Between August and November last year, 27-year-old Kenshin Kazama from Hitachi City, Japan, sent 39 threatening letters to Nintendo. The threats, submitted via Nintendo’s online feedback form, included: “Be careful at events that involve spectators” and “I will make you regret bringing such a game into this world (…)” However, it is unclear which game was being referred to in this case.
Regarding the motive, the Japanese news agency NHKthat Judge Hiroshi Kawakami of the Kyoto District Court stated, “The defendant was frustrated by his continued losses in online play of Nintendo games and committed the crime to relieve his stress.”
Of course, sending threats to relieve stress is not a constructive way to deal with one’s emotions, and the consequences for Nintendo were that they had to postpone Nintendo Live 2024 and Splatoon Koshien 2023 National Finals to ensure everyone’s safety. Now, however, Kazama has been convicted and will be behind bars for the next year.
