In a shocking announcement that our bodies weren’t ready for, Nintendo has announced that the longtime Nintendo of America president, Reggie Fils-Aime, is retiring from the company come April 15. Fils-Aime has been with the company for fifteen years, thirteen of which as president of Nintendo of America, and has been one of the public faces of Nintendo since joining the company. Under Fils-Aime, the company saw massive success for many of their consoles including the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS line, and the Nintendo Switch.
In a press release from Nintendo, Fils-Aime mentions that “Nintendo owns a part of my heart forever,” and that he appreciates 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.” President of Nintendo Shuntaro Furukawa commented on how Fils-Aime is seen as a leader in the industry and appreciates everything he did for the company. Furukawa also states that while Fils-Aime is leaving, he is leaving Nintendo of America “in good shape with strong momentum.” After the announcement, Nintendo of America tweeted out a message from Fils-Aime thanking the Nintendo community.
Replacing Fils-Aime will be Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of sales and marketing Doug Bowser. Bowser joined Nintendo of America back in 2015 after years of working at Electronic Arts. In his current position, Bowser helped achieve the massive success the Nintendo Switch has garnered since its release in early 2017 from being the fastest selling console of the generation to being the U.S.’s best selling console of 2018. Bowser went on to state that he appreciates Fils-Aime’s mentoring since joining the company, and promised that the company “will continue to build on his work to evolve and expand our brand, furthering Nintendo’s global mission of creating smiles.”