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Chris Pranger, Out-Spoken Nintendo Treehouse Localizer, was Fired

X

xDUMPWEEDx

Banned
KingBroly said:
I can only wonder what gems are found here.
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That's another thing that people aren't taking into consideration. Chris could have already been on probation for prior incidents. Hell, maybe he has been showing up to work late repeatedly and has been on thin ice. We have no idea the background on this firing. We know the straw that broke the camel's back, but that's it. Nintendo isn't going to release a statement, and Chris surely won't mention anything negative about himself.
 
D

Dad

Member
Cipherr said:
The fuck at "transparency". Did someone reveal an oppressing government, or documents detailing genocide? Was there some expose on arms dealing or the mistreatment of minorities or women, or perhaps corruption in a local or foreign government?


No? So what are we talking about here? Transparency in the translation of the latest action adventure video game?


The fuck? I hate social media for giving me a glimpse into the minds of people who were once heroes to me.
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Uh, the word "transparency" really doesn't have the strict connotation you think it does. He's just talking about how visible the inner workings of the company are. What a strange rant.
 
Trojita

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
rhandino said:
What I found more amusing about this whole deal is that Nintendo didn't fired him immediately or when the news about the podcast started to go around.

No, they took their sweet time in which, I imagine, were looking at all kind of different options on how to approach this mess, trying to not stir the pot more and look for the best for both parties BUT Chris goes and post that legit Facebook SobStory™

=/
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Your timeline of events doesn't make any sense. He posted that SobStory™ after Nintendo already fired him.

You don't have to bend over backwards just to defend Nintendo.
 
M

Meffer

Member
pastrami said:
Going on a Nintendo focused podcast as a Nintendo Treehouse employee without permission is dumb. And I think the main reason he was fired. You can not have employees who think it's ok to speak to the public in a unofficial capacity without explicit permission to do so.

Also, I found this just now: http://geekswithwives.com/gww-podcast-135-chris-pranger-escapist/

So it wasn't even his first time doing this. I haven't listened to it, but from the description: "He cautiously goes on a fantastic rant about the state of Nintendo from his own perspective."
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Holy crap!!
 
S

Savitar

Member
At least he wasn't the father of the kid who took his dads work 360 prototype and put up pictures of him playing Halo on it.

And they had just moved for that job too.


But yeah when your an employee and work somewhere don't talk publicly about a game. Very bad stuff can happen.
 
N

Nerokis

Member
I feel pretty bad for Chris, but what he did was very clearly a fireable offense. He acted on his own accord in a way that obviously contradicted Nintendo's guidelines, and did something that was ridiculously unnecessary and distortionately harmful toward Nintendo. People make mistakes, and sometimes the consequences for these mistakes are rather unfortunate. Nintendo could have ignored it, given him a demotion, sidelined him in some way, but none of those are perfect solutions, either. I hope Chris gets back on his feet soon.
 
R

rhandino

Banned
Trojita said:
Your timeline of events doesn't make any sense. He posted that SobStory™ after Nintendo already fired him.

You don't have to bend over backwards just to defend Nintendo.
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I need to clarify that post, I meant to say they fired him and then he posted the SobStory which brought both parties more attention.

Also, please spare me the "bend over" talk. I'm just as bothered with this with those times that some Sony studios layed off people and people were all alarmed and asking "What is going on!!1!"
 
entremet

entremet

Member
Zefah said:
Not necessarily true at all. The people in decision making positions may very well give a shit about you. They give a much bigger shit (by necessity) about the company as a whole, though.
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I agree. People care, but it's the company that rules supreme. We basically agree.
 
T

TheSpaceBetween

Member
Exile20 said:
Well this happened

utUF4Aa.png


https://twitter.com/therealcliffyb/status/632056084254076929
https://twitter.com/therealcliffyb/status/632056169897590784
https://twitter.com/therealcliffyb/status/632058498805796864
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LOL Cliffy. I always hear about how you love Nintendo so much, yet you've never made a game for them. Ever. So what are you gonna do, cancel that Nintendo game you are working on? Oh wait, there is none, and there never would have been even if this hadn't happened. So please do shut up.
 
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nckillthegrimace

Member
So this guy went on this podcast, told the company's most hardcore fans that they don't matter, downplayed the appeal of a game it's putting out a sequel to this year, said his bosses in Japan are out of touch and don't know what words mean, implied the European branch of the company is stupid for making fans happy, said one of the company's most visible contractors is an impossible to please lunatic that no one likes working with, and he did all of that without permission from his notoriously tightlipped company. Also he did it before, too, on a different podcast. Further, he publicized the whole thing in a Facebook post, ensuring that this just doesn't go away and that it's a big story.

Yeah, I can't believe he was fired. It's not like he leaked new games or anything. Because that's all that matters, according to Kotaku, and not any of that other stuff.

So no, people writing stories about this, he wasn't fired for "being on a podcast." He was fired for running his mouth like an idiot.
 
M

Malus

Member
Lol, well I still feel bad for the guy regardless of whether or not it's his fault he got fired. It always kind of disturbs me when people go out of their way to say they don't feel sympathy for this or that person because of reasons. He made a mistake and I hope he recovers from it.
 
S

shadow2810

Member
pastrami said:
Going on a Nintendo focused podcast as a Nintendo Treehouse employee without permission is dumb. And I think the main reason he was fired. You can not have employees who think it's ok to speak to the public in a unofficial capacity without explicit permission to do so.

Also, I found this just now: http://geekswithwives.com/gww-podcast-135-chris-pranger-escapist/

So it wasn't even his first time doing this. I haven't listened to it, but from the description: "He cautiously goes on a fantastic rant about the state of Nintendo from his own perspective."
Click to expand...

So I listened to the podcast starting at 40 mins mark, it was like the guy desperate to get fired.
 
N

Nerokis

Member
TheSpaceBetween said:
LOL Cliffy. I always hear about how you love Nintendo so much, yet you've never made a game for them. Ever. So what are you gonna do, cancel that Nintendo game you are working on? Oh wait, there is none, and there never would have been even if this hadn't happened. So please do shut up.
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Not the first time Cliffy has spouted nonsense on Twitter. "Cliffy B Says Something Dumb on Twitter" threads had to be banned for a reason, lol.
 
F

fernoca

Member
Unless it was sarcasm, Cliff's post is just ...weird. Considering that he barely talks/talked about Epic and you bet if he said things about Marc Rein years ago, he would've been fired too.

So, is like he knows why Chris was fired...but just wanted to be the 'voice of people" at the same time.
 
C

ClayKavalier

Banned
Those Cliffy B tweets are ridiculous. I guess while he was at Epic any employee could say whatever during media appearances the company knew nothing about?
 
P

papercan55

Member
shadow2810 said:
So I listened to the podcast starting at 40 mins mark, it was like the guy desperate to get fired.
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through the hole thing he just keeps saying "i'm not allowed to do this ha ha ha " and " i'm breaking the rules ha ha ha"

He has been doing this for years by the looks of it, either nintendo has given multiple warnings or they have only just discovered that a member of their staff has been doing random different podcasts for years without their knowledge.

Just how many of these podcasts did he do? We now have 2 where he seems to think he can say whatever he likes, give it another week and people will dig up loads more
 
A

Aselith

Member
TheSpaceBetween said:
LOL Cliffy. I always hear about how you love Nintendo so much, yet you've never made a game for them. Ever. So what are you gonna do, cancel that Nintendo game you are working on? Oh wait, there is none, and there never would have been even if this hadn't happened. So please do shut up.
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He's right though. In retrospect, Chris Pranger is the only Nintendo employee with something to say.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
KingBroly said:
It's more sad than anything. He basically describes what he shouldn't have done over a year before he did it.
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It really demonstrated a complete lack of self awareness. His very describing that on a podcast was in actuality doing exactly what he was saying employees of Nintendo absolutely could not.
 
V

Verger

Banned
Yeah, my initial sympathy was based on the faulty premise that this guy had gotten clearance from someone above his pay grade to do this.

But given that's not the case, and that he has in fact done this stuff before, shows that he really either somehow kept below Nintendo's radar until this last time when it backfired, or they warned him and it didn't listen.

Either way, without permission, he had no chance.
 
S

Screamapillar

Member
It's a shame that people aren't allowed second chances in situations like that. Clearly, this guy puts his heart and soul into his job. It's so hard to find good people. Too bad they don't give people a "get out of jail free" card for one mistake. If they'd brought him in and said "Look, we know about your appearance on the podcast, talking about our localization process. You're THIS close to losing your job. Don't ever do that again."

I'm sure that would have worked, and then he wouldn't lose his livelihood over a simple mistake.
 
K

kitchenmotors

Banned
Screamapillar said:
It's a shame that people aren't allowed second chances in situations like that. Clearly, this guy puts his heart and soul into his job. It's so hard to find good people. Too bad they don't give people a "get out of jail free" card for one mistake. If they'd brought him in and said "Look, we know about your appearance on the podcast, talking about our localization process. You're THIS close to losing your job. Don't ever do that again."

I'm sure that would have worked, and then he wouldn't lose his livelihood over a simple mistake.
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Turns out he also did the same podcast and talked about a ton of things he shouldn't have in May 2014. I assume Nintendo didn't catch that one, or if they did, they gave him his "get out of jail free" card back then and this was the final straw.

We really need the OP to update this thread.
 
Toadthemushroom

Toadthemushroom

Member
Interesting comment here.

I used to watch the show he did for the escapist "No Right Answer". When he got the job at Nintendo they said he could carry on as long as he never talked about videogames.

I feel sorry for the guy but he knew they wouldn't like this.
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Might check out that show, as I enjoyed what he said on those podcast appearances post-Nintendo. It's so sad that he ended up crossed the line last week.
 
G

gogogow

Member
M

MomoPufflet

Member
Announcing to everyone that he got fired in a public facebook post seems like it just compounds the damage. Now no one has to wonder or speculate that he got fired for the podcast and it's plastered all over google even more now than before. It's twice as juicy a story. Instead of having to give some uncomfortable explanations behind closed doors when applying for new jobs, he's "guy that got fired for podcast" before he even walks into the interview.
 
D

Diffense

Member
Aroll said:
That security you have just goes to show you how well Nintendo treats their employees. You screwed up, suck it up and move on.
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This is a good point. He was comfortable and had enough rope to hang himself. In some companies everyone is on pins and needles and wouldn't do anything that would remotely put their jobs at risk. That gives the impression that Nintendo is not an oppressive work environment. He crossed the line somehow.
 
entremet

entremet

Member
MomoPufflet said:
Announcing to everyone that he got fired in a public facebook post seems like it just compounds the damage. Now no one has to wonder or speculate that he got fired for the podcast and it's plastered all over google even more now than before. It's twice as juicy a story. Instead of having to give some uncomfortable explanations behind closed doors when applying for new jobs, he's "guy that got fired for podcast" before he even walks into the interview.
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It does. Seems like it was a cathartic post that he later regretted.

I can relate. Getting fired sucks and does a number on you mentally and emotionally. He was just venting.
 
R

rhandino

Banned
Toadthemushroom said:
Interesting comment here.

Might check out that show, as I enjoyed what he said on those podcast appearances post-Nintendo. It's so sad that he ended up crossed the line last week.
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This... I can't...

The fact that the last episode of that show was on April/2015 and all those comments and article about Nintendo firing him for appearing on a podcast...

I canT deal with the twists...
and the fact that I used to go to The Escapist but never even noticed this, kii!
 
peronmls

peronmls

Member
I really feel bad for the guy. I wouldn't know what I would do if that happened to me. Loving to go to work and working soo hard to get there. I'd genuinely would probably go into depression from that with constantly seeing merchandise from the company in your own home.
 
R

R0ckman

Member
Nerfgun said:
Nintendo fires insanely loyal Nintendo employee for defending Nintendo against other insanely loyal Nintendo fans

fucking amazing. it is his fault but they shouldnt have fired him. makes him look foolish but it also makes Nintendo look like enormous shitheads, so well done guys, PR disaster amplified rather than nullified. what muppets.
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Z88IMEL.gif
 
S

Slavik81

Member
prateeko said:
He spoke to the media and is not part of Nintendo's publicity team. He was not authorized to speak to the media as part of his contract. The things he said about Smash and Xenoblade are enough.

He literally could have said anything and breached his NDA though. Even discussing the office layout and whatnot would qualify. Regardless of the nature of his comments, the fact that he said them is enough to force Nintendo to terminate him otherwise they run the risk of other employees underestimating the severity of the NDA.
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Thanks.
 
T

TheSpoiler

Member
He did it twice?

lol

Wow.

Funny some of you talk about a PR disaster. Do you really think this will be a thing in a week? And, once again, most rational people with jobs know how this works. Maybe Nintendo will gain the ire of a few younger people who don't understand how shit works in the corporate work, but I doubt most people will bat an eye.
 
W

watershed

Banned
pastrami said:
Going on a Nintendo focused podcast as a Nintendo Treehouse employee without permission is dumb. And I think the main reason he was fired. You can not have employees who think it's ok to speak to the public in a unofficial capacity without explicit permission to do so.

Also, I found this just now: http://geekswithwives.com/gww-podcast-135-chris-pranger-escapist/

So it wasn't even his first time doing this. I haven't listened to it, but from the description: "He cautiously goes on a fantastic rant about the state of Nintendo from his own perspective."
Click to expand...

So this was a second time saying a ton of stuff he shouldn't have even though he should know better? Damn, that's really too bad. I feel sorry for him that he lost his job but apparently he didn't learn the first time.
 
M

MaverickHunterAsh

Member
Whoa, now it turns out he did this twice?

...It's getting harder to feel bad for him. I still do somewhat, because his former job is absolutely my dream job and I can't imagine getting it only to lose it like that, but he really did have this coming. He's damn lucky he didn't lose his job the first time he appeared on a podcast and talked about privileged information. He continued to play with fire... this result was inevitable.

I've been under many, many NDAs in the course of my career. They are not to be fucked with for obvious reasons. Chris learned that the hard way, but I wonder why he didn't already know it.
 
S

Septimus Prime

Member
watershed said:
So this was a second time saying a ton of stuff he shouldn't have even though he should know better? Damn, that's really too bad. I feel sorry for him that he lost his job but apparently he didn't learn the first time.
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Maybe because no one reprimanded him the first time (probably because they didn't even know about it), he took that to mean that they thought it was okay.
 
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