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Chris Pranger, Out-Spoken Nintendo Treehouse Localizer, was Fired
- Thread starter Tom Nook Sawyer
- Start date
Its very likely the call for his termination came from NCL, specifically over NDA breach AND the bit about Sakurai. The delay of his termination by a week could indicate that there was some resistance to his termination but it was eventually settled.
Sakurai is a "premiere" dev for the company, even if he's at odds with some of the more core fans of the franchise he's in charge of, and they can't have his image tarnished.
Massive Duck. C.M.
Banned
So you know for a fact that I didn't listen to the podcast because he said something most people were aware of months ago and I didn't hold it up as proof of his savvy and truth-spitting
I'm not offended by anything he said because the lack of knowledge of the general public about loc politics is a given and I don't really care about Xenoblade one way or the other.
I'd prefer Bill, he shows up at random fan events.
Sorry I meant that to be a joke
(If everyone openly speaks up like Kamiya industry would burn down).
I would be shocked if he were privy to localization cost/revenue analysis and eventual profit margins on Xenoblade's localization. He spoke extremely authoritatively for someone in a position where I'm not sure if he would have access to that type of information outside of a maybe general knowledge?
Probably the same way? Why wouldn't they?
Or, I guess I should clarify: corporate culture in Japan and the US is largely different, but they would have a reason for termination if they felt it necessary.
Their employment laws are different, they usually try to make employees "quit" on their own (Japanese corporations that is)
Treehouse/NOA is in Washingtion State,an At-Will State. You can be fire for any reason, or no reason at all. Provided it wasn't a wrongful termination
Sorry I meant that to be a joke
(If everyone openly speaks up like Kamiya industry would burn down).
Well, I mean, I agree on the idea of big guys being more open.
pixel monkey
Banned
A man lost his job and healthcare for his wife and young child. All the while you let your anger flow through you. That's what happened.
How very sad.
ieptbarakat
Member
In an industry of smoke and mirrors this guy accidentally let us see the act.
I feel bad that he lost his job through being honest, but at the end of the day, if the NDA says you'll be terminated and/or fined for speaking out of line then you better run your dialogue through your supervisors before giving it to the public.
I feel bad that he lost his job through being honest, but at the end of the day, if the NDA says you'll be terminated and/or fined for speaking out of line then you better run your dialogue through your supervisors before giving it to the public.
So what's the good part? I thank you for your support though!
pixel monkey
Banned
The "good part" is that he was doing a job he loved, for a company he loved working for, to provide for those that meant the most to him.
I hope it never happens to you.
Interficium
Banned
What I'm going to guess happened is that normally he wouldn't have been fired by NoA (perhaps heavily reprimanded), but NoJ demanded his head once the story got legs, particularly for talking about Sakurai, etc. NoA has always traditionally been very subservient to NoJ, so I imagine they didn't put up much of a resistance.
Part of it could be a message-sending fire to Treehouse employees, some of whom are getting pretty large social media (10k on twitter, etc) followings, to stay with the party line.
/tinfoil
Part of it could be a message-sending fire to Treehouse employees, some of whom are getting pretty large social media (10k on twitter, etc) followings, to stay with the party line.
/tinfoil
balladofwindfishes
Member
He also discussed a bit about Smash Bros Brawl's balance and the costs to get the voice actors... except it was worked on years before he started working. I'm not really sure why he thought he had enough knowledge about a game he didn't even work on to discuss union disputes with voice actors, and how David Hayter was really expensive and discuss jokey rumors about how the game was balanced.
I think he just got caught up in the moment and just sort of rambled about anything he could think of that he thought was interesting.
Are you him or something? You seem to be taking this awfully personally.
I don't really feel bad for people who screw up at work and get fired by the way. I hope he finds a new job quickly and things turn around but he messed up. Losing his dream job was his fault.
Masked Man
I said wow
As someone else currently "living the dream," I can only imagine how devastated he must feel. At the same time, though, NDAs are just par for the course in this industry, so this is the only realistic outcome to the situation, unfortunate though it may be.
I definitely wouldn't use the word "trashed"
I don't think this meshes with Treehouse's position within Nintendo. They're the main localization center but that's not all that they do, they're the face of Nintendo in America and on the internet to a large degree outside of Directs. They didn't get there willy-nilly.
Do you think they run E3 or Nintendo's American social media because of shits and giggles? They have been on twitter/social media for years, doing just fine and giving their company good exposure and connection with its fans. Its why they have risen so much so quickly.
pixel monkey
Banned
No, but I've been exactly where he is tonight... and let me tell you, there's nothing more difficult than tucking your kids in and kissing your wife 'goodnight' on that night.
Shockingly the Kotaku comments are all "I'm not surprised, this is a pretty standard response, very sad for him though" which I didn't really expect.
To be fair, you aren't his employer.
...wait, are you?
To be fair, you aren't his employer.
...wait, are you?
So just to wrap back around here. What does any of this have to do with me taking issue with Kotaku writing a deceptive headline?
akidnamededdy
Banned
Nintendo ninjas are so good even their own employees don't believe they're real.
It always sucks when someone loses their job, and it sounds like it might really hit this guy hard, but when you make comments about the actions the company you work for have taken and speculate on those reasons this is always the risk you're taking. Especially if those comments start to receive a lot of attention.
I'm kind of baffled by his thought process for being on the podcast. If he was at Treehouse for four years, you'd think by now he'd have gone through multiple trainings and been reminded repeatedly of the consequences of NDA breaches, and also been confronted with several opportunities to breach his NDA (e.g. meeting journalists at conventions or at E3, speaking with reviewers, etc.) - all of which he successfully avoided until now.
I don't even think he's the only Nintendo employee to be fired for an NDA breach within the past year - didn't whoever leaked the Smash 3DS ESRB footage (which revealed some fighters) also end up being fired, because they forwarded it to a friend who leaked it to the internet? It's not like regular employees at Nintendo are unaware of what happens when confidential details get leaked.
It should be second nature and obvious to him by now to keep his mouth shut when surrounded by people who want to know the inside details - but he decided to let it all hang out on a random podcast, just because?
And yeah, I can sympathize with someone in a great job who makes a bad decision and faces the consequence for their actions, but... honestly, this wasn't a rookie mistake by a new employee, it's a real bone-headed decision from someone who's supposed to be experienced and know what he's doing.
I don't even think he's the only Nintendo employee to be fired for an NDA breach within the past year - didn't whoever leaked the Smash 3DS ESRB footage (which revealed some fighters) also end up being fired, because they forwarded it to a friend who leaked it to the internet? It's not like regular employees at Nintendo are unaware of what happens when confidential details get leaked.
It should be second nature and obvious to him by now to keep his mouth shut when surrounded by people who want to know the inside details - but he decided to let it all hang out on a random podcast, just because?
And yeah, I can sympathize with someone in a great job who makes a bad decision and faces the consequence for their actions, but... honestly, this wasn't a rookie mistake by a new employee, it's a real bone-headed decision from someone who's supposed to be experienced and know what he's doing.
That's what happened? Because from memory the leaked video came from someone inside the ESRB not Nintendo...
I believe it was ESRB, indeed.
Alex
Member
I figured that guy was done the moment I saw that post, hell I assumed it was someone burning a bridge. That's some extreme naivety to have gone through with that kind of social media gossip when you work for a big brand like Nintendo, especially when your job security is that paramount with so much debt and a family to provide for.
I mean I feel sorry for him, it's a rough deal, but it's not abnormal and I can't really blame Nintendo either. Talking about internals and disparaging people and no, it wasn't bad but Nintendo isn't in the business of being edgy and sticking it to the nerds and probably didn't like being put in the headlines as such.
I mean I feel sorry for him, it's a rough deal, but it's not abnormal and I can't really blame Nintendo either. Talking about internals and disparaging people and no, it wasn't bad but Nintendo isn't in the business of being edgy and sticking it to the nerds and probably didn't like being put in the headlines as such.
Ingueferroque
Banned
Listening to the podcast without context, one could deduce that he had already left Nintendo before making his appearance, and was spilling the beans. Not that he was intentionally making them sound bad or just spilling dirt, but a lot of the things he brings upjust should not have been talked about on a podcast, way too candid.
For example, how he speaks about Ashley's voice actor for Wario Ware, making it seems like she reluctantly does the voice, after they 'found out' that the series was going to continue, and that they're making new games for it.
For example, how he speaks about Ashley's voice actor for Wario Ware, making it seems like she reluctantly does the voice, after they 'found out' that the series was going to continue, and that they're making new games for it.
I only remember reading about it on here, but from a search I think there's some discussion / debate (at least on ssbwiki, don't know how reliable that is) as to whether the employee was indeed from Nintendo of America:
http://www.ssbwiki.com/Leak#ESRB_leak
astrogamer
Member
That's a misconception. The video said ESRB because they were using that one to record footage for the ESRB rating. The ESRB doesn't play the games, they watch a reel of the most racy content.
I mean, knowing most everything he's said, he was WAY into the Danger Zone as far as how open he was. There are probably some things you can reasonably get away with being candid about, and he went beyond that.
That being said, I don't like him being fired at all, even if I have pretty strong issue with his comments on Xenoblade localization.
That being said, I don't like him being fired at all, even if I have pretty strong issue with his comments on Xenoblade localization.
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
Short on empathy. Got it. Still not really a good reason to call someone else out for displaying some.
I find it pompous to pretend that any of us are a further distance from the exit door than one big mistake will take us. I've yet to meet a truly infallible person.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
It really doesn't at all. What a bizarre exchange that was.
I see.
Maybe the leaker was the one that Sakurai put to do that stunt with Samus Final Smash knocking 3 characters in a realistic way =P
choodi
Banned
Anyone being critical of Nintendo had better review their terms of employment quick smart.
There's not many organisations out there that would react differently if their employee had done the same as this joker.
If you think Nintendo was harsh, why don't you do the same thing with your employer in as public a way and see how long you're employed for.
There's not many organisations out there that would react differently if their employee had done the same as this joker.
If you think Nintendo was harsh, why don't you do the same thing with your employer in as public a way and see how long you're employed for.
zeopower6
Member
I really don't think he trashed them necessarily but he said things that he wasn't allowed to say or reveal to the public.
What a normal person would think is "badmouth" and what a corporate entity would consider "badmouth" are two different things. I have worked in this industry for many years and I have personally seen a handful of people fired for a lot less than this guy did (because they violated the NDA in some small way). Did I personally agree with the firings? No, but I accepted the contracts that I have signed and understand what I can and cannot do as an employee.
Also, his comments about Sakurai are especially problematic. It doesn't matter if it known, an underling from a US branch does not say that about a senior Japanese developer, ever, under any circumstances. Such a huge breach of etiquette, and he should have known better if he's worked with NCL for years.
I agree with your thoughts. In my anecdotal experience, Western companies are a lot more lenient about "this stuff" than Japanese, Korean, and Chinese companies. My experiences with them have been more formal across the board and the expectation is that you will not do anything to make the company lose face. Airing what the company perceives to be dirty laundry on the internet and causing embarrassment is really, really bad. Whether offense was meant or not, I would bet it was taken.
This is a very tragic situation for his family, I hope that he has been informed of COBRA/getting a healthcare plan on the exchange.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
Who is pretending that?
A "mistake" on this scale will cause anyone to be shown the door. It's hard to even classify it as a mistake in the "oops!" sense, since it required such a conscious decision on the behalf of the guy in question. The whole thing is really strange. That he did something like this seemingly without contemplating the consequences makes you wonder how he lasted four years in the Treehouse with no incident (that we know of).
The fact that he immediately went to Facebook to publicly announce what had happened to him indicates to me that he may not fully understand the problem.
Mysterious
Banned
Saw this coming with the way he was talking on that podcast.
wsoxfan1214
Banned
Fucking christ, Nintendo. Really?
Guess I'll mark a Wii U off of my to-buy list.
Guess I'll mark a Wii U off of my to-buy list.
metalslimer
Member
Yeah it's honestly hard for me to believe how hard he screwed this whole thing up. It's one thing to quietly be let go from a company, but now everyone knows he was fired for his behavior. Not only will this kill chances at a job in the vg industry but all it will take is a Google search to show future employers why they should be wary.
Freshmaker
I am Korean.
You realize that every corporation has fired people, right? I imagine that most of the big game companies have fired people for this exact reason.
It's a bummer, but people lose their jobs all the time. They move on and get new ones. It's life.
Wow, if normal corporate procedure for a massive breach is going to change major entertainment purchases, wait until I tell you about your buddy Patrick Kane over there.
TheGreatMightyPoo
Banned
haha.
metalslimer
Member
I hope you don't buy anything from any major corporation because people have been fired for much less at all of them.
SinCityAssassin
Member
That's a smart decision based on rationality.
wsoxfan1214
Banned
"Massive breach"? Unless I'm missing a development somewhere along the way in this thread from the first few pages, I wouldn't call a podcast that.
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
I don't think feeling that the dismissal was justified, and having some empathy for this young father and the plight he is experiencing partly due to the way something he said blew up on the internet, are mutually exclusive concepts.