nwizardblog

Wow, been a while since I got 8 good hours of sleep. I think NyQuil is my new best friend…

I wonder if anyone can quite explain the phenomenom that is Reggie Fils-Aime. A genius master-of-marketing from Cornell, this guy gives speeches that would make Hitler wet himself (just narrowly dodged a Wii pun there). In two-and-a-half years he went from Nintendo marketing guru to President and COO of NOA. WTF? Less than 3 years to become President? This man doesn’t climb corporate ladders, he takes a chainsaw to ‘em.

His quote at E3 ‘04 is certainly what put him on the map though. “We’re about kicking ass and taking names”. Who knew that a simple curse word (is “ass” even considered cursing anymore?) could launch someone to fame like that. I guess when coupled with Nintendo’s “kiddy” image, it came as a shocker to most people to have someone so blunt and hardhitting as Reggie take center-stage for the company. By the way, google image search reggie and nintendo for a good time.

Watching Reggie giving a presentation is truly an awe-inspiring event. Even the mundane little conferences with just a few company execs are just amazing to watch. The man has such a force in his voice and body language you suddenly become not an idle observer of his thoughts but a proverbial slave to his will. I’d more sooner see a tank come barrelling at me than an angry Mr. Fils-Aime. By the way, does ANYONE know what race he is? That name…

I owe Reggie some gratitude on a personal level. He’s the reason I began looking into the marketing and economics of the games industry (Blue Ocean Strategy is now my favorite book of all time). Thereafter I decided on getting my minor in economics, which I’m working on as we speak. I almost went into marketing but decided I should play it safe and stay with computers where my real skills lie. Still, he’s one of the reasons I have to keep questioning myself…do I really want to be a Nintendo game designer? Or maybe it’s really a Nintendo marketer that I was destined to be? Anyone who knows me well will tell you they could definitly see me at the top of Nintendo PR, hell, I practically am a walking ad campaign for them already. Whether or not I may pursue that one day is in the air, but who knows? Maybe it’ll be the Reginator’s job I’ll be taking instead of Miyamoto’s?