Nintendo hires Duncan Orrell-Jones as its new senior vice president of Network Business for Wii U and 3DS.

Nintendo of America sounds slightly more serious about embracing online gaming for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS today, as the company has hired Duncan Orrell-Jones to be its new senior vice president of Network Business.

In an official announcement, Nintendo says Orrell-Jones will "spearhead the development and evolution of Nintendo of America's digital strategy" in the newly created position. He'll report to NOA president and COO Reggie Fils-Aime.

"Duncan Orrell-Jones brings knowledge and hands-on experience to Nintendo that will help us develop and implement long-term digital initiatives for our systems," Fils-Aime said in a statement. "By creating this new position we're demonstrating our commitment to the expansion of our online business, and Duncan is the perfect person for the job."

Orrell-Jones comes from The Walt Disney Company, where he served as a senior VP in Disney's Interactive Media Group, the division that includes Disney Interactive Studios (Epic Mickey, Tron Evolution), Disney Online Studios (Club Penguin, World of Cars Online), Playdom and more.

Nintendo lifted the veil on its Wii U online plans earlier this month, revealing its Miiverse social interaction app and a built-in Web browser for its next console. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has said in the past that the company is creating a "flexible" online infrastructure for the Wii U with the needs of third-party publishers in mind. At E3, Iwata told financial analysts that attempting to match the online features of its competitors, Sony and Microsoft, would not be "a smart strategy."