27-year-old man admits cancelling Nintendo Japan events by threatening to ‘kill everyone’ for ‘shitty games’
The man suspected of being responsible for threats that led to the cancellation of Nintendo events in Japan has admitted the charges.
27-year-old Kenshin Kazama stood trial this week and admitted that he had made the threats, Kansai Television News reports.
“I sent the messages because I was stressed by playing the game,” Kazama reportedly explained. “When I kept losing, I got frustrated.”
Kazama was charged in April, accused of sending a total of 39 threats via the inquiry form on Nintendo’s official website between August 22 and November 29 last year.
Kazama was accused of saying “I’ll make you regret bringing such a shitty game into this world”, threatening to “kill everyone involved” and saying “be careful about events that have spectators in attendance”.
Although it wasn’t clear what game he was referring to, it’s believed to be Splatoon 3, since some of the threats were aimed at the Splatoon Koshien 2023 National Finals.
The threats led to the cancellation of the Splatoon Finals and Nintendo Live 2024, which were set to take place in Tokyo in December 2023 and January 2024 respectively.
The prosecutor in the case said the total damage caused by Kazama’s threats totalled around ¥700 million ($4.36 million), saying: “The consequences are serious. There are no extenuating circumstances for his childish motives.”
The prosecution has asked for Kazama to be sentenced to one year in prison. Sentencing will take place on July 24.
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