Towards the end of last year, there was controversy surrounding the funding of the Advance Wars-esque turn-based strategy title Tiny Metal. The issues stemmed from Project Phoenix, a 2013 Kickstarter campaign which raised $1,014,600 from 15,802 backers off the back of the promise it would unite Japan's RPG talent to create the ultimate real-time strategy game.
The director and project leader, Hiroaki Yura, eventually revealed Project Phoenix had been delayed and explained he would move onto another game with his studio AREA 35 to help raise funds so he could finish the project. This new game was Tiny Metal.
Although Tiny Metal was released last December, along the way a former AREA 35 employee - who worked as a PR Manager on the game - issued a statement accusing the Yura of embezzling funds from Project Phoenix's crowdfunding to produce it. Yura himself went on to clarify the Project Phoenix funds went into the poorly-received alpha build of the Kickstarter game and he had since used money out of his own pocket along with other means to continue development.
In the latest update, the issue has now been resolved in mediation court in Japan. The former employee who made the accusations has now retracted the statement made about the Tiny Metal team using money from the Project Phoenix Kickstarter campaign to fund the game's development.
Here's the official apology:
On November 20, 2017 (Heisei 29) I posted the entry “Comments” to the AREA 35 Co., Ltd. (Representative Director Yura Hiroaki) operated Facebook page entitled “Project Phoenix”, at a point in time after my own departure from that same company. In regard to this entry, and with the exception of the fact that I was employed by the company until two months prior to the posting, I now admit that everything it stated was contrary to the truth, and I offer a deep and profound apology to AREA 35 Co., Ltd.
Furthermore, I also apologize for significant damage caused to AREA 35 Co., Ltd., and damage caused to the good name and reputation of Mr. Yura Hiroaki, due to such occurrences as the falsehoods that I posted being picked up and reported by media organizations within the United States of America.
I am fully aware that my actions also relate to the trust placed in the videogame industry, and that they must have been very shocking for everyone involved in said industry.
Please allow me to apologize again for my actions.
With this matter now cleared up, AREA 35 is focused on a new multiplayer update for Tiny Metal and promises there are more exciting game-related announcements on the horizon.
[source facebook.com]
Comments 19
I am eagerly awaiting the Tiny Metal multiplayer update, though by now I am bored of it. I do not regret buying it though.
I had no idea about the accusations when I bought Tiny Metal I should clarify. It's a shame that this game will forever be followed by such reputation. It's a decent game.
Sounds like a settlement was paid for him to retract it???
Hmmmm. I’m not sure many people are going to be overly impressed with that retraction.
Somethings are best left alone.
To me that’s made it all murkier.
He did take the money and then repaid it.
So how is everything the guy said fake?
"No smoke without fire"
The moral of the story: NEVER fund any project on Kickstarter.
Well I hope they're getting sued for this.
@Nincompoop Hollow Knight is pretty good.
Tiny Metal taught me not to blindly trust high reviewer scores, and for that education at least I am thankful for the purchase of this title.
@PapaPedro HK is absolutely brilliant and fully worthy of any support whatsoever.
Please understand...
@JohnQuixote I also learned another lesson: don’t buy a game based on nostalgia and superficial semblance.
Oh... I forgot about this game. Need to put it on my reship list
Glad they cleared that up. With that said, Tiny Metal is an awesome game that improves upon Advance Wars's gameplay in several ways. Even the main characters are more interesting.
I can practically hear his eyes blinking "help me" in Morse Code as I read this.
@Nincompoop I was one of the first to fund La-Mulana 2 and it was worth the wait.
@Nincompoop Thats a ridiculous statement. I fundef several projects and they've all turned out fabulous and I very much enjoyed my products and games.
The old "sorry" statement from someone who tried to ruin a company with fabricated slander after he was fired for sexual harassment.
That former employee can stuff his sorry's in a sack. What he did was a criminal act.
@Stocksy @SmaggTheSmug
The former employee who did all of this was fired for sexually harassing his female coworkers. When he was canned for his devious acts he decided to make up a story to slander the company with. Clearly this person was not a good or trustworthy person. He was busted for being a sexist pig and when it cost him his job he went straight to another criminal act. Criminal act after criminal act, that is the legacy of that former employee.
A person like that is the kind of person who deserves to struggle to find a job anywhere. With a track record like that I have no idea why any company would ever want to have anything to do with him.
...geez, the plot thickens.
@Axlroselm "I also learned another lesson: don’t buy a game based on nostalgia and superficial semblance." You said it. Especially when Area35 AND Chucklefish already want to be corrupt, biased hicks.
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