Nintendo fires Treehouse employee caught up in localisation row

Nintendo of America has fired female employee Alison Rapp, who was caught up in a heated localisation row within the gaming community. The US arm of the Japanese industry giant insists that the dispute with fans had nothing to do with her dismissal but critics have slammed the decision.

Rapp’s departure has reopened a separate row over sexism in the gaming industry and accusations that Nintendo has conceded to fan pressure. It’s a complex story to say the least, but here’s a quick rundown of the saga that ended with Rapp’s departure from Nintendo of America.

How Alison Rapp became the most controversial name in gaming

Alison Rapp’s brief spell as the most controversial name in gaming stemmed from a localisation row over games like Fire Emblem Fates and other Japanese titles released in the US. Game localisation has become a tough topic for Nintendo, with fans becoming increasingly upset at how its product development division, Treehouse, localises such titles for the US and EU.

One section of the gaming community, commonly known as GamerGate, took particular offence to what it deems censorship in these and other games. GamerGate has a reputation for campaigning against women in the gaming industry and progressive moves to develop gender equality.

Then you have Alison Rapp, an outspoken feminist who is never afraid to express her views – mostly on Twitter. Unfortunately for Rapp, she became the scapegoat in this localisation row, despite having nothing to do with localising the games in question, and the latest female target of GamerGate hatred.

The reality is, I actually had no involvement with localized content changes of any kind. Come on, I *wanted* the XCX boob slider!

— smol pterodactyl (@alisonrapp) March 30, 2016

GamerGate hate campaign

Rapp quickly turned from localisation scapegoat to public enemy number one for a loud section of the anonymous GamerGate community. The group began digging into her private life to find whatever they could to use against her and it didn’t take long. A paper she published in 2012, discussing international pressure placed on Japan to strengthen its anti-child pornography laws, quickly began to surface the web.

Calls for Rapp to be fired from Nintendo rapidly grew outside of the GamerGate community and the inevitable eventually happened:

Today, the decision was made: I am no longer a good, safe representative of Nintendo, and my employment has been terminated.

— smol pterodactyl (@alisonrapp) March 30, 2016

Nintendo insists her sacking has nothing to do with the localisation row or her thesis controversy. The gaming firm says it sacked Rapp because she was found to be working a second job – something she claims was also dug up following the GamerGate campaign against her.

Here’s the thing: Do u honestly think that without GG’s attacks, the “lateral move” and the obsessive privacy digging would have happened?

— smol pterodactyl (@alisonrapp) March 31, 2016

Critics have accused Nintendo of conceding to fan pressure and using Rapp’s moonlighting as an excuse to push her out of the company. The fact remains that she did break the terms of her contract though, and there are plenty of people with a less sympathetic view of her.

The hate campaign continues

Whether Nintendo bowed to fan pressure or not, the reality is that Rapp no longer works at the company, and although the GamerGate hate campaigners got their way, they haven’t given up on targeting Rapp yet.

Since her dismissal, she has had a report submitted to the police by an anonymous man claiming she’s a “notorious prostitute” in her local area. GamerGate members have since linked her to the website of an escort in the same region, comparing her tattoos and body to pictures of “Maria Mint” on the web page. They’ve also collected images of Rapp from photo shoots and pictures in summer clothing to reinforce their argument.

Again in better news, chilling at the park on a nice warm day~~ pic.twitter.com/yy2ZUitviN

— smol pterodactyl (@alisonrapp) April 3, 2016

Alison says she isn’t the only one to be suffering from the campaign either. She says her family has also been suffering from abuse at the hands of GamerGate.

Meanwhile, International Game Developers Association (IGDA) executive director Kate Edwards has called out Nintendo for its handling of the controversy, which effectively handed victory to the GamerGate hate mob. The saddest part is it’s a victory that stems from a mistaken belief that Rapp was involved in the localisation of two popular Nintendo titles.