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Nintendo of America Makes Key Executive Promotions

On the heels of the successful unveiling of the new Wii console, Nintendo of America Inc. announced three key executive promotions. Current president Tatsumi Kimishima takes on the new role of chairman of the board/ceo while Reggie Fils-Aime is promoted from evp of sales & marketing to president/coo. Additionally, Mike Fukuda is being promoted from svp of business development to evp of business development.

"Around the world, Nintendo DS has been steadily drawing more people into the videogame category," said Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo Co. Ltd. "With the upcoming introduction of Wii, along with the strength of this new leadership team and strong executives already in place, Nintendo will continue to dramatically change the way consumers of all ages interact with their videogame console on a daily basis."

Kimishima joined Nintendo at the company's headquarters in Kyoto, Japan, in 2000 and was appointed president of Nintendo of America in January 2002. He was cfo The Pokemon Co. in 2000 and president of Pokemon USA Inc. in 2001. Prior to joining Nintendo, he spent 27 years with Sanwa Bank of Japan, serving in various management positions. Kimishima will oversee the overall management of Nintendo of America and continue to serve on the boards of Nintendo of America and Nintendo Co. Ltd.

Fils-Aime will lead the day-to-day operations of Nintendo of America while continuing to oversee the sales & marketing division as the company prepares for the launch of Wii. He joined Nintendo of America in December 2003 to lead all sales & marketing efforts in the U.S., Latin America and Canada. Prior to joining Nintendo, he was svp of marketing at VH1. He also has held key marketing positions with Guinness Import Co., Derby Cycle Corp., Pizza Hut, Panda Management Co. and Procter & Gamble.

Fukuda will oversee corporate strategic planning and third-party publisher and licensing programs. He also will continue to oversee product development more dedicated to the North American market. He joined the company in 1994 as director of planning. Prior to Nintendo, he worked for an international trading company and learned the videogame business in the U.S., working with third-party publishers during the early days of the Nintendo Entertainment System.

A worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co. Ltd. (www.nintendo.com) manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube systems and upcoming Wii console. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold more than two billion videogames and more than 360 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Zelda and Pokemon. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Washington, serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the western hemisphere.