Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo's executive vice president of sales & marketing, and a highly visible face for the company, is leaving the Big N on October 1st. No reason was given for Dunaway's departure. “I’m thankful for my time with Nintendo and proud of our team’s accomplishments in growing the Nintendo audience,” Dunaway said in a statement. “I look forward to watching the continued growth of the Nintendo brand in the years ahead.” Nintendo Head Reggie Fils-Aime said, "We appreciate Cammie’s contributions to Nintendo and the role she played in bringing the Wii and Nintendo DS experiences to millions of people. Her team and the rest of Nintendo of America remain focused on our goal of maintaining the incredible momentum Nintendo enjoys heading into the busy holiday season.” The problem with executive leaving key positions in the video game industry (and most other industries) is that you very rarely get the real reasons for the departures. There could be some nefarious and fascinating reason for Dunaway's departure, but everyone involved is way too cagey and savvy to reveal what they might be. Maybe someone will write a book 20 years after the fact, but by then, who would care? On the other hand, there could be totally mundane reasons for Dunaway leaving. There's no way to tell. I wouldn't be exactly surprised if the whole thing has something to do with declining Wii sales compared to, say, the 360. In August, the Wii sold 244.3K where the 360 topped out at 356.7K. Even when everyone "hardcore" was ragging on her for her family-focused E3 presentation, I always liked Cammie Dunaway, and I'm sure she'll go on to another high-powered gig where she'll spend more on a week's worth of solid-gold back-scratchers than I'll earn in my lifetime. More...
