In our daily round-up of news across the industry, our list today includes coverage that comes with content warnings. Our first story contains mentions of sexual abuse against minors, regarding Twitch’s failure to ban a streamer arrested for rape charges. The stories following end our content warning, and continue with stories like Nintendo’s lawsuit against RomUniverse, and xQc’s Twitch ban.
Related: The Biggest Gaming News For August 13, 2021
Fortnite Streamer’s Ban From Twitch Took Weeks After Child Abuse Related Arrest
Fortnite streamer Raulino de Oliveira Maciel, known on Twitch as RaulZito, was arrested last month on “rape of the vulnerable” charges. The arrest became public on July 27, 2021, over two weeks ago, but as reported by Kotaku, Twitch took until yesterday to ban him from the platform. Maciel’s alleged abuse was reported by a parent, and Brazilian police note that his two victims were between the ages of 10 and 14.
The investigation into Maciel notes that it will explore further suspects and that Maciel appears to have coerced victims with promises of jobs in the entertainment industry. The arrest continues conversations on how the platform has poorly handled dangerous cases in the past, especially when it comes to protecting vulnerable and marginalized people. #DoBetterTwitch was a recent Twitter campaign that highlighted how the platform has failed abuse survivors on the platform, urging the company to find new ways to expedite action against people like Maciel and insisting on transparency around reasons for bans.
RomUniverse Cannot Operate Again, Owes Nintendo $2.1 Million
RomUniverse, owned by Matthew Storman, owes Nintendo $2.1 million after the company sued him for damages two years ago. Storman planned to relaunch his website without Nintendo games, assuming that meant the software giant could no longer pursue him, but the US Central District Court of California has ordered a permanent injunction on RomUniverse – preventing Stoman from ever operating again. He has until August 17 to destroy anything related to unauthorized copies of Nintendo IP.
xQc Banned From Twitch
Last month, Twitch streamer xQc was banned from the platform for five hours after a DMCA live strike hit his account, issued by the Olympic Committee. In his fifth suspension from Twitch, xQc now appears to be banned once again. It’s unclear why, and he still hasn’t commented on the issue, but fans have noted he has a habit of watching and not muting content that could get him additional DMCA strikes.
Sakurai And Harada Address How The Games Industry Handles Rumors
Super Smash Bros. series creator Masahiro Sakurai visited Bandai Namco general manager Katsuhiro Harada at his bar for an interview covering how the father of Smash feels about his schedule, and other industry-related topics. Perhaps most notably, Sakurai expressed his thoughts on how fans comb through everything he says for hints about the games he works on, adding, “I’d just like to say, ‘give me a break.’” Harada, and other big industry figures like them, seem to relate to those obstacles.
Namco Funscape Shuts Its Doors Permanently
Namco Funscape London is no more. The iconic entertainment landmark lasted for a quarter of a century, and while COVID-19 did shutter businesses around the world, ArcadeHeroes reports that Namco’s venue is closing due to the redevelopment of County Hall. Its Facebook page has since seen an influx of comments from fans sharing memories.
Next: Weekly News Recap August 6 – August 13: Activision Blizzard Updates, Niantic, And Twitch