A second-year high school student in Japan was arrested for making a threat to bomb Konami’s headquarters and killing its employees.
The captured suspect was a 16-year old Yomiuri who was disgruntled for encountering a nagging connection issue with Pro Evolution Soccer. A game that the culprit has been a fan of since freshman.
Nasty In-game Bug
The mobile game is also otherwise known as Winning Eleven locally in Japan, Konami’s popular sports title that recently saw mobile release. More specifically, the juvenile is referring to Konami’s mobile soccer game, eFootball Winning Eleven 2020.
As per the suspect, he was disgruntled for playing a buggy game that kept him getting cut off and therefore lose. Deeply dissatisfied with the experience, the minor suspect went to a certain undisclosed app and left an ominous review.
Yomiuri, allegedly, posted the sinister review sometime between June 16 and 18, threatening both Konami and its staff.
In the said review in the app, the perpetrator expressed desire of blowing up “Konami’s headquarters.” In addition, he also mentioned about wanting to kill the “people who work at Konami.”
It is still yet unclear whether the issue is inherent in the game or if simply an isolated case. Either way, it seems that the young suspect’s emotion got the best of him leading to the threat.
Responding to the case is the Tokyo Police Department who caught the suspect at his residence at Setagaya Ward. There is no word yet if the captured delinquent is going to be charged. However, considering the age of the accused, a stern discourse is, at the very least, inescapable.
A Serious Threat
Making a “bomb threat” is an issue that is not taken lightly in a country like Japan. With previous cases of arson that not only ruined properties but also endangered people, the country takes serious actions towards such risk.
Just last year, the Asian country saw one of its history’s worst mass casualty when the Kyoto Animation Studio burned. Reportedly, a case of arson, the incident took 36 lives while leaving 34 others with serious health repercussions.
Not too long later, the event with KAS was followed by a similar threat from a disgruntled gamer. This time, pointing at Square Enix over an issue of in-game spending that the suspect is demanding back. Consequently, a 40-year old man was arrested because of the threat.
Image used courtesy of Lucas Mascaro/Flickr