In an interesting turn of events, Nintendo has recently released a publisher agreement which adamantly states that no publisher for its Nintendo Switch consoles should have any ties to the Yakuza. The documents were released as part of Epic Games’ ongoing legal battle with Apple over its removal of Fortnite from the iOS App Store.
During its humble beginnings in 1889, Nintendo was a fairly different company, not starting video game development until the 1970s. The company began as producers of Hanafuda, a Japanese variety of playing cards without numbers, which are smaller than the western type most are familiar with. When the Japanese government outlawed gambling in 1907, Hanafuda cards did not get banned, as the cards were numberless, unlike the conventional western playing cards. As a result, criminal organizations such as the Yakuza utilized Hanafuda cards as an alternative way to gamble, and the cards then quickly became associated with organized crime. Thus, Nintendo’s early success was largely due to organized crime syndicates such as the Yakuza.
As reported by former editor-in-chief of Kotaku Stephen Totilo on Twitter, Nintendo recently submitted a heavily redacted twenty-five page document as part of Epic Games’ ongoing court trial with Apple. The documents contain a content license and distribution agreement for the Nintendo Switch, and an extra clause labelled “Exhibit B (Anti-Social Forces),” applicable only for “Content Providers” that are located in Japan. The document explains that the “Anti-Social Forces” mentioned within it refers to an organized crime group, more specifically “Boryokudan”, which is what the Japanese Police and media call organized crime groups such as the Yakuza.
As part of the agreement, Nintendo requires its publishers and developers to affirm that they and their employees are not affiliated with the Yakuza in any way, such as providing money or favors to the Boryokudan. The partner is also forbidden to “make violent demands,” “use threat or violence in connection to transactions,” or “damage the credit or interfere with the business of Nintendo Entities by spreading false rumors, using fraud or force.” Should the developer or publisher breach the agreement in any way, Nintendo will be allowed to immediately terminate its contract with the provider.
Despite the fact that the document is heavily redacted, it is interesting to get a glimpse into the internal workings of Nintendo, and what rules developers and publishers must abide by in order to get their games onto the Nintendo Switch. Since the company markets itself and most of its products as family-friendly, it’s unsurprising that it no longer wants to be associated with the crime syndicates that were once integral to the company’s success.
Source: Stephen Totillo/Twitter