Retired gaming executive Reggie Fils-Aime was the face of Nintendo in much of the West for 15 years, and he says that the success of the company’s Switch console made him feel better about retiring. In a recent interview with Gamertag Radio, the former president of Nintendo of America compared the moment that he first saw the Switch prototype to the moment that he first saw other Nintendo consoles in action, particularly the DS and the Wii. “The magic was there,” he said.
“The system was solving for a key player complaint,” Fils-Aime said. “That complaint is, I’m having fun, I’m playing my game, and now I need to stop because I have to go to work, or I have to go to school, I can’t take my game with me…No, the success of the Switch was not a surprise, and candidly, knowing that it was going to be successful is what helped make my retirement decision easy, because I knew the company was going to be in great shape for at least a few years.”
Indeed, the Switch has been a massive sales success for Nintendo, with over 80 million units sold. n the same interview, Fils-Aime downplayed the concept of “console wars,” noting that executives of the big gaming companies often meet together to discuss the future of the business. He also stressed the need for increased diversity and representation in the industry, as well as revealing that he may write a book soon.
