By Jim Norman

Copyright nintendolife

Yesterday, Nintendo shared the news that none of us could have predicted so soon: Bowser is stepping down from the position of top dog at the end of this year. The Koopas will have to find a new king, the Mushroom Kingdom will have to find a new menace, the kart racing scene will ha- what? Not that Bowser? Oh… we’re going to miss these jokes.

Okay, for real now: Nintendo announced that Doug Bowser is retiring from his role as Nintendo of America President on 31st December 2025. After six years in the position, Bowser is to be succeeded by Devon Pritchard, a long-time NOA executive and the subsidiary’s first female president.

While we’ll be sad to see Mr. B go at the end of the year, it’s an exciting time to get to know the new face stepping into his boots — not literally, we assume. You might have seen Devon Pritchard’s name crop up in various conferences and events in recent years, but we actually know surprisingly little about her.

So, join us as we run through everything we know about the new face of NOA, and say farewell to ‘not that Bowser’ in the process — come on, who knows when we’re going to be able to make those jokes again?

Who Is Devon Pritchard?

Far From A Nintendo Newbie

Despite appearing at a fair few Nintendo events in recent years — the San Francisco Nintendo Store grand opening, Switch 2 reveal etc. — the name Devon Pritchard may not have entered your sphere. But it should have, because she’s far from an NOA newbie.

Pritchard joined Nintendo of America in 2006, heading up the subsidiary’s legal department as its presidency changed from Tatsumi Kimishima to Reggie Fils-Aimé — remember that guy?

She would go on to take leadership roles in the company’s Marketing, Business Affairs, and Publisher Relations sectors, before landing her current title of NOA’s Executive Vice President of Revenue, Marketing and Consumer Experience in 2021.

Why is this important to note? Well, because it follows a similar pattern to what we have seen with NOA’s presidential promotions in the past. Let’s not forget, both Bowser and Reggie’s NOA careers started in the sales and marketing departments (of which they were both vice presidents), and Kimishima came to the role off the back of his work in Pokémon finances. If you want a new NOA president, you look to the internal marketing and finance departments first.

Law, What Is It Good For?

With all that background, it’ll come as no surprise that Devon Pritchard knows her legal onions. She became a Doctor of Law at the Gonzaga University School of Law in 2001, and before that, got a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from Kansas State University.

While at Kansas State, she played on the university volleyball team… sooo, revival of the canned Super Mario Spikers, then? We doubt it.

A Grip On Gaming?

It seems somewhat counterintuitive, but being the most die-hard capital-G Gamer isn’t necessarily a prerequisite to being the Nintendo of America President.

Of course, we all remember Reggie being very much hands-on in this department, regularly sharing what he was playing and for how long — what can we say? He had to get back to playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf on his Nintendo 3DS — but do you ever recall Bowser sharing his playtime?

We don’t know for sure what Pritchard’s vidyagame chops are like just yet, but Kit & Krysta’s latest video shed some light on her gaming habits. The former-NOA employees worked closely with the soon-to-be President during their tenure at the company, and while they agreed that she’s far from a hardcore gamer, they were quick to point out that she knows her Nintendo.

“She definitely loves Nintendo,” Krysta stated. “Like all of us, she has these childhood memories of connecting with Nintendo in some way, shape or form. She’s probably not playing games every day for many hours, she’s not a ‘core gamer’, as we like to call it, but she definitely understands the industry, and she understands how Nintendo fits into [it].”

Kit was quick to also point out that Pritchard has young children, and very much views Nintendo’s image through them. “I had some very insightful conversations with her about the industry, about games, and about Nintendo’s games. So, I think she’s really on it.”

Pik Me A Winner

Let’s briefly address the Bulborb in the room: yes, there is a picture of Devon Pritchard holding a Bulborb plushie, and yes, it was formerly her display picture on LinkedIn.

Does that mean we’re going to get Pikmin 5 under her leadership? Maybe. But a NOA president being a fan of a series doesn’t really have any sway over what the company releases, and, according to Krysta Yang, “she’s not really a Pikmin fan”.

But hey, we can dream…

Bye To Bowser

So, Pritchard sounds like a promising follow-up, but we couldn’t celebrate the incoming talent without also sending a goodbye to Mr. Bowser himself — he’s been the NOA president for the past six years, after all.

When we look back on the Bowser era, it’s impossible not to compare him to Reggie. Let’s admit it, Bowser wasn’t the larger-than-life quote machine that his predecessor was, but honestly, who is?

Bowser’s tenure can generally be looked back on as steadily guiding H.M.S. Nintendo of America through calm waters; for that, he did a good job. Nintendo didn’t need another recognisable Reggie-like to drum up the hype at otherwise quiet Directs because, since Bowser’s introduction in 2019, the output has been anything but quiet.

The Switch 2 launched to record-breaking sales numbers, Nintendo continues to earn more money than ever before, and Bowser has, from an outside perspective at least, maintained cool, calm, and collected at the head of it all.

It mightn’t have been the back-to-back tough-call role of previous NOA presidents, but remaining steady during some of the strangest times for the wider industry is nothing to scoff at — even if you do think he should have pulled rank on Switch 2 Welcome Tour à la Reggie and Wii Sports to make the damn thing a pack in…

As for what the incoming president had to say about her predecessor, Pritchard shared the following message on her LinkedIn:

Congratulations on an incredible career, Doug! You’ve been a fantastic leader and it’s an honor to build on the foundation you’ve established here at Nintendo. On behalf of the entire Nintendo of America team, thank you for everything. Wishing you a well-deserved and happy retirement!

Setting A President For The Future

So, where does this leave us for the future? Honestly, we’d be surprised if it were anything other than more of the same.

The days of Nintendo requiring a Reggie figure at the helm are long behind us. Nintendo is not big on its personalities, and if the Bowser era has taught us anything, it’s that the NOA president will mainly stay out of the public eye while the going’s good.

From an outside perspective, we can only assume that Pritchard will follow the same approach: generally staying in the background before occasionally popping up at a North American event or showcase. That’s just the way Nintendo is these days.

But who knows, perhaps she’s being measured up for a Jim Henson puppet replica as we speak.

So, what do you make of Devon Pritchard? Do you reckon she’ll be a good fit for Bowser’s boots? Let us know in the comments.