Man Charged After Threats Force Nintendo to Postpone Esports Events

A 27-year-old man in Hitachi, Japan has been charged with obstructing business by force in relation to the esports events Nintendo Japan postponed over security concerns. As reported by Kyoto Shimbun and translated by VGC, the man allegedly made threats to “kill everyone involved” at incoming Nintendo events. The video game company postponed Nintendo Live 2024 and the Splatoon Koshien 2023 National Finals in December 2023. The man allegedly made 39 threats between August and November 2023 using Nintendo’s online inquiry form, telling the company to “be careful about events that have spectators in attendance”. He’s also alleged to say: “I’ll make you regret bringing such a s

y game into this world”, though it’s unclear which game he meant. Nintendo said in December 2023 its employees received relentless threats which began targeting spectators, attendees, and staff at Nintendo Live 2024, forcing the cancellation in the interest of safety. The event was due to take place in January 2024, following the Splatoon event planned for December. An update came in February 2024 when Nintendo announced the Splatoon event and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe World Championship would take place on April 13 and 14, and both went ahead without issues. The full Nintendo Live event, which was due to take place in Tokyo, is seemingly cancelled altogether, however, after Nintendo announced dates for Sydney, Australia instead.