Nintendois one of the biggest video game companies in the industry. However, it wants to stretch its reach beyond just video games. FromtheSuper Mariomovieto the Super Nintendo World theme park, many Nintendo brands are moving into other mediums. But as the company looks to expand into these different fields, some tough business decisions are sometimes required.
Recently, it was revealed thatNintendohad closed 2 of its offices. These shutdowns included operations in Redwood City and Toronto. According to a report fromKotaku, the closure of these offices displaced approximately 100 employees.
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In a statement from Nintendo, the reason for shutting down these office locations was in an effort to make operations more centrally located. According to Nintendo, at least some of these displaced employees will be moving from the smaller offices in Redwood City and Toronto to theNintendo of America headquarterslocations in Redmond, Washington, and Vancouver, British Columbia. The closing of these office locations is no doubt frustrating for some employees at the company. While the reasons behind the closures and restructuring are not apparent at this time, sources for Kotaku report that many workers at these former offices are not happy with Nintendo.
Besides the closing of these office locations, more news regarding executives at Nintendo of America was learned. Recently, it was revealed that Nick Chavez, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, was leaving Nintendo. According to a recent message by Chavez via LinkedIn, he announced his decision to join thefast-food company Kentucky Fried Chicken. Through this new position, the former SVP of Sales and Marketing at Nintendo hoped to work with the restaurant chain to improve the success and growth of Yum! Brands.
Following the departure of Chavez, Nintendo announced that Devon Pritchard, Executive Vice President of Business Affairs and Publisher Relations for Nintendo of America, would take interim leadership of Sales, Marketing, and Communications. Based on the statement from Nintendo of America, this position will place Pritchard into an overseeing role, monitoring sales, marketing, and communications tasks for both the U.S and Canada.
Fortunately for gamers, these office shutdowns were related to sales and marketing teams. With this in mind, it seems unlikely that this restructuring from Nintendo will impact the production of any current video game projects in the works at the company. Furthermore, many of the internal development teams working on highly-anticipated Nintendo titles, such asBreath of the Wild 2andSplatoon 3, are currently located in Japan. However, time will tell exactly what impact these office closings have on the company.
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