Nintendo is closing its satellite offices in Toronto, Canada, and Redwood City, California. Although the news of Nintendo closing offices in Toronto and Redwood City was first reported early on Friday, there was no exact date given by the company for the closure. In a statement on the closing of the offices, Nintendo said the close of operations in the two offices will happen “over time”.
The gaming company said it was moving its operations from the aforementioned satellite offices to its North American headquarters in Redmond and Vancouver.
The statement reads:
Nintendo of America headquarters are in Redmond, WA, and Vancouver, BC. We are moving more of our employees and operations into those headquarters and will be closing small satellite offices in Toronto, ON, and Redwood City, CA, over time. Devon Pritchard, Executive Vice President, Business Affairs and Publisher Relations for Nintendo of America (NOA), will assume interim leadership of Sales, Marketing and Communications following the departure of Nick Chavez. Ms. Pritchard will oversee strategy and execution of sales, marketing and communications across the U.S. and Canada.”
Although it is not clear why Nintendo is closing offices, fans across North America can be sure that the closure will have little to no effect on gaming hardware availability in North America. This is because most of Nintendo’s games are developed overseas, in Tokyo and Kyoto, in cooperation with its American Redmond headquarters. The Nintendo Redwood City office was focused on Sales, Marketing and Merchandise, and had staffing of about 100 employees. Although the company’s statement alluded to the relocation of its employees as well, it is not yet clear if there are any efforts to downsize the staffing. The last time the company restructured its operations, it led to a mass layoff. Nintendo closing offices could be also a strategic move, however, the goal is not yet clear.
The news of Nintendo closing offices in North America comes just weeks after the launch of the OLED Nintendo Switch and the announcement of a Metroid Dread Crash update. The company also hosted its Nintendo Direct event a month ago, announcing new titles coming to the Switch. This makes the news of the shuttering of some offices more surprising, as the company has been enjoying success with the Switch in recent times, and rarely restructures its operations.