Ninja Gaiden developer Koei Tecmo asks fans not to send them romantic offerings addressed to staff or fictional characters for Valentine’s Day 

You can put down that card and chocolate box you were preparing for your favorite warlord from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, because Koei Tecmo Games has issued an announcement politely informing fans that it will be declining all Valentine’s Day or White Day presents sent this year due to safety concerns.  

In the announcement, the company expressed gratitude for all the gifts fans send to its staff and fictional characters daily. However, they explain that they’ve decided to place a ban on Valentine’s Day and White Day presents again this year, no doubt picturing an unmanageable mountain of gifts flooding in on these romantic days. If you’re wondering “Is that even a thing?” then you’re probably not alone, but it is indeed a thing. 

Japan is big on Valentine’s Day presents, and every year on February 14, people give their loved ones chocolates and other gifts, which are customarily reciprocated on White Day, celebrated on March 14. However, recipients of Valentine’s Day presents aren’t just limited to real people. It’s not uncommon for people to give gifts to their beloved fictional characters – and the most logical way to do so is by sending these presents to the companies and developers that created them. 

This was a relatively common phenomenon among some Japanese game companies, but the COVID-19 pandemic sadly changed that. Koei Tecmo has been declining Valentine’s Day presents for a couple of years now, and Square Enix previously requested that FF14 players stop sending food as gifts. 

Interestingly, in response to Koei Tecmo’s post on X, one Japanese user mentioned that it used to be common for fans who sent Valentine’s Day gifts to characters from Koei Tecmo games to receive letters in return on White Day (written by staff, obviously). It’s not really possible to verify if this is true, but if it is, it’s a very sweet gesture, and it’s kind of a pity that the whole custom is gone now (although it’s for legitimate reasons). It would have been a real experience to receive a White Day card from Liu Bei.