Man who threatened Nintendo employees given prison sentence, judge condemns “selfish, persistent and vicious” nature of crime 

The 27-year-old Japanese man who repeatedly sent Nintendo threatening messages, forcing big game events to be cancelled, was sentenced to one year in prison with a suspended sentence of four years on July 24 (source: Kyoto Shimbun). 

According to the verdict, the defendant sent a total of 39 threatening messages between August 22 and November 29 last year. Aimed at Nintendo and its employees, examples of the threats included: “I will make you regret releasing such a shitty game” and “I will kill everyone involved, you better watch yourselves at events with spectators.” 

During the trial, a Nintendo employee mentioned feeling terrified as the aggressive messages reminded them of the Kyoto Animation arson case, which claimed the lives of 36 employees. The judge called the defendant’s motive for committing the crime “selfish” as he resorted to the threats to “relieve frustration with online game competitions.” The acts were concluded to be “persistent and malicious,” leading to the prosecution’s suggested punishment of 1 year in prison being granted.