We learned last month about a complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board by a Nintendo employee who claimed their right to unionize had been infringed. Contractors have spoken out in numerous pieces published by publications such as IGN and Kotaku since then.
Reggie Fils-Aime used to be the president of Nintendo of America, but he left the firm a few years ago. In an interview, the Washington Post recently asked him for his opinion on the current stories. “This isn’t the Nintendo I left,” Reggie said, since contractors were offered chances like attending meetings and events, as well as bimonthly and quarterly lunches, when he was there.
Reggie’s statement
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.
