Nintendo Official: 60 Percent of Sales/Marketing Team Lost in Move

In an interview with the San Jose Mercury News, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said the company is moving dozens of jobs to Silicon Valley and Manhattan - and that more than half the existing sales and marketing team will need to be replaced.

Fils-Aime told the paper that it was necessary to place personnel where "the heat and the action is going on around new forms of entertainment."

The executive would not validate or reject speculation that some of the staff unwilling to relocate include top Nintendo officials George Harrison and Perrin Kaplan, saying only, "All of those reports are speculation and rumors."

The Nintendo official said the relocation was designed to bring Nintendo employees in closer contact with the latest brands, trends and developers.