 Reggie Fesame's life story is fascinating. The son of immigrant parents who fled their home country because of their forbidden love, Reggie was an incredible student who made opportunities for himself that should have been impossible. A phenomenally talented businessman and a kind, open-hearted man, Reggie is now retiring from Nintendo and he leaves behind a legacy that helped shape the company and video game culture as a whole. So, in tribute to a man who has done so much to change the face of gaming, let's take a look at the story of Reggie, my body is ready, Fesame. It's a tale as old as time. Two people, separated by society and politics, fell in love and ran away together. Reginald Fesame's parents were both born to military families. The problem was, they were both on opposite sides of a fierce conflict. The island of Haiti was at the time struggling amid a dangerous era of political and military uncertainty. Reggie's mother's family were a part of the government, while his father's family were part of an opposing military. His two grandfathers served on opposing sides of the conflict. Yet in spite of this, Reggie's parents met and began to fall in love. It was clear that their forbidden romance was not only taboo, but incredibly dangerous. There was no way their families would understand, and if they were found out, they could end up suffering the full force of both opposing armies. So, they made the decision to run away together. They emigrated the United States to New York, far away from the conflict in Haiti. They gave away their old lives, their friends, and their family, and started afresh in a new country. This meant a lot of change. It meant learning English, and it meant taking on new jobs. Reggie's mother got a job in retail, which she continued for the rest of her working life, eventually becoming the lead salesperson for a fancy jewelry store. His father became a machinist, and together, they started their little family. As a young boy living in the Bronx, Reggie was the only person of colour in his class at school. His family weren't poor, but they were never particularly rich either, and he certainly felt the cultural distance between himself and his peers. But Reggie was smart. He loved learning, especially science. When he was 12 years old, he was buying and studying university-level chemistry textbooks. At some point as he got older, though, Reggie decided that he didn't want to pursue a career in chemistry. While he'd once imagined himself as a scientist, he eventually found himself studying business and finance. After a lot of hard work, he was at Cornell University, majoring in marketing and sales. Even here, Reggie pushed himself and achieved more than anyone could have expected. As an undergraduate, he was accepted to a very prestigious brand management program with Procter & Gamble, even though the program was designed for, and only available for, MBA candidates. Reggie was talented, hardworking, and enthusiastic, so he flourished at Procter & Gamble. His work with their food and beverages department led him to a new job in the high-up position at Pizza Hut. This was a particularly fast-paced job, and Reggie learned a lot from the speed with which the restaurant business evolved and changed. He couldn't stay still for long, as his competition was always evolving, and it was possible to see immediately whenever a new business strategy succeeded or failed. Next, Reggie moved to MTV, where he was an executive at the VH1 network in the early 2000s. This, he felt, taught him a lot about interacting with an older, 25-49 year old audience. Here, he cultivated his own sense of humour and charm as he learned about entertaining a fan base and developing a relationship with consumers that went beyond his work with food companies. Reggie did a great job at MTV, managing to turn around VH1 and save it from failure. Then, after just two years with the company, he was head-hunted to join Nintendo. Just a few months after starting his new job, Reggie made his first public appearance. E3 2004 will live in many of Nintendo's fans' memories forever. The company revealed their brand-new handheld, the Nintendo DS. Shigeru Miyamoto came out on stage brandishing a sword as crowds cheered and cried over the first trailer for what would become the Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess. Standing on the stage, an unfamiliar face announced, my name is Reggie. I'm about kicking ass, I'm about taking names, and we're about making games. Immediately, the Nintendo community had a brand new hero. Reggie became an internet sensation, and his consistent eagerness to give presentations and announcements a more theatrical twist meant he quickly earned the nickname The Reginator. But this wasn't all Reggie did for Nintendo and its fans. He was also instrumental in a dramatic shift in the people that Nintendo made games for. He pushed for greater inclusivity and diversity in Nintendo's cultural identity. Something that Reggie noted almost immediately in Nintendo was the narrow focus of the company's marketing. The company was only really aiming for teenage boys at this time. From his work at VH1, Reggie felt that there was so much more that could be done to reach a wider, more diverse audience. Girls liked video games too, Reggie argued. So did grown men and women for that matter, and older people. Nintendo had always prided itself on being a family-friendly company. So why were they only making games aimed at young boys? And so, Nintendo took on a more inclusive approach to its marketing, and even its game development. The goal was to be more like Pepsi. Unable to compete with Coca-Cola in the sales of soft drinks, Pepsi had recently diversified. They'd begun offering bottled water and other drinks that appealed to a wider variety of customers, and in doing so, they'd overtaken Coke to become a more financially successful company. Nintendo could do the same. They couldn't compete with Sony or Microsoft in making a big, expensive games console with advanced graphics. But they could be the first games company to make games aimed at older gamers. They could be the first company to include women in their marketing in a notable fashion, and make games for those who didn't want endless violence shooters. Thus, the Touch Generations brand was born. Both the Nintendo Wii and the DS were pushed as devices for everyone, and not just boys. It's worth noting that this idea wasn't Reggie's alone. Many different people at Nintendo were involved with figuring out this new direction for the company, and Reggie was just one part of defining what the new Nintendo would look like. In particular, many game designers and creators, such as Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto, were a big part of this plan. Games like Nintendox and Braintraining were an extension of this endeavor, as was the easy-to-learn control system for both their handheld and home console systems. For the first time, female gamers saw themselves in the marketing for their favorite Nintendo titles. Older gamers, too, were finally given the respect and attention they deserved. Nintendo built on these first steps as the company moved forward. Under Reggie's guidance, the cultural idea of a Nintendo fan broadened to include people from all backgrounds and walks of life. You likely already know the rest of the story. Reggie went on to overseeing Nintendo of America for over a decade, during which time he built up a strong relationship with the company's fans. To many, Reggie is Nintendo. The two are inseparable. The strength of this recognition speaks to Reggie's talent for making people feel appreciated, valued, and recognized. Reggie listens to those who speak, and is always looking for ways to reach out to overlooked sections of the Nintendo fan base. As he leaves Nintendo for the relaxing joys of retirement, eager to spend more time with his wife and family, Reggie leaves behind a legacy of inclusivity and of making a Nintendo fan, no matter who they are, feel like they're someone special. There are two morals that can be taken from Reggie's story. The first is that hard work and ingenuity can help you achieve the seemingly impossible. Reggie's parents did the impossible by finding a way to allow their love to bloom. As a young man, Reggie did the impossible by studying hard and gaining knowledge beyond his years. It didn't matter if a career opportunity wasn't available to someone from his discipline, he achieved his goals anyway. Reggie's inventiveness and ability to think outside the box helped to transform the H1, and allowed Nintendo to compete with bigger, larger electronics companies in spite of its relatively small size. There are millions of Nintendo fans today who might never have had the chance to try these games if Reggie hadn't been so good at doing the impossible. The second moral of Reggie's story is that inclusivity matters. Reggie's time at Nintendo has been defined by his eagerness to invite anyone and everyone to play games. Perhaps this itself comes from the unique perspective he has on life, as the son of immigrant parents who had to endure so much hardship to make their family work. Be like Reggie. Reach out to other members of the gaming community with love and compassion, regardless of cultural or any other perceived differences. You never know what new friends you might make in places you've never thought to look. Because if there's one important lesson we can learn from Reggie's professional life, it's that everything is more fun when we all play together.