Reggie Fils-Aimé talks web3, AR and his gaming SPAC
techcrunch.comIn February 2019, Reggie Fils-Aimé announced that he would be leaving Nintendo after 16 years — 13 of which were spent as the president and COO of the company’s North American division. It was a fruitful run, filled with more ups (Wii, Switch) than downs (Wii U) during a time of tremendous growth for the gaming industry.
A lifelong serial executive, Fils-Aimé has retired from that aspect of the industry, while still maintaining a presence in gaming. He sat on GameStop’s board (later resigning in 2021), joined investment and consulting firm Brentwood Growth Partners, and even briefly hosted a gaming podcast (as one does during a global pandemic).
Earlier this month, he released the book “Disrupting the Game“, which charts his journey from the Bronx to the Nintendo boardrooms. We caught up with Fils-Aimé to discuss his time at Nintendo, plans for a $200 million SPAC and where he sees gaming headed.
I was going to ask how retirement is going, but “retirement” may be too strong a word.
My form of retirement is doing things that I like, with people I like doing them with. So whether it’s board service, whether it’s the SPAC that I’m involved in, whether it’s been writing and launching the book, it’s my form of retirement, and I’m having a lot of fun.
What are the plans for the SPAC?
The SPAC is in the broad digital entertainment space. We went public in December of last year. We were oversubscribed by about a billion dollars, so we went public. $230 million is our war chest. But with a billion dollars left on the table, it means we can go after a fairly large acquisition and take it public through the SPAC process. We’ve got until September of next year to identify our target and execute the transaction. We’re in the process of
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