
“However, I can no longer do these two at Daletto. I’ve lost the authority to evaluate my subordinates and the qualification to speak about my dreams.”
This doesn’t appear to be the end of Inafune-san creating games. In talking about his future he said several revealing things. Inafune-san said that:
It would probably be good for me to sit gracefully in this seat and become a leading figure in the industry. However, I cannot do this. Settling down means death for a creator. As long as you are a creator, you cannot settle down.
This decision had been in the works for sometime. According to an interview he conducted early this month, Infafune-san came to the decision then. The interview was later held until he made his announcement. Inafune-san is leaving with the intent of “…starting my life over” he says. Beyond these few statements and many others he has made, it’s unclear when we will see him again.
[Source 1]
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