Doug Bowser, the president and CEO of Nintendo of America, has announced he will retire at the end of 2025. Bowser succeeded Reggie Fils-Aime and has been in position for six years, but spent well over a decade in various other leadership roles at the company. He's also leaving the company on something of a high: the Switch 2 launched on June 5 this year, and is the fastest-selling hardware in Nintendo's history.
To be honest, and not to take anything away from Bowser, a potted plant could've probably done a decent job as NOA CEO over this period. The all-conquering Switch has continued to dominate the console market and print money, while Nintendo's also expanded into theme parks and most successfully the film industry: 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie grossed $1.36 billion at the box office, the first videogame film ever to top a billion.
"Bowser’s distinguished tenure includes delivering on the promise of the Nintendo Switch system to change the way people play video games and bring new experiences to a broad range of consumers," reads a Nintendo statement. "Earlier this year, he expanded on that mission when he oversaw the launch of Nintendo Switch 2 in the Americas and helped establish the system as the best-selling video game console of all time in its initial sales period."
“One of my earliest video game experiences was playing the arcade version of Donkey Kong,” said Bowser, adding BWAHAHAHA. "Since that time, all things Nintendo have continued to be a passion for both me and my family. Leading Nintendo of America has been the honor of a lifetime, and I am proud of what our team has accomplished in both business results and the experiences we’ve created for consumers.”
For one of the most magical companies in the world, Nintendo does do a great line in boring executive statements. Bowser's replacement as president will be Devon Pritchard, a NOA veteran, while Nintendo's Satoru Shibata joins NOA as CEO. Pritchard also joins the NOA Board of Directors and will become a Nintendo executive officer.
"I am humbled and excited to take on this new role," said Pritchard, establishing her dull corporate statement bona fides. "Doug has been a fantastic mentor, and I look forward to building on the incredible foundation he has helped establish. With characters and worlds that offer something for everyone, my focus will be continuing to build on Nintendo’s legacy of surprising and delighting our longtime fans, while at the same time welcoming new players into the Nintendo family."
Nintendo reassuringly adds that Pritchard will be "putting Nintendo fans at the top of her agenda", which just makes me think of a clipboard with "NINTENDO FANS?!?" written in sharpie.
"During his tenure, Doug made numerous contributions to bring smiles to the faces of people connected to Nintendo," says Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa. "I would like to express my gratitude for his strong efforts. Devon, who will become the next president, has also made many contributions to Nintendo over the years. I am confident that, like Doug, Devon will continue to support Nintendo’s important mission of creating smiles."
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