Fils-Aime promoted to Nintendo of America president & COO

Nintendo of America has promoted Reggie Fils-Aime to the role of president and COO as part of a top level executive shake-up in the run-up to the launch of the Wii.

Fils-Aime joined Nintendo in 2003, having served in various executive roles for companies including Pizza Hut, Guinness Import Company and VH1. He has served as the company's executive vice president of sales and marketing, and will continue to oversee the division during the launch of the Wii console in addition to leading the company through its day-to-day operations.

Current president Tatsumi Kimishima, who took up the position in January 2002, will now assume the new role of chairman of the board and CEO, overseeing the overall management of Nintendo of America and continuing to serve on the boards of both the American division and its parent company in Japan.

The final change announced is the promotion of Mike Fukuda, current SVP business development, who will now serve as executive vice president of the division, looking after corporate strategic planning and third-party publisher and licensing programs. In his new role, Fukuda will continue to lead product development in an effort to ensure a software release schedule that more aptly fits the needs of the North American market.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata commented: "Around the world, Nintendo DS has been steadily drawing more people into the video game category. With the upcoming introduction of Wii, along with the strength of this new leadership team and strong executives already in place, Nintendo will continue to dramatically change the way consumers of all ages interact with their video game console on a daily basis."

All promotions are effective immediately, with the reshuffled executive team working closely together on final preparations for the Q4 launch of its next-generation Wii console and continuing to build on the current success of its touch-screen handheld, Nintendo DS.