Doug Bowser, president of Nintendo of America, asserts that the absence of workers' unions within the company is primarily due to high levels of employee satisfaction. In an interview with Inverse, Bowser revealed that his company sees no immediate role for unions, which have been gradually gaining footing within the gaming industry. "We don't currently have unions at Nintendo of America, and part of that is driven by the employee feedback we see, which is a high degree of job satisfaction and engagement overall," explained Bowser. Furthermore, he cites industry-leading retention numbers and a strikingly low turnover rate as evidence.

Even so, an IGN report from May 2022 contradicts Bowser's assertions. This inquiry involved interviews with a dozen current and former employees and contractors across diverse departments in Nintendo of America and depicted a portrait of an organization becoming increasingly autocratic and restrictive, notwithstanding the continued success of the Switch. However, Bowser refrained from discussing these complaints, insisting that they could have been resolved during the 18 months post-report.

In the course of the interview, Bowser emphasized the company's commitment to fostering a work-place culture that is inclusive, promotes work-life balance, and is focused on fulfilling the company's ?mission? to spread joy. "Everyone has the right to form a union, and certainly in the future, wherever it takes us, we'll respect that. But we're very much focused right now on how to create the best work culture and environment," said Bowser. He further reassured that Nintendo is always attentive to its employee feedback, both formal and informal, and makes regular improvements based on those inputs.

While Nintendo maintains its stance, video game industry workers at Activision Blizzard, Zenimax Media, and very recently, CD Projekt Red, have unionized. However, it remains to see how this will impact the culture within these companies and perhaps influence others, like Nintendo, to reconsider their stance.