Reggie Talks About NoA Union Issues: “This Isn’t The Nintendo That I Left”

As you might have heard over the past few weeks, Nintendo of America has come under fire for its alleged treatment of part-time and contract workers. NoA actually issued a response to one of these complaints, noting how the video game giant was “fully committed” to providing a welcoming and supportive environment for both employees and contractors, and mentioning how it took matters of employment very seriously.

Despite this, there is reportedly growing discontent behind the scenes, and now the former Nintendo of America president, Reggie Fils-Aimé, has shared his own thoughts about the supposed union issues during an interview with The Washington Post. He says it’s not the company he knew, and it wasn’t the Nintendo he left.

Here’s the full rundown (via Nintendo Everything):

“I did read that story. And again, at this point I’m three years removed from being president of Nintendo of America. It’s been awhile. As a I read the stories and I read the reports, it struck me that this isn’t the Nintendo That I left. And what I mean by that is while I was at Nintendo, we routinely had meetings and events where our associates – that’s how we referred to our contract employees – were invited. Just as a small example, I was famous for doing bimonthly and quarterly lunches with employees – it was a basic sign up. And associates were invited to sign up for this as much as full-time employees. We didn’t make a distinction. The reports I hear really strike me as just not the company I knew. I’ll just leave it at that.

“A core focus while I was at Nintendo of America was having a healthy culture within the company, and I know I was able to achieve that. And certainly what’s being described does not seem like a healthy culture.”

As mentioned by Reggie, he’s now been away from the company for more than three years. When he was running the show though – he was known for hosting lunches with associates and employees and strived to maintain a “healthy culture”. This is a stark contrast to some of the reports currently surfacing online.

You can read more about all of this in our previous stories:

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