Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, addresses the media at the Nintendo Wii U software showcase during the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2013. Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America and one of the video game company's most outspoken executives, will retire this year. In a statement released Thursday by Nintendo, Fils-Aime will leave the company on April 15. Doug Bowser, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Nintendo's American division, will take over as president. "Nintendo owns a part of my heart forever," Fils-Aime said in a statement.

With less than a week to go, I still can't pre-order a Nintendo Switch. This is a problem that's mitigated for me, at least to some degree, by the fact that I have a (temporary) review unit so that I'm able to pen reviews of the Switch and its premiere launch title, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. But that is no comfort to the countless other gamers out there who have no such luck and missed the very narrow pre-order window. So far my impressions of the Switch have been nothing short of glowing. I've written about some of the amazing experiences I've had in Breath of the Wild as well.

NEW YORK--Nintendo of America President and Chief Operating Officer Reggie Fils-Aime is ready for the question of what went wrong with the company's poor selling Wii U video game console and how the fortunes of the make-or-break Nintendo Switch will be different went it launches March 3 for just under $300. "I would say the greatest challenge we had with the Wii U was being crystal clear in our communication of what the product was and what the product could do. When we first showed off the Wii U for example it was misinterpreted that it was simply a tablet and not a device that truly was connected to your TV and could create two-screen types of gaming experiences. With Nintendo Switch we are being very aggressive and clearly communicating the proposition that it's a home console you can take on the go wherever and whenever you want… We're working hard to make sure it's going to be a success." Indeed, in the house, the tablet-like device slides into a dock that is connected to the television, with players using standard video game controllers to have a go at The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, or other upcoming titles.