Nintendo Sacks Localizer After Appearing on a Podcast

It's fairly well known that those who work for major gaming companies, be it Sony, Nintendo, etc. must adhere to fairly strict rules when it comes to voicing their opinions or speaking about their employer in a public setting. This proves doubly true for most Japanese companies, especially Nintendo.

Chris Pranger, a now former localization editor at Nintendo appeared on The Part-Time Gamers podcast and talked a bit about the Big N's localization entity, the Nintendo Treehouse. Doing so prompted swift action from Nintendo in the form of him getting fired.

In a post on Twitter, the former Nintendo employee said, "As some of you may have heard, yes, I was fired yesterday. Yes, it was ultimately my own fault. No, I did not see this coming."

 

Pranger also released a statement on Facebook, taking full responsibility for his actions. "Hello friends and family. As many of you have probably seen, I am no longer at Nintendo. I was terminated this week due to a podcast appearance I made last Monday. It was a stupid judgment call on my part and ultimately it cost me far more than I could have imagined."

It was a stupid slip-up, yes, but it's amazing how such a crazy little decision of this sort can totally ruin someone's life. "I look around my house and see images of my son and feel such intense shame and crippling sadness," Pranger continued on Facebook. "I know that if I can’t find a job at least as good as this one, I won’t be able to provide for my family I’ve lost them their health coverage and their security.

 

"I also know that I’ve probably lost a good deal of my friends, just because I know how hard it can be to stay in touch with someone when the convenience of proximity is lost," he continued. "I’m so sorry to everyone. I’ve failed you. You believed in me and supported me and trusted me and I’ve failed you. I’ve failed me."

 
Kotaku reached out to Nintendo and received the following statement: "We have no comment on this topic other than to wish Chris the best in his future endeavors."

What do you make of this tragic turn of events? Are Nintendo's policies too strict? 

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