Nintendo of America President Doug Bowsertook over the position in 2019 for fan-favorite Reggie Fils-Aime. Bowser has not taken center stage as often as Reggie did during his tenure. But he appears to have taken a strong leadership stance in relation to the ongoing Activision Blizzard situation, calling it “distressing and disturbing.”
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According to Fanbyte, Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser recently sent out an email to all Nintendo of America employees and internal development teams, including the likes of Retro Studios and Next-Level Games. In the email, Bowser shared how the toxicity and sexual harassment within Activision Blizzard runs counter to whatNintendostands for. He also noted that Nintendo is a company that stands for openness and inclusiveness, and that it even is working with the ESA to strengthen its stance against harassment and abuse in the workplace.
Along with all of you, I’ve been following the latest developments with Activision Blizzard and the ongoing reports of sexual harassment and toxicity at the company. I find these accounts distressing and disturbing, They run counter to my values as well as Nintendo’s beliefs, values and policies.
While things have been hot at Activision Blizzard since the summer, recentlyemployees and fans have signed petitions to remove Bobby Kotick as CEO of Activision Blizzardin light of new reports. The Wall Street Journal, specifically, reported that the CEO knew about sexual harassment claims and acted in his own self-interest and protected the alleged abusers. This is partially why Sony, Xbox, and now Nintendo have made new statements on the matter.
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