Reggie Fils-Aime – arguably the most well-known Nintendo personality outside of Japan – is retiring after almost 13-years as president of Nintendo of America.
The affable New Yorker, who also fulfilled the role of COO, is handing the keys to the castle to the spectacularly-named Doug Bowser, who has served as NoA’s head of sales and marketing.
Fils-Aime, 57, who has presented many of the company’s English-language announcements since joining the company in 2003, will leave the gaming giant on April 15 this year.
In a statement, he said: “Nintendo owns a part of my heart forever. It’s a part that is filled with gratitude — for the incredibly talented people I’ve worked with, for the opportunity to represent such a wonderful brand, and most of all, to feel like a member of the world’s most positive and enduring gamer community.
“As I look forward to departing in both good health and good humour, this is not ‘game over’ for me, but instead ‘levelling up’ to more time with my wife, family and friends.”
Fils-Aime has overseen plenty of ups and downs at Nintendo, including the original Wii console, the failure of its listless successor the Wii U, and the current global phenomenon that is the Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo fans, Reggie has a message for all of you. Please take a look. pic.twitter.com/EAhaEl5oEJ
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 21, 2019
“I really appreciate everything Reggie has done for Nintendo,” Nintendo global president Shuntaro Furukawa said. “Inside and outside our company, Reggie is known as an exceptional leader. We are grateful that he is leaving the business in good shape with strong momentum.”
Formerly of Electronic Arts, Bowser has held the understudy role since 2014, but has some awfully-large shoes to step into.
“It has been my great fortune to work with and be mentored by Reggie for four years at Nintendo of America,” Bowser (new pres’ Doug, not the evil turtle-like antagonist from the games) said. “And rest assured, we will continue to build on his work to evolve and expand our brand, furthering Nintendo’s global mission of creating smiles. There are millions more of those to come.”
Can you believe a dude named Bowser is about to take over Nintendo of America? Share your favourite Reggie memories with us @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
