I think probably the easiest way to sum up Reggie’s legacy for Nintendo is the very fact that we all call him by his first name. In 2004, as the games industry morphed into the often faceless fiscal behemoth it is today, Nintendo – itself on the verge of releasing one of the most successful consoles of all time in the Wii – appointed an American company spokesman that wanted us to treat him more like a friend than a corporate overseer. And we did. There are thousands of Reggies in the world but, in the context of games, there’s really only one.
15 years later, we’re still calling him Reggie, and he still feels like some far-flung friend. His retirement from Nintendo in April led to outpourings of woe, bittersweet tributes, and a tidal wave of meme compilations. This was not a normal response to a company president leaving his job. That sheer approachability, exemplified by us being on first name terms, is so much a part of his success that it’s one of the stated reasons that he’ll be presented with the Andrew Yoon Legend Award at next year’s New York Game Awards.
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15 years later, we’re still calling him Reggie, and he still feels like some far-flung friend. His retirement from Nintendo in April led to outpourings of woe, bittersweet tributes, and a tidal wave of meme compilations. This was not a normal response to a company president leaving his job. That sheer approachability, exemplified by us being on first name terms, is so much a part of his success that it’s one of the stated reasons that he’ll be presented with the Andrew Yoon Legend Award at next year’s New York Game Awards.
Continue reading…
Continue reading...