In a day where
Niantic has managed to anger and frustrate a significant and vocal portion of the Pokémon GO player base, they can at least be thankful that they weren't the only company thinking now was the appropriate time to go "hold my beer" with a poorly considered statement. Showing a shocking lack of awareness of internet memes for a social media manager, not to mention common sense and empathy, the official Twitter account of
Pokémon UNITE developers TiMi Studios earlier today apparently decided that, instead of giving the simple and obvious response to a request to say "gay rights", that they'd instead like to turn themselves into even more of a public pariah than the monitization model of Pokémon UNITE already had.
While the original tweets are now deleted, numerous screencaps had been taken of the exchange by members of the community.
Replying to tweets from community members, the individual running the account has since acknowledged its fault, saying that they had "learned a serious lesson", that they should be "better trained", and that they need "someone with better cultural sensitivity". They also highlighted how English is not their first language as a reason for their mistake, and suggested that they need "a real English speaker to manage" the account.
Thankfully, this story does a more upbeat ending, at least for the community at large, and we're pleased to note that TiMi Studios have since been able to say what it should have said in the first place.
The Pokémon Company International, in a statement to Kotaku by a company representative, affirmed its support for the LGBTQIA+ community, and indicated that they will be addressing the issue with the UNITE developers. This statement is reproduced in full below.
Pokémon Company Representative said:
At The Pokémon Company International, we believe in a just and equitable world and that every person, employee, and fan has the unique skills, powers, and purpose to contribute to this common cause. As part of this, we celebrate the humanity of every individual, and fully support the LGBTQIA+ community.
Diversity, equity and inclusion are the foundations of our culture of belonging, and our core value of Integrity and Respect underlines the importance of treating people with respect and empathy to build an open and trusting environment.
These statements do not align with our beliefs, culture, or values and are fundamentally wrong. We’re working with our external partner to address the situation.
And while we're here, we'd just like to say one thing briefly.
Gay rights.
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