When you consider the lifestyle of any company president, it's only natural to assume they drive the best car, live in a mansion and sit in an expensive chair all day behind a desk made of pure gold. While this might be the loose reality of some leaders, this was not the case for the now-former Nintendo of America President, Reggie Fils-Aimé.
Last week, when Reggie showed some of the items around his office as he packed everything into boxes, an eagle-eyed fan noticed something wasn't quite right. You see, it's all to do with the chair behind his desk. According to Nintendo fan and Twitter user Jason Cryer, Reggie has quite possibly been sitting in an entry level Herman Miller Mirra desk chair for his entire career.
It might not seem like such a big deal, but apparently, it is. Herman Miller are known for providing the highest-end chairs to the tech industry. The problem here is the model Reggie was sitting in each day of the week is believed to be 16 years old. It's so out-of-date, it's not even listed on the Herman Miller website. It's also only half the price of the top of the line Aeron model. As noted by Nick Robinson's YouTube channel, Reggie could have potentially been sitting in this chair for the past 13 years. To put it in perspective, every single employee at Facebook sits in the higher-end Aeron model - a much better chair than the one Reggie sat in.
Cryer thinks "this is way out of hand" and has since decided to take action by setting up a Change.org petition. He wants Nintendo of America to honor Reggie's time at the company with "a fully-loaded" Aeron chair. At the time of writing, the petition has more than 13,000 signatures. If the situation wasn't already alarming enough, YouTuber Nick Robinson did a little more investigating and noticed how Doug Bowser's recent Twitter photos featured the same chair Reggie spent his career in:
For the full breakdown, view the video below:
What do you make of this chair controversy? Did Reggie deserve a better chair? Do you think he was happy with the one he had? Tell us down below.
[source youtu.be, via twitter.com]
Comments 54
Hah. YouTube recommended me this video yesterday and I was wondering if you guys would mention the chair eventually.
It's a fun little conspiracy.
Um....I think Reggie could have gotten a new chair if he wanted. Maybe he just prefered that chair? Maybe that chair was used by the President before him, and Reggie didn't want to dishonor him by replacing the chair?
If Doug Bowser is keeping it, then it's an obvious sign that it's some sort of honorable thrown being passed down from generation to generation. Perhaps a simbolism of how you can still suceed even in such bad confitions? Maybe i'm reading too deep into it, but its very obvious that Reggie could have replaced the chair at any time. I am 100% sure he made enough money that he could have replaced the chair in a days salary, let alone buying a new chair on the corperate account. Especially since he was one of the highest positions at NOA.
It just only a chair.....
An entry level Hermon Miller will be better than what most people have ever used as an office chair. And if it’s in good condition it won’t matter that it’s 16 years old. One of the selling points of those chairs is they’ll last years upon years if looked after.
A lot of workers get very attached to their chair and see “on paper” upgrades as a downgrade as it’s not what they’re used to. I suspect after that long he was quite happy with what he had.
That chair is at least $700.
The chair is probably made up of all the crushed Mother 3 cartridges just so Reggie doesn't have to release Mother 3.
Japanese companies rarely behave like American companies. It is pretty unusual for heads of Japanese companies to make hundreds of times as much money as ordinary workers they way many American and European CEOs often do. Japanese CEOs do still make a lot, but not to the utterly undeserved and insane degree many western CEOs do.
Furthermore Reggie was head of Nintendo of America, not head of the whole company.
Those chairs are very comfy
@Heavyarms55 Still you think he could have got at least one with cushions, for support. They aren't that expensive, and it's just one chair.
@Morrow I mean, I am sure he could have. Maybe he did have one and it recently broke, so he was just using this cheap one, thinking it wasn't worth the effort of getting a better one since he'd be retiring soon.
@Heavyarms55 I hope that's the case. I usually don't care about the guys in suits, but Reggie is such a nice guy.
I’m a freelancer, and most places I work have the Aeron chairs. They’re overrated.
I never saw Reggie sit down so he probably had the chair as an aesthetic office decoration. His body was simply too ready to ever sit down 🤷🏻♂️
This is funny, but I’m sure everyone realizes the guy could have gotten any chair he wanted. Obviously he was fine with the one he had.
Meanwhile in any random developing country...
It saddens me that with all the things wrong in our world, people dedicate their time to creating YouTube videos about chairs. You have to wonder what people could change if they put their energy into something meaningful.
Those chairs are unbelievably comfortable, and even if he did want a different chair... well, he's the president. He would get a different chair.
I don't know why I'm trying to bring logic into this. It's a meme lol.
Now Reggie has left his desk-bound life behind he is free to do as he pleases, blissfully unconstrained, without a chair in the world.
@Kasma88 To be fair spending time reading up on videogame news isn't that meaningful.
Wew must be a slow day.
Imean, who cares? I know my CEO doesn't sit in a high-end chair either. As long as its comfortable, it doesn't really matter what kind of chair it is.
He literally could have chosen it himself though...
If Reggie would have wanted a golden, diamond encrusted throne, he could have gotten it but I think he was fine with that chair. So what the heck are people complaining about? It's still a $1000+ chair...
This might be a sentient chair from outer-space that allowed Reggie to become the super star he is today. This would mean Doug Bowser spent the past few years sitting part time on that chair to reach the same level as Reggie.
I bet you Reggie didn't spend a whole lot of time sitting around.
This is too much. I think I need to sit down.
Maybe he liked the chair and it felt comfortable to sit. I mean if I like a chair, I'm not gonna rush out buying newer and/or more expensive models just because I have the money. Not that I would have money to even buy a chair that costs a thousand.
Anyone who thinks Reggie deserved a better chair is a chair snob. These chairs cost a load of money and this particular brand is generally considered one of the best you can get for office chairs like this, which is still true even if it's an older model.
Wow... If it was me and I cared that much, I would bring my own, just like any other reasonable person. In fact my friend who manages a Pizza Express restaurant bought an older one off of me recently for his office haha
Boo hoo, poor ol' millionaire Reggie.
Ugh Nick Robinson is such a creep. He was fired from Polygon for sexually harassing young female fans online and creeping into their DMs.
Who cares what brand it is... the real question is: Does it have wheels?
As long as Nintendo exists, fans will find something to be upset about.
Smh... "Triggered: 2019 Edition".
Who knows, maybe that chair was just very comfortable and not worth the trouble of replacing, I bet if we had asked Reggie he would have probably said "I like that chair"
It's a $1000 chair that's DESIGNED to be as good as new for 30+ years. Plus, are we honestly saying that Reggie couldn't have said "Hey...get me a new chair" and had one there in 15 seconds flat if he wasn't happy with it?
Good lord.
Thank you for making an article about my favorite YouTuber. One of the few I care to follow actually, haha.
This why people shouldn't people. It's hard not to not be ashamed of people when they people like this.
This is too funny.
Wow, I didn't even know there was such a thing as name brand office chairs. I've only ever seen the various generic made-in-China-but-overpriced garbage models the office store chains are selling. Normal companies don't buy name-brand chairs.
@Heavyarms55 Why...WHY do you taunt me with wish I was there instead of here daily....WHY?!
I have that same exact chiar!
And I love that chair.
Perhaps that was the only chair that could support Reggie's ready body?
wow.. people its just a chair........ sheesh what next new looks?
I'd be happy with any version of the Aeron chair at work...this seems quite silly
Mesh back chairs are the best office chairs, even if they don't look great.
Get a nice looking leather chair then sit in it for a few hours straight. Your back is going to be covered in sweat.
@NEStalgia I was not aware of such taunting... but Muahaha I am here and you are there! All according to my evil non-plan!
I like his exact Mirra setup (bare "triflex" back) better than the Aeron.
I wouldn't blame him for preferring the Sayl, either. And if I weighed as much as Reggie, I'd really hate the Aeron, tbh. So, the grass isn't always greener, ladies and gents. The price difference is literally in the cost of the parts.
People who care about this really need to get a life
The search for comfort and pleasure is what keeps us from virtue and health. Reggie probably actually sits on a rock when he is not pumping his body to be ready for the next challenge.
....ahem caps using sorry ITS A FREAKING CHAIR ITS A CHAIR!!!!.
@NEStalgia
Normal companies in a post opening the trade doors with China era might not, but Herman Miller, Steelcase, Knoll and Haworth were pretty much staples, post-depression and into the 1990’s. Outside of the North Carolina wood furniture making hub, and randoms such as Greene and Greene and Sam Maloof; just about anything you’ve seen in the past century (plywood, plastic, steel) has it’s roots in the Grand Rapids area (designers were from all over the world, however). The Scandanavian 32mm system particle board stuff (a result of pre-colonial deforestation) is inspired by Michigan (of all places), which, in turn, had inspiration from the Shakers and Scandinavians. Full circle.
This is exclusive to office and industrial environments, however. The above companies were supplying entire beuracratic headquarters and skyscrapers and whatnot.
In home furnishings, fancy stuff has always been from small shops (custom jobs) with maybe the maker’s name.
I’m a nerd.
Lol, people have far to much time on their hands.
Why is this still here its pointless..
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