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Reggie says he knew the Switch would be a success, which is what put him at ease with his retirement decision
Reggie Fils-Aime was a huge part of Nintendo for quite some time, and he oversaw many successes. He also was around for the Wii U, which didn't exactly light up the sales charts. Thankfully Nintendo bounced back with the Switch, which could very well be its best selling platform when everything's said and done.
In an interview with Gamertag Radio, Reggie Fils-Aime talked about the Swich, and how it paved the way for his departure from the company. Reggie felt the Switch was going to be successful, and knowing this helped him move ahead with his plan to leave the company. Read Reggie's full statement on the matter below.
“No, it was not a surprise to me. And I say this because the first time I saw the Nintendo DS, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. The team was demoing an early, early prototype of what would become Nintendogs. Immediately I saw the potential. The first time I picked up a Wii Remote and played, again, a rudimentary experience that would become Wii Sports, I knew it was gonna be magical. The day that I sat with Mr. Iwata and held a prototype Switch and we talked about the concept, I knew it was going to be magical.
And I say this because the system was solving for a key player complaint, and that complaint is, I’m having fun, I’m playing my game, and now I need to stop because I got to go to work, or I gotta go to school, and I can’t take my game with me. I can’t continue playing that game. So Switch, with the opportunity to play on that big screen TV, then take it out of the dock and go play in handheld mode, it met a fundamental consumer desire. That was the triggering moment. There were so many other smart things the company did – the support for Unity and Unreal, which allowed all of the great independent content to come. A number of other key decisions.
But no, it’s not a surprise, and candidly, knowing that it was going to be successful is what helped make my retirement decision easy because I knew the company was going to be in great shape for at least a few years.”