
Disrupting the Game: From the Bronx to the Top of Nintendo
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Includes an audiobook-exclusive conversation with video game journalist Geoff Keighley!
Read by the author.
LESSONS FROM A BOSS-LEVEL DISRUPTOR AND GAMING LEGEND
Reggie Fils-Aimé, retired President and Chief Operating Officer of Nintendo of America Inc., shares leadership lessons and inspiring stories from his unlikely rise to the top.
Although he’s best known as Nintendo’s iconic President of the Americas—immortalized for opening Nintendo’s 2004 E3 presentation with, “My name is Reggie, I’m about kicking ass, I’m about taking names, and we’re about making games”—Reggie Fils-Aimé’s story is the ultimate game plan for anyone looking to beat the odds and achieve success.
Learn from Reggie how to leverage disruptive thinking to pinpoint the life choices that will make you truly happy, conquer negative perceptions from those who underestimate or outright dismiss you, and master the grit, perseverance, and resilience it takes to dominate in the business world and to reach your professional dreams.
As close to sitting one-on-one with the gaming legend as it gets, you will learn:
About the challenges Reggie faced throughout his life and career—from his humble childhood as the son of Haitian immigrants, to becoming one of the most powerful names in the history of the gaming industry.What it takes to reach the top of your own industry, including being brave enough to stand up for your ideas, while also being open to alternative paths to success.How to create vibrant and believable visions for your career, your team, and your company.How to maintain relentless curiosity and know when to ask questions to shatter the status quo.
Customers say
Customers find the book an enjoyable and useful read with valuable insights into business and life. They appreciate the personal stories and the mix of personal anecdotes and business lessons. However, some readers feel the book lacks passion and excitement.
11 reviews for Disrupting the Game: From the Bronx to the Top of Nintendo


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Exterminator –
Inspiring
Disrupting the Game: From the Bronx to the Top of Nintendo by Reggie Fils-Aimé offers an inspiring and candid look into the life and career of one of gaming’s most iconic figures. As the former President and COO of Nintendo of America, Fils-Aimé shares his journey from humble beginnings in the Bronx to leading one of the world’s most beloved companies.The book is more than a memoir; it is also a practical guide for leaders and innovators. Reggie provides key lessons on leadership, perseverance, and embracing challenges. His insights into Nintendo’s strategies, such as the successes of the Wii and Nintendo DS, are especially engaging for gaming enthusiasts and business-minded readers alike.Written with humility and charm, Disrupting the Game highlights how Reggie disrupted not only his own life’s trajectory but also the gaming industry. It’s an empowering read for anyone striving to make a difference, no matter their starting point.
Benjamin Yoder –
Great insight into Nintendo and Basic Leadership Advice
A quick note — I’m a bit biased growing up following the video game industry and the celebrity CEOs at the time. People in the industry, such as Reggie, often were role models of my youth.Now that that is out of the way, I think this book suits me perfectly. Not only because it offers valuable insight into Nintendo and the decisions that were made but also because I’m at the point in my career where I’m taking leadership roles.While I don’t anticipate a seasoned business leader will get any significant advice from a book like this, I do think it’s a great book to set a foundation for new leaders and communicating with their teams. Reggie describes taking balanced approaches, listening to others, and knowing when to take responsibility and rely on others for their expertise. When to be positive to keep high morale, and when to be straightforward to address core issues that can sink a team’s morale.As a long-time observer of Nintendo, Reggie offers insights into the decisions made throughout the years, offering a rare peek behind closed doors at a very closed-off company. While I think some more time could have been spent on the Wii U years and identifying the challenges they faced while “failing forward” into the switch, the DS, Wii, and 3DS eras are discussed in great detail here.I listened to the audiobook version and found Reggie’s delivery excellent. He carries the same energy and delivery he had at Nintendo into this book. His delivery of lines he remembers from Shigeru Miyamoto and the late Satoru Iwata can be stilted. Still, the change in tone is essential in keeping the identities of each conversational participant clear.While Nintendo fans may not get as many nuggets as they want from the book’s first half, new leaders will receive valuable insights throughout. If you’re both, this is a perfect read or listen.
Wilson –
Lessons from Reggie
Reggie gave an in-depth look at the business side of gaming and shared his rich experience in the industry as well as prior industries he worked in this book. Aside from these, he also gave some insights on Japanese culture in doing business and how it differs from some of the approach in the West. It is a rich material filled with a lot of lessons in doing business, achieving success and handling failures in life.What I liked about this book is that after every story within a chapter, Reggie concludes by highlighting important takeaways. This is very convenient. What I didn’t like is that his perspective may sound about sales and marketing at times and can be repetitive. This is why the takeaways are very helpful, i.e., although I hit these speed bumps, the part that answers “so what?” saves it and tells me why that story was important.I recommend this book to everyone, whether you’re curious about Nintendo, seeking inspiration, or just completing your target number of books to read this year. I’m sure you’ll find this book insightful and enjoyable.
Billy the Bibliophile –
Great book on business
Really quick read that gives solid business and life advice. For the price I got it for, it was a steal.
Tyler Althoff –
Disrupting the Game: An engaging journey into the life of a video game industry titan.
“Disrupting the Game” by Reggie Fils-Aimé is an engaging and captivating memoir that offers an inside look into the life of a video game industry titan. With a direct and passionate storytelling style, Reggie takes readers on a personal journey, from his early days as a gaming fan to his remarkable rise as the former President and COO of Nintendo of America. The book’s highlights include valuable insights into Reggie’s decision-making process, key lessons learned both at Nintendo and other companies, the creation of iconic products like the Wii and Nintendo Switch, and more. Reggie’s candid accounts of both successes and setbacks humanize him, making this not just a tale of career achievements but a unique perspective on professional and personal development. Disrupting the Game” remains a must-read for video game enthusiasts and anyone interested in the business of entertainment and innovation. This book will forever be one of my favorites.
Marty –
Surprisingly boring book
I couldn’t wait to read this and find out what it was like working at Nintendo through the eyes of the President. What secrets would he reveal? What groundbreaking stories would he tell?Not a lot, actually. Readers should know that his time at Nintendo doesn’t start until halfway through the book. The first half is about his career leading up to it. It was interesting (at first) to learn about the different companies he’s worked at, although it started to get repetitive. But that’s okay, we’re almost at the Nintendo part, and then things will get interesting. Not really, Nintendo was just another company that he worked at. There’s no question Nintendo owes their marketing success to some of the decisions Reggie made (with a lot of initial resistance). But even though it’s a short book and it’s about Nintendo, it still took a lot of effort to reach the end. Reggie has had an amazing career, but it’s just not that interesting on paper.
Joshua Naprstek –
What I like about the book Disrupting the game is that it talks about the people behind some of Nintendo’s games and platforms. I have played on the Nintendo DS, Wii, the Nintendo 3DS and the Nintendo Switch. I have never played on the Nintendo Wii U and don’t plan to. It was interesting to read what went on behind the scenes of some of Nintendo’s platforms and the ambassador program.Great book, I am happy with my purchase and had fun reading it.
Cliente de Amazon –
Gran autobiografía de Reggie, quien fue el alma y corazón de Nintendo of America durante las últimas 2 décadas. Es básicamente la biografía de su vida. Los pirmeros capítulos (su época pre Nintendo) son algo lentos y tediosos, pero interesantes.Una vez que llega a Nintendo, el tono del libro cambia (se nota que los juegos son su pasión), y se vuelve interesantísimo. La época del DS, del Wii y demás son muy interesantes. Recomiendo ampliamente.
henrik-son –
Uma autobiografia de um dos maiores expoentes da história da indústria dos Games, com os detalhes que perpassam a origem de um imigrante descentente de haitianos e que superou os diversos obstáculos de vida para suceder muito além do que esperado na sua trajetória de um estudante até um executivo que mudou os rumos da Nintendo of America.O livro conta a visão pessoal de Reggie com detalhes íntimos de suas experiências de vida mais marcantes, com a passagem de pessoas que transformaram o seu modo de ver o mundo, e o texto é rico em detalhes que sempre trazem algum ensinamento proveninentes com a abordagem de cada capítulo.A leitura é bastante acessível e recomendável não só pra quem tem interesse em conhecer a trajetória de Reggie Fils-Aimé, mas para quem também se interessa em conhecimentos corporativos, o livro aborda muitas situações do mundo executivo.Minha recomendação pessoal é de ler acompanhado do audiobook, que é narrado pela voz do próprio Reggie, e a experiência se torna ainda mais imersiva. Leitura aprovada! E fica o meu elogio pelo envio super rápido e bem embalado pela Amazon.
Tommaso Ferilli –
Sono a circa metà del libro.Tralasciando le indubbie problematiche che i prima-lingua italiani potrebbero riscontrare nel leggere il libro (dato che è tutto in lingua inglese), Disrupting the Game è una biografia molto accurata che parla della vita dell’ex direttore commerciale di Nintendo, Reggie Fils-Aimé.Questo libro, però, non si limita solo a raccontare la sua storia come un resoconto, ma ci mette nei suoi panni per capire le sue scelte e soprattutto i motivi delle scelte fatte, grazie a una serie di piccole appendici chiamate “The So-What”, che in italiano sarebbe come a dire “E quindi? Che vuoi dire?”.Queste appendici aprono uno spazio ben chiaro nella mente di Reggie, permettendoci di attingere direttamente dalla saggezza di un uomo d’affari che bene o male ci sa fare, anche sbagliando.E’ un libro a dir poco affascinante, sia per chi aspira a diventare leader nel proprio settore, sia per chi lavora nel commercio, sia per chi, come me, è fan di Nintendo, ma anche di Reggie, e vuole scoprire qualcosina in più su di lui e sulla grande N.
Picard –
If you don’t know who Reggie Files-Aimé is, then the chances are you’re not invested in Nintendo. A character who was known for his bubbly and larger-than-life persona, Reggie almost single-handedly modernised Nintendo’s relationships with its global partners – a move that helped to not only reinvent how the company communicated with its fans, but the way in which it developed its products. No small feats.But don’t think this book is simply a pile of tributes to Reggie or stories of his time in the gaming industry. It is actually a selection of lessons in business that span the whole of the mans career, from stints in banking and soft drinks companies, Pizza Hut, Guinness and more.Indeed, half of this work is dedicated to stories that most won’t know of, the rise of a plucky Bronx kid who showed a natural talent for data from an early age and who never gave up.And it’s these experiences that provide the most informative and entertaining moments of the book; not because they are unexpected for man who many only think of as a gamer, but because they highlight the drive, determination and quick learning that made him eventually so successful. Reggie was openly optimistic and fiercely driven to create change – attributes that, incredibly, were both to his advantage and detriment.Although I’ve no doubt those in the video gaming community will take interest in this book, it is important to reiterate that this is first and foremost a business-centric read, not a biography or love letter to Nintendo. It is incredibly well paced, easy to read and full of easy-to-digest advice. The man himself comes across as being not only very likeable, but clearly gifted with analytics. It is a fairly brief read at 200 pages, but I enjoyed every story and highly recommend it to those who may be starting their own ventures.