Suddenly today, Nintendo of America closed two of its satellite offices. Initially reported by Kotaku, sources informed them that it was just the Redwood City, California office (home to its sales and marketing departments). After reaching out to Nintendo for a statement, it was confirmed that the Toronto, Ontario office would be closing as well.
As published by Kotaku, here is Nintendo’s full statement:
Nintendo of America headquarters are in Redmond, WA, and Vancouver, BC. We are moving more of our employees and operations into those headquarters and will be closing small satellite offices in Toronto, ON, and Redwood City, CA, over time.
Devon Pritchard, Executive Vice President, Business Affairs and Publisher Relations for Nintendo of America (NOA), will assume interim leadership of Sales, Marketing and Communications following the departure of Nick Chavez. Ms. Pritchard will oversee strategy and execution of sales, marketing and communications across the U.S. and Canada.
The exiting of Nick Chavez is notable, as his role of SVP Sales, Marketing, and Communications was previously held by Doug Bowser who is now Nintendo of America’s current president. Chavez announced his leave earlier today on his LinkedIn profile, as he will be the new CMO for KFC US and Yum! Brands.
According to Kotaku’s sources, “roughly 100 employees” are displaced due to the closure, and “that many of the now-displaced staff were upset over the decision.”
This story is currently breaking. We expect more details will come to light over the weekend and into next week.
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Written by Jennifer Burch
Illustrator, designer, writer and big Nintendo geek, you can find Jennifer with an N3DS within reach 24/7. As the oldest of three, she has survived many Mario Party, Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart sessions intact in addition to getting her brothers hooked on some really weird games. (Cubivore anyone?)
