Don James is an American

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

executive and currently serves as the executive vice president of operations for

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

of America. As a key member of the team led by

Howard Lincoln Howard Charles Lincoln (born February 14, 1940) is an American lawyer and businessman, known primarily for being the former Chairman of Nintendo of America and the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Seattle Mariners baseball team ...

and Minoru Arakawa, James played a critical role in the reintroduction of home

video game consoles A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to a t ...

in North America after the

Video Game Crash of 1983 The video game crash of 1983 (known as the Atari shock in Japan) was a large-scale recession in the video game industry that occurred from 1983 to 1985, primarily in the United States. The crash was attributed to several factors, including ma ...

, when the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

spawned a late-1980s rebirth of video games. After the collapse of the home video game industry in 1983-84, retailers and press widely agreed that "video game consoles are dead, and the computer game industry is a niche market which mass market retailers should ignore." Arakawa, Lincoln and James coordinated the introduction of the NES while struggling to overcome that skepticism, and ultimately paved the way for Nintendo (and, to a lesser extent,

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

and

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...

) to rebuild the multibillion-dollar industry during the last half of the decade. James joined Nintendo of America in August 1981, and his employment with the company has now spanned over 30 years. He has been responsible for manufacturing, product development, and design for both

coin-op A currency detector or currency validator is a device that determines whether notes or coins are genuine or counterfeit. These devices are used in a wide range of automated machines, such as retail kiosks, supermarket self checkout machines, a ...

and home games such as '' Tin Star''. James participated in organizing and creating the Interactive Digital Software Association (later renamed the Entertainment Software Association) and was a leader in the creation of the

Electronic Entertainment Expo E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo or Electronic Entertainment Experience in 2021) is a trade event for the video game industry. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) organizes and presents E3, which many developers, publisher ...

trade show for the video game industry, the largest event of its kind in the world. He still sits on the advisory committee of the ESA. He also helped to create the

Entertainment Software Rating Board The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in the United States and Canada. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Asso ...

rating system and currently sits on the Advisory Committee for the ESRB. The ratings system was designed in response to concerns from the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

about violence and other content in video games that was inappropriate for younger players. James has been a key figure in Nintendo's conservative approach to such mature game content. James has been a member of the board of directors of the

Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...

since the inception of the organization.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Don Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Nintendo people People from Redmond, Washington Video game businesspeople