Shufflegate
Type: Controversy,
Tags: gamergate, zoe quinn, zoe post, nintendo, controversy,
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Overview • Background • Developments • Search Interest • External References • |
Overview
Shufflegate refers to an online controversy surrounding a joke made in the upcoming Nintendo game Paper Mario: Color Splash, which many interpreted as a reference to the "Five Guys Burgers and Fries" joke mocking indie game developer Zoe Quinn during the beginning of the GamerGate movement.
Background
During the Nintendo Treehouse livestream event at E3 on June 15th, 2016, the company played demo footage for the upcoming game Paper Mario: Color Splash, which included a group of dancing toads referred to as "five fun guys" followed by a character saying "I can see the headline now: 'Shufflegate: Exposed!'" (shown below).
On June 22nd, Zoe Quinn tweeted[1] two screenshots from the demo and accused Nintendo of making her "suffering into a fucking joke" (shown below). Within 48 hours, the tweet gained over 1,700 retweets and 1,700 likes.
![Zoe Quinn's Tweet teënage shirtbag @UnburntWitch な L-Follow what the f--- did I ever do to you, Nintendo, that y'all had to make my suffering into a f------ joke Let's watch the Five Fun Guys dance and shuffle! Man, is this sonna ruin my career?! I can see the headline now: Shufflegate: Exposed! RETWEETSLIKES 1,652 1,710 包 4:24 PM 22 Jun 2016 £71.7K 1.7K](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/140/161/1f9.jpg)
Developments
Online Reaction
That day, many Twitter users came to Quinn's defense, accusing Nintendo of supporting harassment (shown below). Additionally, some threatened to boycott Nintendo over the joke.[9]
![Tweets Gita Jackson @xoxogossipgita Follow Imagine if you were just minding your owns and you came across a joke designed to hurt just you in something you enjoyed 4:51 PM-22 Jun 2016 わ t3 141 221 Jake Muncy @jakemuncy FolloW it's the job of a game localization team to know if an offhand joke is going to intersect with one of the biggest meme-things in videogames 6:01 PM 22 Jun 2016 わt35 10 Chris Kohler @kobunheat Follovw Seriously. I can't see how anyone can write Tanythingl-gate" in a videogame and not anticipate the reaction. twitter.com/jakemuncy/stat.. 6:11 PM 22 Jun 2016 わ 13 26](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/140/181/f71.jpg)
On June 23rd, YouTuber MundaneMatt posted a video about #ShuffleGate (shown below).
The same day, a discussion thread about the controversy reached the front page of /r/KotakuInAction.[7] Meanwhile, Redditor adezero posted a mock version of Quinn's original tweet written from the perspective of Richard Nixon, gathering upwards of 2,400 votes (89% upvoted) and 130 comments within 24 hours.[8]
![Nixon ShuffleGate 오▼ Follow @richardnixon that y'all had to make my suffering into a f------ joke RETWEETS LIKES 21 59 10:40 AM-23 Jun 2016 21 59](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/140/180/e52.png)
Nintendo's Response
On June 23rd, Nintendo released a statement denying the joke's connection to Gamergate and Zoe Quinn, claiming it was a reference to the 1970s political scandal Watergate:
"As many have observed, when viewed in its entirety the Nintendo Treehouse: Live segment for Paper Mario: Color Splash from E3 includes two jokes separated by commentary and gameplay that have no relation to each other. One joke has to do with Watergate, while the other is a nod to the Fungi Fun Guys from Mario Party 8. It was brought to our attention today that these two jokes have been spliced together and misconstrued as a crude reference to an online hate campaign. While we typically do not speak on localization matters, we feel the need to confirm that these jokes are not linked in the game and were never intended to be linked. Nintendo firmly rejects the harassment of individuals in any way and was surprised to learn that its gameplay was misinterpreted in this manner. – Nintendo of America"
On June 24th, Quinn tweeted that she was "glad the Nintendo thing seems to be an extremely specific unfortunate coincidence."
![Zoe Quinn's Nintendo Response Tweet teënage shirtbag @UnburntWitch Follow Glad the Nintendo thing seems to be an extremely specific unfortunate coincidence The s--- in my mentions isnt though. Still afk for a bit. RETWEETS LIKES 54 340 3:19 PM -24 Jun 2016 t354 340](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/140/177/aa6.jpg)
News Media Coverage
Several news media outlets reported on the controversy, including HeatStreet,[3] The Daily Dot,[4] GameZone[5] and Polygon.[6]
Search Interest
External References
[1] Twitter – @unburntwitch
[2] Twitter – @austin_walker
[3] HeatStreet – Zoe Quinn and Horde of SJWs Enraged at Nintendo
[4] The Daily Dot – Did Nintendo make a Gamergate reference in a new Paper Mario game?
[5] GameZone – Paper Marios #Shufflegate
[6] Polygon – Nintendo denies Paper Mario
[7] Reddit – This Shufflegate thing is beyond stupid
[8] Reddit – Richard Nixon #Shufflegate
[9] Twitter – @Supperdude9
Entry Editors ( 2 )
Tags: gamergate, zoe quinn, zoe post, nintendo, controversy,
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