Update: Nintendo of America recently issued this statement to clear up their position on the matter:
Alison Rapp was terminated due to violation of an internal company policy involving holding a second job in conflict with Nintendo's corporate culture. Though Ms. Rapp's termination follows her being the subject of criticism from certain groups via social media several weeks ago, the two are absolutely not related. Nintendo is a company committed to fostering inclusion and diversity in both our company and the broader video game industry and we firmly reject the harassment of individuals based on gender, race or personal beliefs. We wish Ms. Rapp well in her future endeavors.
Original story: Regular viewers of Nintendo Treehouse broadcasts, particularly those from the last couple of E3 events, may be familiar with Alison Rapp. The Product Marketing Specialist - based in the Nintendo of America Treehouse team - often showcased new games in these broadcasts, in addition to her standard behind-the-scenes work at the company.
In recent times she's been at the centre of some controversy online, with groups and individuals targeting Rapp for her perceived work and in relation to some of her views around cultural norms and differences between Japan and Western nations. Topics that have been prevalent have included localisation of key Nintendo releases, with the debate also focusing on issues of sexual politics. It's a complicated debate, with Rapp attracting a maelstrom of attention based on interpretations of some comments and essays from her past, blending with discontent at aspects of Treehouse localisation.
This has gone on for a number of weeks, and has now come to a form of conclusion with Rapp posting a series of tweets referencing recent weeks and the involvement of 'Gamergate' (GG), before announcing that she's no longer employed by Nintendo.
https://twitter.com/alisonrapp/status/715286902014738432
https://twitter.com/alisonrapp/status/715286955596996608
https://twitter.com/alisonrapp/status/715287020201836544
https://twitter.com/alisonrapp/status/715287118851940353
https://twitter.com/alisonrapp/status/715287165756776448
https://twitter.com/alisonrapp/status/715287253702959108
https://twitter.com/alisonrapp/status/715287310552539136
https://twitter.com/alisonrapp/status/715287409424871424
https://twitter.com/alisonrapp/status/715287503637323776
The nature of the issues at hand have prompted plenty of support to be expressed for Rapp, while on the other side some are pleased that she's no longer working for Nintendo. The Kotaku articles linked in Rapp's tweets do give some extended detail.
Though the reasoning for Rapp's employment ending seem clear in the context of her tweets and the debate that's preceded them, no assumptions should be made on the detail and nature of the decision.
To break into first person, I have made the decision to close comments on this article. It's not a decision taken lightly, but because of the issues at hand and the frequent ugliness I've seen online in relation to this topic over past weeks, I believe the odds of any reasonable debate making way for unacceptable language are rather high. There are plenty of places to debate this online, but my interest is always to ensure that Nintendo Life remains a safe place for readers of all persuasions and beliefs. I don't believe that interest would be maintained in a comments section for this article.
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