Say goodbye to George Harrison, Perrin Kaplan, and Beth Llewelyn.

It is certainly surprising news. Game Informer are reporting that the vast majority of Nintendo of America's Sales and Marketing Staff, some ninety per cent, will not be taking part in the proposed move from NOA's headquarters in Redmond to new offices, in New York City or San Francisco, thereby leaving the company at an undisclosed time in the near future.

The most shocking part of this is the departure of big PR names such as Senior Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Communications George Harrison, Vice President, Marking and Corporate Affairs Perrin Kaplan, and Senior Director of Public Relations Beth Llewelyn. Kaplan and Harrison in particular have been the face of Nintendo at press events for years now, and we will be feeling their loss.

The cause of such a significant exodus may come to light in the next couple of days as more information becomes available. More as we get it.

Update: Nintendo weighs in this morning. While confirming that the media and sales divisions are moving out of Redmond, a spokesperson has told various media outlets that "in terms of the execs leaving we have not heard anything regarding that speculation - and it remains speculation [...] We are not commenting further on those rumours at this time." Not a confirmation, but not a denial. We will see how this develops.

Update2: Reggie has now spoken on the matter of moving/leaving staff. He states that four out of every ten people will be moving to the office in New York and San Francisco Bay Area, not 10% as previously rumoured. He also mentions that these were the numbers that Nintendo were expecting, that they expect the people that are leaving to do well in future jobs and says that Nintendo will miss the talent from those who decided not to move. Reggie also claimed that he "can not discuss the relocation status of any individual involved", so it is unknown if Harrison, Kaplan or Llewelyn are remaining.