Reggiethumb

Yesterday, the world of Nintendo was rocked by the news that Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime is set to retire in April after more than 15 years with the company. In that time, Reggie has overseen the launch of systems like the DS, Wii, 3DS and Switch, had himself turned into a puppet, become a meme many times over and – above all else – made sure that one of the world's biggest entertainment brands has an approachable, human face on the global stage. To pay proper tribute to the great man, we've pulled together some of our favourite Reggie moments in video form for you to enjoy.

One of Reggie's firsts tasks – as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing (he wouldn't become president until 2006) – was convincing the world that two screens were really better than one. His first major product launch was the Nintendo DS, a console which not only doubled the number of displays a handheld traditionally offered but also introduced the world to touch control.

He stepped onto the stage and into legend with his opening line, "My name is Reggie. I'm about kickin' ass, I'm about takin' names, and we're about makin' games." Given that this was the first exposure many of us had had to the great man, it was quite an entrance – and he did a great job of selling the DS, too.

Even in those early years, Reggie had a talent for really selling Nintendo's products – as evidenced in this ABC interview regarding the Wii, his first home console launch.

The Wii, of course, was a runaway success, given Reggie his second hugely successful product launch in America. The Wii would also give rise to one of Reggie's most famous quotes, delivered during a demo of the upcoming fitness title, Wii Fit.

Such was the quality of this catchphrase, Reggie couldn't resist reviving it when the game was re-released on Wii U a few years later.

With the Wii and DS both comfortably dominating their respective sectors, hopes were understandably high for Nintendo's next platform, the 3DS. As you might expect, Reggie was a key figure in the initial marketing campaign for the platform, alongside Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata.

Reggie also did his usual marketing speech to hype up the console closer to launch, and while the 3DS hasn't come close to matching the success of the DS, it's easy to get carried away with the hype when watching Reggie's delivery, even after all this time.

Reggie's next launch would prove to be his first serious taste of disappointment at Nintendo. The Wii U was a great idea in principle, as most of us no doubt thought as we watched this presentation at E3 2011. Sadly, it has gone down as one of the company's biggest hardware flops.

Reggie certainly didn't hold back when it came to pushing and promoting the system; here's some candid footage taken from the queue for the Wii U launch, where he braved the cold to chat with Nintendo's fans.

Another notable highlight from this period is footage of Reggie and Iwata using the Wii U's video chat function, a feature which worked well enough but was perhaps overlooked due to the arrival of video calling on smartphones.

With the Wii U proving to be something of a commercial dud, it made sense for Nintendo to redouble its efforts with the 3DS, and Reggie was accommodating enough to allow us into his (virtual) home when Animal Crossing: New Leaf launched.

Fast forward to E3 2014, and Reggie (along with Iwata, whom he clearly shared a close bond with) starred in one of the most memorable clips in the history of the show, and Reggie was also turned into an action figure by the guys at Robot Chicken.

E3 2014 also gave us another amazing Reggie meme: Fils-A-Mech.

Such was Reggie's commitment to his craft that he played Project Giant Robot in character: