I think that Japanese attitudes towards work have somewhat shifted, especially as young Japanese eyes look a bit enviously to Western tech companies, with their

I think that Japanese attitudes towards work have somewhat shifted, especially as young Japanese eyes look a bit enviously to Western tech companies, with their inflated pay and fun culture. Really, the protracted recession they've had for a few decades has sown the idea that nothing is really guaranteed anymore like it was from postwar to about the 90s. Nevertheless, given that the five developers in question started work in the 70s or 80s, when the Japanese work ethic of "bust your ass for a company all your life and they'll take care of you" was very much a thing, it doesn't surprise me that they've all stuck with Nintendo, which itself seems in it for the long haul like a traditional Japanese company. The company has been very good about knowledge transfer from older generations to younger, in ways some developers (e.g. Sega) haven't. Mario and Zelda, for instance, are not being spearheaded by Miyamoto anymore. He pops in on conference calls to offer guidance, but the developers who worked under him have now taken the helm of these franchises, driving them in new directions while preserving their essence... and Miyamoto is free to pursue passion projects like movies and theme parks (thus actually becoming "gaming's Walt Disney").