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Last Friday, a 40-year-old man was arrested after threatening an arson attack upon Square Enix, provoked by frustration with one of the publisher’s mobile games (via Siliconera).
Fuji News Network reported that Kenichi Hiratsuka emailed threats to Square Enix, stating, ‘Give me back my money from your s*** game… Do you want a repeat of Kyoto Animation?’ The Kyoto Animation arson attack was a national tragedy, claiming the lives of 35 employees after fuel was lit in the Fushimi studio. It was one of the deadliest incidents to occur in Japan since the end of the Second World War, and so law enforcement engaged quickly with Hiratsuka’s threats.
‘I was pissed off at losing in a game, so I sent the mail,’ the man stated during police questioning. No other details were publicised by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. This is in fact the second incident to affect Square Enix. In March, a 25-year-old man sent death threats to the publisher’s staff after he spent over £1,500 trying and failing to unlock a specific item in a gacha game.
Toxicity in the gaming community seems to derive from a false sense of entitlement, as evidenced by these examples, and in the backlash to the Ooblets Epic exclusivity announcement.
