Reggie Fils-Aime

About

Reggie Fils-Aime is the former president of Nintendo^[1] of America, and was a regular speaker at the E3 Entertainment Expo^[2]. Most of his popularity has spawned from notable lines he has said during his E3 conferences, as well as unpopularity from fans of the video game series Mother.

Online History

Reggie first became popular after his opening line at his first E3 in 2004, where he introduced himself by saying: "My name is Reggie, I'm about kickin' ass, I'm about takin' names, and we're about makin' games". Reggie soon became popular with the online audience, with fans dubbing him "The Regginator". Many fans dubbed his arrival as "the Reggielution", due to many people believing that Reggie played a part in boosting Nintendo's popularity in America. Reggie's popularity grew after E3 2007, where he said "My Body is Ready" (see below).

Reputation

Reggie has received mainly positive feedback from both the gaming community, and the online community as a whole, with his own Facebook fan page^[3], his own tumblr fan page^[4], as well as his own fan site.^{[citation needed]} However, Reggie has received a lot of hate and criticism from fans of the video game series Mother. This came about after Reggie said that he wouldn't have Nintendo release Mother 3 in the U.S. Reggie soon started receiving hate mail from angry Mother fans, who complained that there was no valid reason for mother 3 not to be released. Despite this, Reggie has said in different interviews that he is a big Mother fan himself, and would love to see the game released in the U.S.^[5]

Retirement

On February 21st, 2019, Fils-Aime announced his retirement from Nintendo, effective April 15th, 2019.^[7] He will be replaced by Doug Bowser. In the press release announcing the news, Nintendo wrote:

“I really appreciate everything Reggie has done for Nintendo,” said Shuntaro Furukawa, President of Nintendo Co., Ltd. “Inside and outside our company, Reggie is known as an exceptional leader. We are grateful that he is leaving the business in good shape with strong momentum. While we will miss him and we wish him the very best in his retirement, we are also pleased to have such an able successor ready to step into that role. Doug Bowser and the rest of the team will ensure a seamless transition and continued momentum for Nintendo.”

“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.”

“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.”

Twitter users announced their sadness at the news and gratitude. User @JoeMerrick joked that "Doug Bowser" would lead to many E3 memes, gaining over 120 retweets and 440 likes in less than fifteen minutes (shown below, left). User @karenhan tweeted a photoshopped image of Fils-Aime in tribute, gaining 8 retweets and 27 likes in ten minutes (shown below, right).

Shortly after the news broke, Nintendo of America tweeted a video in which Fils-Aime addresses his retirement (shown below).

Related Memes

My Body is Ready

At E3 2007, while showcasing Nintendo's new fitness game, Wii Fit^[6], Reggie spoke the phrase "My body is ready". The phrase gained attention in 2010, and has since become a popular caption, used to express excitement at an upcoming or imminent event. It is one of the most commonly used captions on the internet.

I Feel Just Like a Purple Pikmin

"I feel just like a purple pikmin" is a phrase spoken by Reggie during E3 2012, while announcing the game Pikmin 3. It gained spread through IGN and other gaming-related sites, and has become a mini-Photoshop meme.

Search Interest

Search interest in Reggie peaked around the time of E3 in 2004, and then again in 2007 surrounding the "My Body is Ready" meme.

External References