Nintendo of America's new president is named Bowser, and everyone is making the same jokes
- Doug Bowser will be the president of Nintendo of America, taking over for Reggie Fils-Aime, who will retire on April 15th.
- Bowser, also known as King Koopa, is also the name of the iconic villain at the center of Nintendo's "Super Mario" franchise.
- As news of Bowser's promotion broke, fans joked in unison that Mario's archnemesis had finally seized control of the company.
Nintendo of America is getting a new president in April, but his name is already familiar to the company's millions of fans. Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America's next president, shares a name with Bowser, the archnemesis of Nintendo's mascot Mario.
Nintendo fans first picked up on the coincidence when Bowser was hired as vice president of sales in 2015, but his new role as president has led to a fresh round of memes flooding social media.
For the uninitiated, Bowser is a walking, talking, fire-breathing reptile with an affinity for kidnapping princesses. While he's most-often found battling Mario, he's appeared in a variety of franchise spinoffs, including the "Mario Kart" and "Mario Tennis" franchises.
While Nintendo fans are reluctant to say good-bye to beloved president Reggie Fils-Aime when he retires on April 15th, many took the opportunity to lean into the irony of the situation and congratulate Bowser on finally taking over Nintendo.
Read more: Long-time Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime will retire in April
One meme referenced the human (or, at least, humanoid) version of Bowser played by Dennis Hopper in 1993's much maligned "Super Mario Bros." movie. Hopper's character was named "President Koopa" in the film - a play on Bowser's name in Japan, King Koopa.
When fans first went crazy over his hiring in 2015, Bowser took some time to thank them for the extra attention... but they quickly noticed something amiss in the picture he shared.
While fans may be torn over Fils-Aime's retirement in April, it looks like there's no shortage of fun to be had with the incoming president and his comically ironic name. It remains to be seen if Bowser will take on Fils-Aime's role as the a central face in Nintendo's marketing and press materials moving forward.