Well I have noticed a trend recently every time Nintendo Of America slips up or fails to perform it is entirely Reggie's fault everyone blames Reggie saying Japan does such a good job and that Reggie is screwing up NOA. But when ever NOA sees success suddenly its Japan that gets all the credit and Reggie is just a puppet he isn't the guy who deserves any credit.
I've got to say this is sort of funny. A major thing gamers are pissed at Reggie for is the failure of Operation Rainfall suggesting that Reggie was some how responsible for not bringing those three titles to North America. Its sort of funny that these gamers don't remember Nintendo Japan's policies about bringing RPGs and Japanese titles to North American shores. I mean what about the massive petitions to bring Mother over to North America. Mother 1+2 was denied by Nintendo before Reggie became President and Mother 3 was turned down with comments from Nintendo in Japan suggesting it would not sell. Its pretty outlandish to entirely blame Reggie I am not saying he is completely innocent he probably did have involvement in the decision. But Nintendo has never thought these JRPG's and such sell in the west they didn't back when they launched Mother on NES and they have carried that negative belief throughout the ages.
Then some say Reggie never was a good marketer, oh really have you seen his resume. What he did for Pizza Hut and VH1 certainly suggest he knows a thing or two. Then you can't really deny him at least some credit for Wii and DS's success I mean the ad campaigns are a huge reason why Wii and DS were successful it was Reggie who pushed the devices in North America.
Unfortunately I agree with many who suggest Reggie's hands are tied and he is more of a puppet. The man is a marketing genius but he is no longer marketing. Nintendo outsourced most of its marketing to third parties and Reggie is now President responsible for a lot more then just marketing or selling Nintendo's products. Reggie spews out the same company line Japan does rarely differing it appears to be largely scripted.
I think Reggie is a great business man, he is being held back by Japan. If he had four or so internal studios under his direct command and almost complete freedom to decide how Nintendo operated in North America, he could do a far better job. But today even NOA's North American studios and projects are directly under Japan's control. Reggie may be in the decision making process he may have input but he is not in command.
I think its really hard to blame Reggie for NOA's failures or successes. Fact is he contributes to both but Nintendo's higher ups in Japan run the show. Until the day comes where Reggie is actually free to operate NOA create content for the North American market and market products in NA free of Japan's control we can't blame him for Nintendo's failures.
Reggie is not to blame, Nintendo is. If you have a problem with something in NOA remember Reggie takes his orders from Japan. You can't blame him for every decision Nintendo makes at the same time he can't be credited with every success. Though I would look at Reggie's track record and say that their is no doubt in my mind that Reggie is contributing to Nintendo's solutions rather then their problems.
Is anyone else starting to get annoyed with everyone using Reggie as a scape goat?
-JC7
"In God We Trust - In Games We Play " - Joel Reimer
