They were just the manpower, like Bandai Namco was for Sakurai. I doubt Platinum had much if any say on the game's design.

I think Nintendo, and their franchises, would be much better off if Miyamoto, God Bless him, just walked away.
He could still have a hand in their outer venues like amusement parks, movies, just to oversee it and make sure it stays true to the foundation of the franchises. Pretty much acting as a consultant/advisor rather than a manager/supervisor.

But as far as Game Development goes, it's time for him to hang it up.

Without knowing the specific details, my guess would be that the Platinum Games' vision/ideas were implemented as well. It's just that nothing's been put to the game without Miyamotos permission.

I really like this latest interview of Miyamoto and I think he's still has the creative juices.

http://www.glixel.com/interviews/shigeru-miyamoto-on-mario-minecraft-and-apple-w455043

While fans will point out Wii Music, Sticker Star, SF Adventures and Zero, I can point out his involvement in Pikmin 3, Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon, and him providing feedback on Splatoon for the young devs whom he's mentored. And its not like its been THAT long since the Galaxy games. Even Star Fox Guard appears to have been mostly positive in terms of reception from what I heard (haven't played it yet). Not saying he should come back being a full-time developer but I think he can be helpful even in the Games Departmen. I think this particular gen has been weird for Nintendo as a whole. The Wii U was solid, but flawed, concept that just wasn't able to fulfill its potential. Hopefully, the Switch will be a fresh start for all development teams of Nintendo. Miyamoto is willing to take a step back and let the younger devs do their thing, but I think he can still be involved. Plus, I think the new avenues that Nintendo is pursuing are a great opportunity for Miyamoto to be more creative beyond games.

Lylat Wars launched when this kind of game was in high demand. These days, no one wants to play a game like that, it's an outdated formula. The only reason "Star Fox" sells anything is because of people who were fans of Lylat Wars.

And no, F-Zero is just another example of a game in a dead genre.

It hasn't been 1997 in almost 20 years.

He SHOULD want to just leave them alone, like he said he was going to do, "retiring" to focus on smaller passion projects, instead of overseeing bigger releases anymore. I love the guy, but he's gotten far too "creative" in his old age, slapping gimmicks on shit that don't need gimmicks.

What I want, personally, as a fan of both franchises, is a Star Fox game that ISN'T built around some stupid gimmick, and just PLAYS like SF64 (but with actual fully new content and story), and a Pikmin game that DOESN'T nonsensically remove the manual swarming and camera zoom features (not to mention multiple save files), that were integral to the Pikmin gaming experience and strategy.

If they want games to sell well, they should stop hindering their own games by adding or removing nonsense, in the name of "justifying making a new entry". Just make GOOD Star Fox and Pikmin games, that play like they're supposed to.

Platinum games could have produced a perfectly fine SF game, if Miyamoto hadn't absolutely INSISTED that the only way a new SF could be "justified", is if he were allowed to tinker and introduce to the world a brand new control gimmick that no one asked for, as the ONLY control option. That's why Zero tanked, and no other reason.

Granted, it would have been nice to have a FULLY brand new SF game, with a fully brand new story and levels, instead of the SF64 Remix that Zero basically was. But people still would have bought it quite a bit more, if it wasn't saddled with such a nonsense control setup.

Except Pikmin 3 was well received by fans and critics and sold reasonably well for its series and as a Wii U title. It's one of the Nintendo Selects. Pikmin, unfortunately, hasn't really reasonated among a bigger fanbase than it already has. Even the Pikmin shorts haven't helped gained interest.

How about a real money maker... Animal Crossing.  Put some more text in the damn game because the conversations are too repetitive.

I don't see what they could have implemented as the game is basically Starfox 64 but with way worse graphics for it's time, no multiplayer dogfights, and of course the awful controls. Perhaps the fancier cutscenes and camera angles, but I think that's just Miyamoto trying to further show off the control scheme.