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SYFY WIRE Nintendo

Nintendo of America has a new president, and his name is Bowser. For real.

By Jacob Oller
bowser

Watch out Mario, there’s a new boss in town. A Nintendo legend is stepping down and in his place comes his aptly-named successor.

According to a release, longtime Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime will retire. Fils-Aime was with the company for 15 years and will be succeeded by NOA’s current Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Doug Bowser.

Yes, the new president of Nintendo of America is named Bowser, the same as Mario antagonist King Koopa. He was born for this job. “It has been my great fortune to work with and be mentored by Reggie for four years at Nintendo of America,” Bowser 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.” Bowser has led the sales and marketing strategy for the Nintendo Switch, now the company’s fastest-selling console.

He's also leaned into his perfect name, posting the below image of the captured Mario brothers on Twitter:

As far as the former president goes, Fils-Aime became a very visible part of the Nintendo business since he started there at 2003, putting enough personality into presentations, demonstrations, and community interaction to become a recognizable name in the gaming world and the source of multiple memes. The prominent figure's E3 demos helped kickstart the Wii and its peripherals, leading to their massive success.

“Nintendo owns a part of my heart forever,” Fils-Aime said. “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.” That level of dad humor is exactly what warmed fans to his personality.

But Reggie’s time has ended. Bowser is in charge now. Don’t be surprised if Nintendo fans see more spikes, more lava, and less favorable depictions of Mario now that the antagonist has finally achieved total corporate domination. Now all that remains to be seen is if Bowser can replicate Fils-Aime's success as a meme generator as well as a businessman.

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