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Reggie Fils-Aime retires from Nintendo, succeeded by Bowser

The gaming world is stunned, as Nintendo of America COO and President Reggie Fils-Aime is set to retire in April, where he'll be succeeded by Doug Bowser.
Ozzie Mejia
Ozzie Mejia
12

As the Nintendo Switch enjoys a great level of success, Nintendo of America has just undergone a seismic change. On Thursday, Nintendo suddenly announced that long-time NOA COO and President Reggie Fils-Aime would retire from his position, effective in April. He will be succeeded by NOA Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Doug Bowser.

"Nintendo owns a part of my heart forever," Fils-Aime said via press release. "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 humor, this is not ‘game over’ for me, but instead 'leveling up' to more time with my wife, family and friends."

Doug Bowser
Doug Bowser will succeed Fils-Aime as Nintendo of America's new President and COO.

Fils-Aime began his time with Nintendo in 2003, working as the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, the same position currently held by Bowser. He helped oversee Nintendo's American branch during the highs of the Wii and Nintendo 3DS and the lows of the Wii U, while also helping to usher in new franchises like Nintendogs, Brain Age, Wii Sports, and Wii Fit. Fils-Aime also played a key role in Nintendo's expansion across the United States, where the company cemented a new NOA headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

Fils-Aime proved himself a charismatic force for Nintendo, offering himself as the face of Nintendo's American branch. He presided over several Nintendo Directs. He was the face for the company's E3 presentations, among them being the unforgettable 2015 Direct where he was made into a Muppet along with Shigeru Miyamoto and the late Satoru Iwata. He appeared in numerous other videos, both for the company's first-party lineup and even for a few indie games. One of his most recent appearances saw him share the Game Awards stage with Xbox's Phil Spencer and PlayStation's Shawn Layden, in a show of gaming solidarity. He was generally a positive force for gaming and for that, Shacknews offers our salute.

Bowser has been with Nintendo since May 2015, quickly rising up to the rank of Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He played a major role in the marketing push for the Nintendo Switch, which quickly became the fastest-selling console of this generation, selling 8.7 units in just over 21 months. Bowser has been working to help push Nintendo in other different directions, ranging from esports to theme parks, as he discussed with Shacknews back at E3 2018.

"It has been my great fortune to work with and be mentored by Reggie for four years at Nintendo of America," Bowser added via press release. "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."

Fils-Aime's final day is set for April 15, at which point Bowser will take over his new position.

Senior Editor
Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?

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