The man accused of sending threats to Nintendo, which led to the cancellation of the Nintendo Live event in Tokyo earlier this year, has been sentenced to a year in prison after a court verdict (thanks, Splatoon Torikar and Nintendo Everything).
The 27-year-old confessed to his crimes last month, blaming his increased frustration over losing Splatoon 3 matches. In 39 threats sent through Nintendo’s official inquiry forms between April 22 and November 29, 2023, the man threatened to “kill anyone who were involved” in the creation of the game and warned the company to “be careful with events where spectators are present”.
A statement from Nintendo employees was read in this week’s court ruling in which they admitted they were “terrified” by the threats because they reminded them of the 2019 Kyoto animation fire – in which 36 people died after the culprit sent similar threatening letters.
Nintendo Live Threat Case Conclusion, Judge’s Ruling (translated to Twitter per @Zobena kašaDome) described the culprit’s actions as “selfish” and how he committed the crime as “persistent and malicious”. After that, he was sentenced to one year in prison suspended for four years.
The Splatoon 3 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe World Championships (originally scheduled for Nintendo Live Tokyo) have been moved to April. Nintendo has since stripped Splatoon tournament winners following evidence of racist behavior by “certain members of Team Jackpot”.