A Tribute to Reggie Fils-Amie and an Introduction to Doug “Big Bad” Bowser

If you have known Nintendo at any point in the past 15 years, then Reggie Fils-Amie is probably a familiar face and for great reason. Before his first appearance on stage with Nintendo back at E3 2004 the game company was known for being very stoic and flat when it came to presenting their games in North America but when the man later dubbed “The Regginator” introduced himself he brought with him a new era of Nintendo. One that wasn’t as uptight with its presentations, one that advertised games the same way that gamers felt playing them, and one that recaptured everything that made Nintendo great.

My name is Reggie. I’m about kickin’ ass, I’m about takin’ names, and we’re about makin’ games.

Reggie Fils-Amie at his first E3 with Nintendo 2004

Reggie quickly became a legend in the gaming community and was unofficially elected meme lord, with each press conference becoming more wild and fun with each passing year with memorable moments such as the classic quote of “My body is ready” during the demonstration of Wii Fit at E3 2007. Now that he is retiring it’s a good time to reflect on what he did for us as a gaming community and not be sad because he’s leaving but appreciate the fact that he was always there and willing to be apart of the joke. How he always rolled with the punches even when it came to the internets weird sense of humor. Even though the internet is acting like every video and article is Reggie’s obituary it is important to note that he isn’t dead just retiring and I would personally be shocked if he didn’t make some kind of major appearance in a Nintendo reveal like the ones prior that made him so endearing to the Nintendo community in the first place.

However, this is also a time to look to the future though too and to look at the mysterious new President of NOA Doug “Ironically Named” Bowser. Doug Bowsers’ history is the biggest mystery here; not much is available about him other than he used to work at EA until 2015 when he left to join Nintendo of America. While the previous history at the notoriously bad EA may make you hesitate he appears to be willing to roll with the punches just like Reggie did even going so far as to have had a plushie of Mario and Luigi tied up and surrounded by classic Mario enemies in the background of his first image on the NOA Twitter.

Personally the detail, however small, does make me feel a little better about Doug on the whole because it really shows his willingness to participate in the community. The nickname “Big Bad” in the title is just the beginning of all the jokes I hope to share not only with Doug “So Long Eh?” Bowser but with the gaming community as we welcome our new face of Nintendo here in the states.