Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime announces retirement

Nintendo of America has announced that Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer for the last 13 years, is to retire in April, with current senior vice president for sales and marketing Doug Bowser - who was probably already tired of the obvious jokes when he joined the company back in May 2015 - to take his place.

Reggie Fils-Aime joined Nintendo of America back in 2003 to serve as its executive vice president of sales and marketing, but was in the role for just three years before being promoted to serve as its president and chief operating officer in 2006. Under his leadership Nintendo transitioned from the days of the GameCube to the smash-hit motion-tracking Wii, considerably less successful Wii U, and hugely popular convertible handheld Switch, while also seeing the DS followed up by the redesigned DS Lite and DSi and successor 3DS and its 2DS variant.

'Nintendo owns a part of my heart forever,' Fils-Aime claims in his departure announcement. '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.'

'I really appreciate everything Reggie has done for Nintendo,' adds Shuntaro Furukawa, president of Nintendo's Japanese arm. '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. While we will miss him and we wish him the very best in his retirement, we are also pleased to have such an able successor ready to step into that role. Doug Bowser and the rest of the team will ensure a seamless transition and continued momentum for Nintendo.'

'It has been my great fortune to work with and be mentored by Reggie for four years at Nintendo of America,' claims Bowser, who will doubtless be avoiding the internet for a little while thanks to the inevitable resurgence of jokes about the suitability of his name, shared with the chief antagonist of the Super Mario Bros. franchise, for the role. '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 last day at Nintendo of America will be April 15th, the company has confirmed.