International Game Developers Association (IGDA) executive director Kate Edwards made a strong statement against Nintendo’s recent actions regarding Alison Rapp.
In case the Wi-Fi in your cave has been sketchy and you hadn’t heard, there’s been major controversy concerning on particular Nintendo employee, Alison Rapp. Basically, Rapp was a spokesperson and marketing officer for Nintendo, but was fired due to a “conflicting second job”. This sparked a ton of confusion and hate towards Nintendo, all of which can be found in our original article.
Since then, the controversy moved IGDA executive director Kate Edwards to call Nintendo out on their actions.
“While Nintendo’s official statement on the matter of Alison Rapp’s firing strives to distance the company from anything related to the orchestrated online campaign of harassment and defamation that was raging against her, their timing in dealing with the issue is dubious at best,” Edwards said. “Unfortunately, the company seems oblivious to the consequences of their actions, not realizing the perceived victory it handed to the online hate groups who are now pursuing the dismissal of other women game developers by derision and defamation to their companies. By now, we would expect that all game development and publishing companies would be fully aware of negative social media dynamics and be more discerning of online feedback, as well as more protective of their employees — especially their employees of diverse backgrounds. Many have become proactive and aware but this industry obviously needs to make more progress.”
IGDA represents 8,000 developers worldwide, and Edwards’ stance on the situation could be a powerful driver for change in the industry.
