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

As some of you may have heard, yes, I was fired yesterday. Yes, it was ultimately my own fault. No, I did not see this coming.

https://twitter.com/TheChrisPranger/status/631852330133028864

Chris Pranger was the NOA employee who gave a surprisingly revealing (by Nintendo standards) interview in the Part Time Gamer podcast, which also spawned this thread.

Edit: Daaang at his Facebook message posted below. So sad

Edit 2: The facebook message has since been deleted from his profile
 
Hard to defend this action when the guy essentially insulted Nintendo's fan base. Then again; NOA is just as crappy too. Mixed feelings. We'll never hear from the Treehouse again.

His facebook

Hello friends and family. As many of you have probably seen, I am no longer at Nintendo. I was terminated this week due to a podcast appearance I made last Monday. It was a stupid judgment call on my part and ultimately it cost me far more than I could have imagined.

I've lost the only job I really knew or ever intended to know. Since leaving high school, I've had a singular goal in terms of a career. It got me through college and pushed me through the difficult time immediately after college where I learned just how crippling it was to have an English degree in the job market. I applied for 6 years straight for my job. Even before that, I'd made my entire identity around my hope to one day have this perfect job. I was mocked here and there as "Nintendo Boy" from maybe middle school on, but I thought that if I succeeded, it'd all be worth it.

And now it's gone and I honestly don't know how to handle myself. A central part of my personality revolves around Nintendo. Anything that I've decorated with around my house has a very clear Nintendo theme. My shirts and jackets overwhelmingly show that as well. Being able to finally feel at home at a job is a feeling I can't easily quantify. I was the guy who'd see a hastily-discarded paper towel in the men's room and pick it up, saying to myself, "This is my home, and I will keep it clean."

If we're being honest, I'm scared. Very scared. I haven't been without a job for over 4 years, and even then it was during the weird "just exiting college" part of life that everyone goes through. And back then, I was still down in Oregon near family. Living in Washington has struggled to feel normal, but I was grounded in my job. It was where I happily spent my time and saw all of my friends. With that unstuck, Washington suddenly feels alien and empty all over again.

I look around my house and see images of my son and feel such intense shame and crippling sadness. How do I share this part of my life with him? How do I cope knowing that I've failed him? Even before this I'd been struggling to want to provide better for him and my wife, knowing that due to my student loans, I wouldn't be entirely debt-free until I turned 40. That's not a hyperbole either. I'm just now barely under $100,000 in student debt and my last payment is scheduled for the same year that I turn 40. "That student debt is intimidating, but it's worth it for the end result." I've undone my end result.

I spent the last week in a miserable place once the podcast began getting coverage. I was instantly scared when a coworker poked me and said, "Hey, you're on GoNintendo." Suddenly article after article began appearing in game sites of all languages. Comments sections painted me as an idiot and the like. My Twitter started giving me hourly reminders from people meaning well and otherwise. It seemed unthinkable that I'd be let go for a single moment of poor judgment and my own misunderstandings, but here we are.

Obviously, as I'm writing this at 4 am, I don't think I have a clear goal. All I can think of is that there's so much I've put at risk. I know that if I can't find a job at least as good as this one, I won't be able to provide for my family. I've lost them their health coverage and their security. I also know that I've probably lost a good deal of my friends, just because I know how hard it can be to stay in touch with someone when the convenience of proximity is lost.

I'm so sorry to everyone. I've failed you. You believed in me and supported me and trusted me and I've failed you. I've failed me.
 

Mikey Jr.

Member
Yeah, not surprised after that incident. But at least we got some nice insight into nintendos thought process.
 

GuardianE

Santa May Claus
The guy said things he shouldn't have. Things he really shouldn't have.

But he didn't deserve to lose his job over it. That sucks to see.
 
Hard to defend this action when the guy essentially insulted Nintendo's fan base. Then again; NOA is just as crappy too. Mixed feelings. We'll never hear from the Treehouse again.
Was this Pranger talk unusual for Treehouse? I know they have pre-planned interactions with press (E3 Treehouse stuff, Nintendo Directs, &c.), but individual members of the group seem overshadowed by Trinen.
 

xaszatm

Banned
And now we will never have another podcast from Nintendo ever again. Thanks Gaf. Thank you so much for your disgusting behavior.
 

New002

Member
I feel for the guy. That's rough. You have to be very mindful of what you say, and to whom, when it comes to your employer/clients/whatever, now so more than ever.
 

Verger

Banned
Very depressing and sad.

I for one never saw any "belittlement" in what he said. But just goes to show you cannot be honest anymore
 
So you acknowledge "He says some dumb things about the customers" and your takeaway is "They're not going to be open anymore"? Sounds like a weird leap in logic

Edit: To clarify, I'm saying if a company feels an employee went out of line (Insulting customers) firing said employee doesn't mean other employees will suddenly be silenced

It was meant more as a light-hearted joke to lighten the mood. I removed it since it clearly wasn't coming across as intended.
 
It must be awful to lose a position you've trained hard for and immersed oneself in thinking it's meant for them. This outcome shouldn't be off anyone's mind before recording something that could be published and proceed to hit big across different media channels.
 
Didn't he mention in that podcast that NOA was loosening up policies so the Treehouse guys could be more open about their work (or am I thinking of someone else?). Either way, guess we can say goodbye to that.

The localization comments weren't entirely smart but he did offer a fascinating insight into the Treehouse. That Facebook post was brutal; what a shame he lost his dream job.
 
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