Reggie Fils-Aime awarded a Lifetime Achievement by International Video Game Hall of Fame

By Heather Wald
published

His trophy cabinet was ready

(Image credit: Internation Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum)

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. 

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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. 

Have a fondness for all things Nintendo? Why not check out all the upcoming Nintendo Switch games. 

Heather Wald
Heather Wald
Senior staff writer

I started out writing for the games section of a student-run website as an undergrad, and continued to write about games in my free time during retail and temp jobs for a number of years. Eventually, I earned an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University, and soon after got my first official role in the industry as a content editor for Stuff magazine. After writing about all things tech and games-related, I then did a brief stint as a freelancer before I landed my role as a staff writer here at GamesRadar+. Now I get to write features, previews, and reviews, and when I'm not doing that, you can usually find me lost in any one of the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games, tucking into another delightful indie, or drinking far too much tea for my own good.