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

KingBroly

Banned
Didn't Reggie basically imply that the guy who beat him at Smash at E3 had no life and that's why he was so good at the game? I mean, I didn't think that was a big deal, actually kinda funny (and who the hell knows, maybe even scripted) but it's way worse than this.

Reggie was clearly smack-talking and was out of jest. It's all about context.
 
The number of people dissecting his finances / using them to justify their feeling that "he got what he deserved" is just sickening.

If you read that Facebook post and your first thought is "How'd he get so much in debt? Seems like he's bad at a lot of things LOL" it's time to take a step back.
 

Alucrid

Banned
Didn't Reggie basically imply that the guy who beat him at Smash at E3 had no life and that's why he was so good at the game? I mean, I didn't think that was a big deal, actually kinda funny (and who the hell knows, maybe even scripted) but it's way worse than this.
How does context work
 
I'm afraid that's just the name of the game in corporate culture. What he discussed would have needed approval through marketing (and even then it's not his role and they would have said no). Unfortunately for him it is common practice to not talk about what goes on in your company outside of work. Sucks though but seeing as how rabid the fanbase is and how public those kind of comments are, there's no easy way around it.
 

Kouriozan

Member
Didn't some Nintendo guy said too much on Twitter and got his twitter account locked?
Anyway, it's really sad and hope for the best for his future.
 

Roo

Member
Didn't Reggie basically imply that the guy who beat him at Smash at E3 had no life and that's why he was so good at the game? I mean, I didn't think that was a big deal, actually kinda funny (and who the hell knows, maybe even scripted) but it's way worse than this.

that was more of a tongue in cheek response tho..
 

Kodaman

Member
I feel bad for the guy too. The fb post was really sad, and we're getting a lot of emotional posts here.
But you guys need to separate his personal life from his professional one: He made a big mistake. In a job, that usually ends up with people being fired.
 
This seems like a really harsh response. I mean, when Nintendo's guy in charge of indie dev relations said a bunch of stuff on Twitter, their response was to muzzle him, which is still not great but at least understandable. Why not do that instead?

I don't remember how I felt initially about the Adam Orth thing (cue GAF detective finding my post history where I tear Orth a new one) but with the benefit of distance, I don't think that was a great move either for Microsoft. With Nintendo it's a bit different, though--it's better because everyone expects Nintendo to be heavy-handed when it comes to controlling their own employees, but on the other hand it's worse because it's still the wrong approach (in my opinion, anyway).
 

Effect

Member
Depends. Middle level Microsoft and Sony employers have appeared in random podcast before, but most of the time don't reveal inner workings. Then again, I remember some can be "mocking". Of course, most of this guys are media trained or are in positions that are all about promoting stuff.

This is what did him in. As I said if he had stuck to telling stories regarding his own experiences localizing games, his education, or people he's meet he'd likely be okay. What likely did him in was talking about decision making, budgeting, and customers in any possible negative light. Regarding those topics you are speaking for the company itself and not yourself.

This seems like a really harsh response. I mean, when Nintendo's guy in charge of indie dev relations said a bunch of stuff on Twitter, their response was to muzzle him, which is still not great but at least understandable. Why not do that instead?
.

Dan Adleman was a department and project head. He had power and responsibility. This guy is just a team member with no power.
 
I feel like Nintendo will get some backlash, no? Seems overly harsh for a guy who seems so dedicated to the job

Edit: Reading the comment directly above mine, seems like he did do himself in. Sucks.
 

meanspartan

Member
Reggie was clearly smack-talking and was out of jest. It's all about context.

I suppose so, you're right.

I dunno, I still think this guy shoulda gotten probation or just simple been warned not to do any more podcasts or interviews til further notice. This seems excessively harsh for relatively tame comments. When someone is clearly this loyal to your company, you should return that loyalty to them by having their back if they fuck up, at least giving them a warning to not do it again before terminating them for a repeated offense.
 

OmegaFax

Member
Nintendo probably has a clear-cut, no tolerance policy about how their employees represent the company outside of their official marketing/publicity channels; don't say anything.

I've browsed Twitter accounts of a few Treehouse employees (really easy to find with just their first name + Treehouse on Google) and the only way they talk about Nintendo in any capacity are in retweets (either press or promo events), things they've bought, or other personal stuff. Nintendo is probably lax about what they do personally as long as it's not speaking against the company.
 

Walpurgis

Banned
...and also portraying one of Nintendo's most beloved and iconic developers as a crazy diva of a game producer, and somewhat of a spoiled child (Sakurai). And also that the Fox voice acting in Smash sucks, they know it sucks and they feel bad.

It wasn't all positive, good stuff, he was saying.
If he actually said this then I don't know how anyone can defend him. It's a wonder he wasn't fired sooner (if he actually said that).
 
I want to know more about this. Can you elaborate?
If he actually said this then I don't know how anyone can defend him. It's a wonder he wasn't fired sooner (if he actually said that).

Apparently Sakurai was very hands on with the Smash Wii U commercials. He wanted a very specific shot of Samus killing exactly three people with her Final Smash in an 8 player match and it needed to look "natural." The deadline quickly hit without the shot being ready, and they had to do the commercial without the shot and apparently Sakurai said "Fine, this is acceptable, why even bother" apparently in a snappy tone. Also apparently he made Ness bad in Brawl because someone once destroyed him with Ness in Melee, so he got his revenge.

He also acknowledged there were leaks of Smash 4, and Nintendo never does that.

I'm going by this summary on Reddit. I didn't have time to listen to the entire thing.
 
I feel sorry for him, but you don't go around spreading bad press for the company you work for and expect a slap on the wrist. I hope he lands on his feet but what he did was pretty unprofessional.
 

Kama_1082

Banned
That's terrible news, but I'm sure he'll land on his feet with another good company.

That being said, the issue with an employee being interviewed is that, at that time, they speak for the company. Everyone is listening to them, and whatever he says not only comes from his mouth, but from Nintendo as well. Nintendo has oft been known as fairly secretive company, particularly the Treehouse. It wasn't until recently that they started showcasing that part of the business and giving them a bit of slack to interact with fans and such. Chris unwittingly took advantage of that, because it's likely that he didn't get the okay from the higher-ups.

That being said, I wish Chris all the best and, as I said previously, I'm positive he'll find another position at an equally prestigious company. It's never not hard losing a job.
With an English degree? It's gonna be extremely tough. His best shot is being a localizer, but who knows if that's as stable as it was for Nintendo.
 

JMDSO

Unconfirmed Member
This seems like a really harsh response. I mean, when Nintendo's guy in charge of indie dev relations said a bunch of stuff on Twitter, their response was to muzzle him, which is still not great but at least understandable. Why not do that instead?

I don't remember how I felt initially about the Adam Orth thing (cue GAF detective finding my post history where I tear Orth a new one) but with the benefit of distance, I don't think that was a great move either for Microsoft. With Nintendo it's a bit different, though--it's better because everyone expects Nintendo to be heavy-handed when it comes to controlling their own employees, but on the other hand it's worse because it's still the wrong approach (in my opinion, anyway).

Orth was flat out insulting. He got what he deserved.
 

Interfectum

Member
Seems like a life lesson he and others can learn from. It's hard to imagine what mindset he was in to believe what he was saying was okay with his employer.
 

Vecks

Member
Wow. I haven't been following the whole thing much, but I can't believe he said all that stuff on a podcast. His fb post is particularly saddening, but I hope that with his experience, he'll be able to find a new job soon.
 

Lambtron

Unconfirmed Member
Feel pretty terrible for the guy, but this is one of the reasons I never, ever talk about my work in public on the internet. And no one gives a shit what I do or who I am. I just know it's not, at all, a safe choice.
 
I feel like Nintendo will get some backlash, no? Seems overly harsh for a guy who seems so dedicated to the job

Edit: Reading the comment directly above mine, seems like he did do himself in. Sucks.

The only backlash Nintendo cares about is people not buying their games over some random guy being fired. That ain't going to happen.
 

teiresias

Member
While the podcast interview wasn't the smartest move, I can't help but feel this guy is taking a fall for what is ultimately Reggie's decision to not give a damn about core gamers in the NA market.
 

JMDSO

Unconfirmed Member
Nintendo probably has a clear-cut, no tolerance policy about how their employees represent the company outside of their official marketing/publicity channels; don't say anything.

Considering their attitudes about localizing/censoring games in the past, I'm sure this is very true.
 

KingBroly

Banned
I suppose so, you're right.

I dunno, I still think this guy shoulda gotten probation or just simple been warned not to do any more podcasts or interviews til further notice. This seems excessively harsh for relatively tame comments. When someone is clearly this loyal to your company, you should return that loyalty to them by having their back if they fuck up, at least giving them a warning to not do it again before terminating them for a repeated offense.

He revealed A LOT of stuff you probably wouldn't have expected him to, and he probably didn't have the authority to do so. Budgeting, marketing, costs, etc. These are the types of things that he shouldn't have talked about, yet did.
 

StormKing

Member
While the podcast interview wasn't the smartest move, I can't help but feel this guy is taking a fall for what is ultimately Reggie's decision to not give a damn about core gamers in the NA market.

He got fired for revealing sensitive information in an unauthorized podcast.
 

Alucrid

Banned
This seems like a really harsh response. I mean, when Nintendo's guy in charge of indie dev relations said a bunch of stuff on Twitter, their response was to muzzle him, which is still not great but at least understandable. Why not do that instead?

I don't remember how I felt initially about the Adam Orth thing (cue GAF detective finding my post history where I tear Orth a new one) but with the benefit of distance, I don't think that was a great move either for Microsoft. With Nintendo it's a bit different, though--it's better because everyone expects Nintendo to be heavy-handed when it comes to controlling their own employees, but on the other hand it's worse because it's still the wrong approach (in my opinion, anyway).


Because he's the head guy of indie relations. This guy is some tree house guy.
 

TunaLover

Member
I read the whole thing, I was expecting the guy reveal some NDA thing, basically he just said the same thing as Reggie about NoA stance when localizing some titles. Also I assume that the "nerd" comments weren't towards Operation Rainfall as whole?
 
Wow, that fucking sucks. I love the Treehouse guys. Unfortunately I think he's probably going to have a hard time finding a similar job now - although I hope he will find one.

How the hell do you rack up $100,000 in student debt?

US education system.

100k in student loan debt for a fucking English degree? What the fuck was he thinking? A fucking English degree.

So people shouldn't be able to get the education they want? The problem is the system, not the person. Education should be free of tuition, and living expenses should be subsidized by tax payers' money. That's how it works around these parts.

That's almost to a level of Disney like control over their employees and what they say and can't say in a public space. I never once thought Chris Pranger was speaking for Nintendo; I only thought he was offering his opinion on their practices. Was his judgment correct in doing the podcast? No, far from it.

Maybe you didn't, but a lot of people did. For this reason, and many others, it's written in many contracts that you specifically can't do what he did. I think finding a way to demote him would have been sufficient, but he likely violated several parts of his contract. Maybe it wasn't his "first strike", who knows? While I wouldn't say it was necessary, it's certainly to be expected.

From what I've heard about Nintendo, and about Konami, the working conditions sound nothing alike. Nintendo apparently hires a lot of contractors and ends up keeping them. You can't really do that if you offer shitty working conditions.
 

Alec

Member
I'm not sure from how high up that order came down, but this was blown way out of proportion and I would love to see Reggie step in and give this dude a second chance (unless he was the one who gave the order...kinda doubtful, IMO). You want to make a dedicated employee for life? That's how you do it.

Unless of course he was already on his second chance...or his third chance...etc.
 
He gave an interesting interview but you have to be careful when you are representing more than yourself.

At the very least he can learn from his mistakes and not repeat them. I hope he has luck finding another job.
 

flattie

Member
I'm guessing it's over the Xenoblade stuff as he defended Wii U.

I would hazard a guess it's less about what he said, per se, and more that he appeared on a show as a Nintendo employee, speaking as such, without the proper clearance and briefing.

It's an awful shame that it has ended this way though, really is. I feel for the guy and hope he finds a new job quickly.
 

meanspartan

Member
While the podcast interview wasn't the smartest move, I can't help but feel this guy is taking a fall for what is ultimately Reggie's decision to not give a damn about core gamers in the NA market.

Precisely. How about instead of creating a situation where an overzealous loyalist goes a bit too far defending your shitty NA maneuvers, you treat NA better in the first place.
 

Walpurgis

Banned
Apparently Sakurai was very hands on with the Smash Wii U commercials. He wanted a very specific shot of Samus killing exactly three people with her Final Smash in an 8 player match and it needed to look "natural." The deadline quickly hit without the shot being ready, and they had to do the commercial without the shot and apparently Sakurai said "Fine, this is acceptable, why even bother" apparently in a snappy tone. Also apparently he made Ness bad in Brawl because someone once destroyed him with Ness in Melee, so he got his revenge.

He also acknowledged there were leaks of Smash 4, and Nintendo never does that.

I'm going by this summary on Reddit. I didn't have time to listen to the entire thing.

Yikes. This is the kind of stuff you leak anonymously on 4chan or reddit, not say on a podcast with your name on it. That Ness bit is pretty funny though.
 
This is what did him in. As I said if he had stuck to telling stories regarding his own experiences localizing games, his education, or people he's meet he'd likely be okay. What likely did him in was talking about decision making, budgeting, and customers in any possible negative light. Regarding those topics you are speaking for the company itself and not yourself.

Yeah, you are right... Still I appreciate when stuff like this goes to light even If I know why companies will not like it.

Mixed feelings as I disagree with a lot of stuff said there and Nintendo truly didn't do different than most companies would do (if I feel is harsh just outright fire him).
 
D

Deleted member 47027

Unconfirmed Member
Holy shit @ Nintendo firing someone for a candid podcast appearance.


whoever made that decision is scum

Nope. Not even close.

A candid podcast appearance can be incredibly damaging. Especially when you're violating your NDAs.
 
Such a sad situation all around.

He was incredibly stupid with his comments, both with the sentiments they expressed and him choosing to speak publicly about it in the first place, and I felt a bit angry when I read them (but not enough to post in that thread) but I can't help but feel this is a bit rough. Hope he ends up ok.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
Wow, that fucking sucks. I love the Treehouse guys. Unfortunately I think he's probably going to have a hard time finding a similar job now - although I hope he will find one.






So people shouldn't be able to get the education they want? The problem is the system, not the person. Education should be free of tuition, and living expenses should be subsidized by tax payers' money. That's how it works around these parts.


and how do we keep enough people stupid than ?
to work for the rich ?

wake up man wake up!
 
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