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As per annual tradition, Nintendo of Europe President Satoru Shibata has issued a seasonal message to Nintendo fans. He talks about some highlights from the year, while also issuing an apology for the restricted NES Classic Mini stock.

In some respects Shibata-san's message reflects a quiet year for the company, with a lot of focus on key mobile titles, Pokémon and an Olympics cameo for Mario. Switch gets a brief mention, and plenty of jokes (and cynical remarks) can be made about the executive's confession that he spent three days working on a dance routine.

In any case, his message is below.

Hello everyone! This is Satoru Shibata from Nintendo of Europe.

I would like to thank you all for once again giving Nintendo your support over the past year.

For me personally, it has been even more exciting working at Nintendo than usual!

The first highlight was the launch of YO-KAI WATCH, which was well received in Europe and enjoyed by many people. I was happy to be able to make you all smile with my Yo-kai dance, which I practised for three days before the Nintendo Direct.

Pokémon GO was a hit all over the world, and thanks to that we received a lot of attention. Even some of my friends from outside of work told me how much they were enjoying Pokémon and how well Nintendo seemed to be doing!

There's also been the Nintendo Classic Mini: NES. I'm very sorry that we weren't able to supply enough of them to meet demand. However, the release has been a great chance for everyone who used to play Nintendo games from this time to reminisce and share their experiences.

Of course, who could forget Mario's appearance at the 2016 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony? I'm sure you were all surprised. I certainly felt proud to be working at Nintendo, the company that created Mario; a character recognised the world over, and held up as part of Japanese culture.

It was also incredibly exciting to see the enthusiasm at the Apple event when we announced that Mario would be appearing in his first-ever mobile game – Super Mario Run.

We also launched the latest titles to the Pokémon series, Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon, for which we've received overwhelming support. Nearly three times as many people have played Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon compared to those who played Pokémon X and Pokémon Y or Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire at their release, which has made for another highlight to this year.

And in just a few months, Nintendo Switch will be released. Please look forward to it.

I wish you all a happy holiday, and happy gaming!

Satoru Shibata

Three days!

Season's greetings to all at Nintendo of Europe.

[source nintendo.co.uk]