High School Student Arrested For Threatening to Bomb Konami
A student Japan has been arrested after police discovered he had allegedly threatened to bomb the Konami headquarters after being upset by a bug in Pro Evolution Soccer. The series is the only real competitor to the hugely popular FIFA franchise and has a dedicated following for both the main game and the mobile version of the title.
Gamers have proven to be very vocal when a game does not meet their expectations. In one notable example last year, Glumberland employees faced death threats following the news that Ooblets would be exclusive to the Epic Games Store. Of course, this is not a completely new phenomenon, with players threatening BioWare workers due to the controversy surrounding the Mass Effect 3 ending way back in 2012. Other studios have faced similar threats from people online.
A report by Japanese publication Yomiuri that was translated by Kotaku, indicates that a 16-year-old student has been arrested in Tokyo. The young man had apparently threatened to blow up the Konami headquarters in the city, posting the threats in online reviews. in one such message, the teenager said he was going to blow up the publisher's building and that he was "going to kill the people who work at Konami." After being arrested the suspect has reportedly admitted the charges, justifying his actions by saying that he was annoyed about a connection issue in the Pro Evolution Soccer mobile game that had caused him to lose a game.
In recent years, game studios have become a target for angry or upset players. Unfortunately, it is not unusual to see individual developers targeted on social media sites such as Twitter, where gamers vent their frustration via abuse and threatening behavior. The reasons for this can range from bug and glitches in new releases, to features being removed from a game or an unpopular story decision. The likes of EA and BioWare have even faced large scale abuse from certain fans.
While criticizing a developer or publisher is perfectly reasonable, threatening them certainly takes things too far. Too many gamers feel that they are able to abuse employees online without consequence. This latest threat against Konami is just another example of entitled players feeling like they should always get their own way and can target devs if they don't. What fans have to remember is that the people making games are individuals just like them and being abusive towards them won't solve any problems. Hopefully, this quick and decisive action by police in Tokyo not only kept employees safe but should also send out a strong message to others thinking of behaving in similar ways.