Doug Bowser: Nintendo doesn't have unions because of "high degree of job satisfaction and engagement"

In a year that's seen significant moves toward unionisation across the games industry, Nintendo of America boss Doug Bowser has argued the reason the company doesn't have unions is because its workers have a "high degree of job satisfaction and engagement".

Bowser shared his thoughts in an interview with Inverse, saying, "You only have to look at our retention numbers, which are very, very high within the industry, and our obviously low turnover rate as a result. Our focus has always been on creating a culture that's inclusive, has a work-life balance, and is focused on our singular mission of bringing smiles to faces."

Bowser added he believes Nintendo is "on the right path" when it comes to creating a "work environment and culture that allows people to be productive, to have balance in their lives, and to grow within the company".

"Everyone has the right to form a union," he continued, "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 we possibly can."

Unionisation has been gaining steam within the games industry for a number of years now, one major catalyst being the events of 2020 and 2021, which saw allegations of widespread sexism and harassment across a string of major publishers, including Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft, and Riot Games. Employees at Activision Blizzard (including Blizzard Albany and Raven Software) successfully unionised in the months after complaints surfaced about the company, and, in the years since, unions have sprung up at the likes of Sega of America, CD Projekt, Zenimax, and Avalanche Studios.

However, while workers at Nintendo have yet to unionise, the company has previously been accused of interfering with unionisation efforts. A QA contractor made the allegations in 2022, saying they had been fired after asking about unionisation - although Nintendo insisted the firing happened because the worker had disclosed "confidential information". Even so, the parties reached a settlement that same year, and Nintendo was ordered to display a notice informing employees they "WILL NOT" be fired or stopped from discussing unionisation.

Notably, a second, similar allegation was made against Nintendo (and hiring agency Aston Carter, which was also named in the earlier complaint) in August 2022.

Despite Doug Bowser's assertions Nintendo employees enjoy a "high degree of job satisfaction and engagement" based on "feedback", several reports from last year painted a very different picture from the perspective of contract workers at the company. Extensive investigations from both IGN and Kotaku claimed contractors were often treated like 'second-class citizens' by Nintendo compared to their full-time colleagues.