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Just yesterday, we heard multiple reports of sexual harassment claims from contractors who worked for Nintendo of America as game testers. Numerous claims were made, ranging from uncomfortable language all the way to stalking. If you missed the initial report, you can find it here.

Since then, Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser has sent an internal message to employees about the matter. Bowser said that Nintendo is actively investigating the matter, and they take the allegations very seriously. You can read the message shared with employees below.

“We have and will always investigate any allegations we become aware of, and we are actively investigating these most recent claims.

We have strict policies designed to protect our employees and associates from inappropriate conduct and expect full compliance with these policies by all who work for or with us. We have and will always investigate any allegations we become aware of, and we are actively investigating these most recent claims.

Please remember that our HR teams are here to support you. If you experience, have experienced, witness, or have witnessed anything concerning such behavior that is contrary to our Standards of Conduct, employee handbook, or Company Values, please immediately contact your HR Business Partner.”

[Nintendo of America president, Doug Bowser]
[Kotaku]

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Comments (8)

sligeach_eire

1+ y ago

Good to hear that Nintendo are investigating. They're too serious accusations for Nintendo not to act.


joeshabadoo

1+ y ago

Confirm that you’re reaching out to an independent investigative organization and not paying lip service before conducting some internal HR based ‘look’ in to this issue and we’ll be cool, NoA.


kuribo

1+ y ago

“ Please remember that our HR teams are here to support you”

Eh no Doug. HR has a sole purpose to protect the company from employees.


Yeah I actually read those "accusations" and they are NOT serious.

A person that refuses to reveal their identity tells a very fishy story without any proof it was directed at them. Then, revealed their tragic story to Kotaku, a company known for lies and sensationalism. For those of you wondering, these sexual harassment allegations are a person posting that "Vaporeon meme" somewhere and while that wasn't a good idea to post that on a work board it's clearly a meme that nobody would actually take personal offence over.

This person thinks a couple of bad memes over the course of 9 years is a "harrowing experience", that is a sheltered life. And the worst part is the person who made the joke is getting mandatory sensitivity training but this "Karen" didn't think that was enough and wanted him fired.

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noxide

1+ y ago

@kuribo

At least we can both agree that HR is terrible.


joeshabadoo

1+ y ago

@noxide

Goes well beyond that, sir. The same person made comments in a work chat about how it was okay to be sexually attracted to an extremely young NPC in Genshin Impact, and more lewd messaging beyond that. Outside of those more specific instances (and more concerning) is the general toxic masculine power dynamics between contracted staff and full time official employees of NoA. I don’t want to go in to the details here but they paint an extremely disappointing, juvenile, and oppressive picture. It’s not unique to Nintendo and sadly so much of the tech sector needs to get their shit together before their shit comes crashing down and lawsuits follow. I fear it’s even worse in Japan where there is little to no general cultural support for whistleblowers

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"the general toxic masculine power dynamics between contracted staff and full time official employees of NoA."

Hmmm... I think you got a one track mind and will gladly see the worst because you are training yourself to hate masculinity. The story suggests that that the only person being juvenile and oppressive is the person crying to Kotaku.


joeshabadoo

1+ y ago

@noxide

PEOPLE. Do you understand pluralization? People, when acting with collective confidence and inspiration, can find it easier to speak up about ways in which they fell victim to abuses. This is not about a single source or single report. Several