Former president of Nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aime has been awarded the Walter Day Lifetime Achievement award by the International Video Game Hall of Fame for his services to the gaming industry.
The Hall of Fame, based in Ottumwa, Iowa, was established in 2010 to honour "the luminaries of the video game age and to preserve the artifacts and memorabilia generated by this dynamic industry." Reggie recorded his acceptance speech for the award which can be seen below, during which he thanks the fans and the community, and even mentions "all of those wonderful memes."
"Lastly, I wanna thank the players and the fans. Like you, I have a passion for video games and I was a fan before I was ever an employee of Nintendo," Reggie says, "and I think that knowledge of video games, I think the knowledge of all of these great franchises, and the ability to poke fun of myself to create all of those wonderful memes, I think that is what endeared me with the community. And I do believe that the love of the community is a large part of why I'm able to receive this award."
Doesn't that just fill your heart with warm fuzzies? Reggie has been a much-loved figure for his great sense of humour and his evident love of games during his time at Nintendo. On the Hall of Fame's official website for the Class of 2019 awards, it cites Reggie's career history and achievements, as well as mentioning how he gained "celebrity status among gamers following his appearance at Nintendo's E3 2004 press conference." Many will remember it was at this E3 that Reggie revealed the Nintendo DS for the first time.
A career of making people smile. https://t.co/qrrFXSPrJZ6 October 2019
Walter Day founded the American organisation Twin Galaxies, which kept a track of world records set by video games and later went on to help establish the International Video Game Hall of Fame museum. Other recipients of the International Video Game Hall of Fame Walter Day award include co-founder of Apple computers, Steve Wozniak, executive vice president of Namco USA, David Bishop, and Activision Founder, David Crane.
It's a well deserved award, and we hope Reggie has found the time to add it to his Animal Crossing: New Leaf house.
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