Nintendo of America head Doug Bowser has issued an internal statement about the Activision sexual harassment lawsuit.
The State of California is suing Activision-Blizzard after a two-year investigation revealed rampant sexual harassment at the workplace. Activision boss Bobby Kotick denied knowing about the misconduct, but recent emails reveal that’s not entirely true.
In July 2018, Kotick received an email alleging a Sledgehammer Games employee was raped by her supervisor. The incident was reported to the game studio’s HR department, but nothing happened. The case was eventually settled out of court and Kotick did not inform board members of the settlement at all.
PlayStation and Xbox heads Jim Ryan and Phil Spencer have internally addressed their employees about the situation at Activision Blizzard. Ryan writes that he and Sony leadership were “disheartened and frankly stunned to read” that Activision “has not done enough to address a deep-seated culture of discrimination and harassment.”
“We outreached to Activision immediately after the article was published to express our deep concern and to ask how they plan to address the claims made in the article,” Ryan continues. “We do not believe their statements of response properly address the situation.”
Xbox Chief Phil Spencer took that a step further and committed to take action. “This type of behavior has no place in our industry,” Spencer writes in an internal email obtained by Bloomberg.
Nintendo’s internal statement about the Activision Blizzard lawsuit and sexual harassment allegations has leaked.
An email sent by Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser addresses the initial report. It went to all levels of Nintendo of America, including development studios.
“Along with all of you, I’ve been following the latest developments with Activision Blizzard and the ongoing reports of sexual harassment and toxicity at the company,” Bowser writes. “I find these accounts distressing and disturbing. They run counter to my values as well as Nintendo’s beliefs, values, and policies.”
Bowser says Nintendo remains committed to having an inclusive workplace where all are welcome – and it expects the same from its partners. He says representatives have been in contact with Activision and “have taken action and are assessing others.”
But he doesn’t define what those actions are beyond working with external partners. Bowser says Nintendo will work with the ESA to make sure every company in the industry creates an environment where everyone is respected and treated as equals.
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