Update [Sat 7th May, 2022 12:30 BST]: G4 has now uploaded the full interview with Reggie - adding some much-needed context to that line about how much he "hated Donkey Konga". It turns out, he was just protective and was worried about the music rhythm series ruining the Donkey Kong brand. In the end, though, he admits it sold "reasonably" well.
“I have to tell you, as an executive, I hated Donkey Konga. I hated it. I fought with our parent company. I thought it was going to hurt the Donkey Kong brand. Personally, I didn’t find it a lot of fun to play so I pushed back hard. You know what? We launched it. The first game actually sold reasonably well, but boy I was not a fan.”
Original article [Sat 30th Apr, 2022 02:30 BST]: The former Nintendo of America president, Reggie Fils-Aimé, is currently doing the rounds online to promote his new book Disrupting the Game. If you thought you've heard everything he's had to say, perhaps not.
In a new teaser (that lacks context and is clearly poking fun) for an upcoming G4TV XPlay interview, Reggie can be seen answering some hard-hitting questions. We do hear him say a little bit in this short time frame, but possibly the most shocking (and hilarious) line is the following: "As an executive, I hated Donkey Konga."
Again, there's not really much context here, so there's no need to raise that pitchfork just yet. It's no doubt G4TV drumming up some excitement for this special interview. Reggie's new book will be made available on 3rd May. It's filled with inspiring stories and lessons about his "unlikely rise" to the top.
Keep an eye out for our Nintendo Life review next week.
[source twitter.com, via gonintendo.com]
Comments 99
As a player, I hated Donkey Konga, too. Taiko Drum Master was much better!
As a consumer, I also hated the idea of Donkey Konga. But then again we wouldn't have gotten all those glorious DK Bongo's memes.
It's Bait... He'll end up saying, "As a Gamer, I loved it"
Reggie has too much class to throw shade at his former employer.
donkey konga was never appealing to me tbh
How DARE he hate Donkey Konga! First Cryptocurrency, now this!? What are you doing Reggie? My body wasn't ready for this 🥺
just kidding, I know that Reggie is a perfectly fine person and isn't "going downhill". I know that this was kinda obvious, but I'm just putting this here to be safe.
Nope. Not even Reggie will make me watch that train wreck known as g4/xplay
Only used G4 to watch Scott The Woz so.. no thanks.
Maybe if Donkey Konga had some "Play to Own"/blockchain elements, he'd like it a little more.
Ooh, what a throwback. Xplay walked so the NL video staff could run.
Why advertise the trash organization that is G4
I can't wait for Reggie to read from a teleprompter and give us a college lecture on how gamers are a privileged and marginalized class in society.
Oh, and something about misogyny as well while they have Twitch girls on set in revealing clothing.
@HotGoomba Last I checked, he was a board member for Gamestop, what it is he doing now that he's not retiring?
I was watching G4TV.. like 15 years ago, lol
I want to like G4 more than I actually like G4. But thats mostly just the nostalgia from back when it was TechTV talking.
I will always cherish Donkey konga. It may lack in some places. But I still loved it.
G4TV is essentially a dead / "Lolcow" YouTube channel at this point. I don't know why anyone would want to be a guest or associate themselves with it, as there's nothing but negativity surrounding it.
From GameStop to G4. Reggie seams to be drawn to dying brands.
Someone cancel Reggie for saying that heresy! This slight on the super simian cannot go unpunished!
G4TV still exists? I haven't watched cable TV since I moved out of my parent's place over a decade ago and G4TV since 2006.
It was DK: Jungle Beat that was the one everyone liked, right? Getting confused between that and Donkey Konga, assuming they are different games
Removed - inappropriate
I thought it was a lot of fun but the song selection wasn't that good.
Great, I'll continue to not watch G4TV.
There's a personality cult around this guy, and people suffer when it's too obvious he's a business man working for big corporations.
I’ve noticed a cottage industry of YouTubers posting daily on g4tvs demise due to a harmless 3 minute rant from months ago. I guess gamers gotta gamer.
They had me at Reggie Fils-Amazing
@Nintendo_Thumb
The Donkey Kong 2 list for the US was extremely bad. The PAL version for DK2 keep like 4 of the good ones and put a much better selection in. The Japan list is also good if you can get a hold of it.
I love the new G4, and I love Reggie. I'll be tuning in.
@Jireland92 So there's life left in the Mother franchise, since he hasn't spoken of it lately.
???
TIL G4 didn't die a decade ago
Donkey Konga - along with light gun games, the reason I got a CRT again. Unlike GH/Rock Band, there's no way to calibrate, so impossible to account for the processing delay of modern TVs. What a great game - just wish there were more than the 2 (not counting the Japanese #3 here).
“Imagine if after playing a tune in Donkey Konga, I could them sell that rendition on the blockchain.”
Of course he most likely just says “but as a gamer I loved it”.
@mrMike Yeah, he probably means, as an executive, he knew it wouldn't sell, but as a gamer, he knows it's a great game.
@fbnaulin He probably cultivated that cult unpurpose because it's good for business.
Surprised he hasn't been arrested yet.
I've been told by G4 that G4 is not for me. Guess I'll pass.
@mrMike indeed , something like that... they probably made quite a loss on it, it being big etc...
liked konga, loved jungle beat..
oh god..... g4tv. what a mess
@Sinbad75 Channel analytics speak for themselves lol
No wonder why Donkey Konga 3 never launched outside of Japan.
Well I mean.... he wasn't too wrong about that, that's for sure.
Donkey Konga FTW!!!!
Imagine if the Rhythm Tengoku franchise made use of the bongos...
I can’t be the only person here who had enough of Reggie news. It feels like he was less in the news here when he was actually working at Nintendo.
Something Something G4 hates gamers Something Something dark side. Goofing off aside, I kinda liked Donkey Konga.
I didn't like it either tbh, in fact I thought it was terrible. Love the main games though.
Jungle Beat was genius though, Reggie.
@NotArmani is that what happened to him? He hasn’t posted anything on youtube since January thought he quit
@Saemon
He wasn’t selling/promoting a book before.
The real game that hurt the DK brand was Barrel Blast
@Jayenkai
"Donkey Konga FTW!!!!"
"FTW"?
Removed - unconstructive feedback
Konga was enjoyable. Could have been better, but my wife and I got many hours of enjoyment playing VS mode.
I have Donkey Konga and in my brain it wasn't a bad game. So I booted it up to play. Hooked up directly to the TV, I was getting terrible input lag. No problem. I'll just go into the menu and adjust for input lag. Wait? What? This rhythm game has been no built in function to deal with lag!! In a rhythm game?!? Donkey Konga is also guilty of only playing truncated versions of songs. (Also guilty, Taiko Drum Master and Groove Coaster.) The song list is already weak, (it has classical music...for a drum game?), so when you do get a song more fitting it's disappointing it ends all too quickly. Yeah, nostalgia was better than reality on this one.
I loved donkey konga myself, although i wasnt a fan of the songs being "cover versions" i dont think it interfiered with the game that much.... i thoroughly enjoyed it.
@Kyloctopus I actually didn't mind that game. It was actually called Jet Race here in Ireland. My only issue with the game was that compared to other racers on the Wii at the time it seemed awfully slow to me.
Donkey Konga isn't really that bad, where else can you whack classic King K. Rool with a giant steel keg?
Jungle Beat is the real deal of the DK Bongos, though. Never played Donkey Konga 2 to have an opinion of it. Though I remember being like "WTF is this doing to have a T rating?"
I wish the Wii version of Donkey Kong Barrel Blast had retained the DK Bongos compatibility from the unreleased Gamecube version, same with Super Paper Mario using Gamecube controllers.
@Williamfuchs420 I think he's just working on his big "five years in" video for the Switch since it takes him a lot of time. Not sure if the G4 airings are still on though.
Liked most bongo drum games, Jungle Beat and Donkey Konga were well loved at uni with GFs and friends alike
To be fair, it wasn’t very good. I bought it very close to launch as it really appealed to me but it just wasn’t executed well. I don’t think it damaged the DK brand any though. Hardly anybody noticed it. There was a strange phase where they put DK in a few odd games like this, Jungle Beat (which was great), BarrelBlast, King of Swing, anything except make a proper DK game. But overall the brand was fine.
Haha, well, Reggie, I was an ENORMOUS fan!
And I get it if you got the US song selection. It wasn't that hot.
The European selection was better, but not exactly great.
Luckily, the basic game design itself was terrific!!
Even if the modes and menus weren't very well worked out.
I’m getting sick of seeing this loser’s face. I think if I avoid the site for say, 1-2 months, then the articles will stop. Peace out, everyone. Ninja needs a break from the fake executive.
New information labelled under news, I like it.
I enjoyed Donkey Konga but boy it really hurt my hands slapping those bongos after a while. (I didn’t intend that to sound as rude as it does)
I wasn't a fan of any of the kiddie centric casual crap that came out with the Wii, to be brutally honest. It's my least favorite Nintendo console for a reason.
Proof Reggie is not a all-knowing god. I loved Donkey Konga, I was probably the only person in my country to own two sets and all 3 games (DK3 I had to import for AUS). And man, Jungle Beat was awesome, too!
@kingbk
Good thing Donkey Konga and the Bongos came out during the GameCube times.
I had no interest in the Kongos at the time, or even now. I remember being disappointed they weren't releasing something more like a direct sequel to Donkey Kong Country.
@AcridSkull so true 😂
I got Donkey Konga 2 as a free gift for subscribing to Nintendo Official Magazine (RIP). It was a choice between that game, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes or Pikmin 2. Suffice to say I regret my decision.
I am really enjoying all of this 'insider' knowledge from back then, especially since this was when I was very engaged with Nintendo Power, 2004-2008 or so. I had two sets of bongos from having Donkey Konga 2 and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. I loved both but Jungle Beat was a legit game. I enjoyed Konga 2 but always found the knockoff artists and the song choices very hilarious. I can see why people weren't fans, but it was very fun as a teen to play it with siblings.
Is NL getting money to flog Reggie's book? If not, it should be.
Do people still watch G4? I only watched it for the Starcade reruns.
@HotGoomba you kind of had to my man i get it
@BloodNinja feeling spicy today are we
@lolwhatno i mean i get the sentiment but its probably just a slow news day. Plus, I kinda like reggie! Every article wont interest everyone.
@PlusFan that man just got roasted
@AcridSkull but thats where scott the woz does his funny show
@blindsquarel whats the deal with g4 im out of the loop
Oh it's one if my favorite gaming experiences with friends ever so Reggie was dead wrong on this one. It's a shame it didn't come out on Wii with a bigger audience.
@nowthisisepic Who?
Yes we get it reggie you liked getting int he way of creativity.
Massive L by Reggie
That would explain why Donkey Konga 3 stayed Japan Only.
@nowthisisepic you know you can @ multiple people in a single comment right
@somebread for me it's like shielding in smash: I know I have the move, but I forget it exists
I enjoyed Donkey Konga for what it was. It definitely came out at just about the right time when rhythm games with gimmicky controls were in their prime. So if they were ever going to do such a game, they probably couldn't have done it at any better time than when they did. And while I'm not clamoring to go play any of the Donkey Konga games again, I do absolutely enjoy going back to Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (the original bongo controlled Game Cube version), as I feel like that was a really brilliant implementation of the bongo controls in a video game, and it wasn't even really a rhythm game.
I don't know about you guys but I'm kind of tired of Reggie hottakes being passed of as news.
With that said, Rare did enough harm to donkey kong with dk country 3 and dk country 64, I said what I said.
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Konga, and King of Swing helped me renew my love for the franchise and retro made me love the country games again.
@AugustusOxy I can get where the DK64 hot-take comes from, but I don't see why DKC 3 was particularly harmful, I mean it's probably the weakest entry of the original DKC trilogy, but it's still a fun solid game all the same, most people that liked 1 or 2 will still find a lot about 3 to enjoy.
Reggie also thought Metroid Other M would be a defining, "killer moment" for the Metroid franchise, for the better. Which ironically did hurt the brand.
Reggie is like that popular chick you used to date in high school who left you for one of your friends, but despite things being amiable enough, she still comes out and talks about your relationship to everyone who will listen. And she just keeps talking on and on and on and on because for some reason, people just hang on her every word.
Reggie pushed back hard against Donkey Konga?
Sounds like a good article for a fanfic site..
Sorry, I know I am a bad person.
@Savage_Joe just curious, what’s wrong with g4/xplay?
If it was up to Reggie, Xenoblade Chronicles never would've made its way to the U.S. Not every decision he made was great, and his taste in games isn't always great either.
I agree bloody awful games!
While he's right, all of these snippets from interviews or his book come across as self-congratulatory pieces of common sense.
Juxtapose that with the book about Iwata, compiled by people who found him inspiring, showing true wisdom and humility.
I do enjoy Reggie spilling all the tea!
To be fair, Taiko Drum Master was way better and only cost me $9.99 at Target anyway.
@Friendly just one name: Frosk
Yeah I think he was right on this one. Jungle Beat was great though!
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