Nintendo “Actively Investigating” Following Reviews of Harassment Amongst Q&A Contractors

In latest years, the online game trade has been going via a reckoning of kinds, with office misconduct and harassment being reported at main studios like Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft, and it appears even corporations with the friendliest of public photographs aren’t exempt. Case in level, a latest Kotaku report uncovered allegations of sexual harassment levied by Nintendo of America Q&A testers.

This misconduct is alleged to have largely taken place at contractor Aston Carter (beforehand Aerotek), which Nintendo makes use of for testing. Women working on the firm have reported inappropriate feedback in Slack channels and harassment from superiors. There are additionally complaints of a two-tiered system between full Nintendo workers, or “Red Badges,” and contracted employees, with the later hardly ever being promoted to full worker standing regardless of frequent guarantees. Per Kotaku’s report, this two-tiered system at occasions takes on an unseemly further dimension, as some Red Badge workers allegedly use Aston Carter as a “dating pool,” even perhaps utilizing the power to get invited to the Red-Badge-only Nintendo Christmas celebration and different occasions as a +1 for leverage.

Nintendo has not publicly commented on any of this (and given their typical MO, most likely received’t), however NOA president Doug Bowser has despatched a letter to workers, which Kotaku managed to acquire. In it, Bowser claims Nintendo is “actively investigating” claims of employee misconduct.

“We have strict policies designed to protect our employees and associates from inappropriate conduct and expect full compliance with these policies by all who work for or with us. We have and will always investigate any allegations we become aware of, and we are actively investigating these most recent claims. […] If you experience, have experienced, witness, or have witnessed anything concerning such behavior that is contrary to our Standards of Conduct, employee handbook, or Company Values, please immediately contact your HR Business Partner.”

As we’re starting to see, these sorts of points are largely a systemic problem throughout the online game trade, with few large gamers spared. It’s good Nintendo appears to be addressing the problems, however hopefully, they rethink their contracting preparations, because the type of two-tiered system Kotaku describes tends to breed abuse.