Wow. Some of these replies are shameful. Way to keep it classy. Is it really necessary to be a hateful asshole when you can just say, "I don't think your source is accurate"? Unless you're related to Nintendo, you don't need to take it personally.
As far as the OP goes, it wouldn't surprise me at all if his friend did work at Nintendo. The best place to hear negative rumors and information about a company is from someone who works there. The rose-colored glasses come off when you've been an employee for awhile. Of course, that doesn't mean it's true. I can go to a dozen different coworkers and hear a dozen different things about the company I work for and I'm pretty sure a lot of them will just turn out to be rumors. The further down the hierarchy, the more crazy rumors get.
The part that sounds the most real is that Nintendo is determined to keep all authority in Japanese hands. They seem to have little interest in being a multi-national type company.
