Indie developer Brandon Sheffield (head of Necrosoft Games) has announced that he’s cancelling the Wii U version of their puzzle game, Gunhouse.

The reasoning behind this move is because of the recent controversy behind Nintendo and their former employee, Alison Rapp. In short, Sheffield believes Nintendo’s decision to fire Rapp was due in part to their kowtowing to an “angry internet wanting someone to blame for changes to some Nintendo games.”

In his eyes, Nintendo’s voicing their opposition to harassment is just a hollow statement. Instead, they should have kept Rapp in employment regardless of what the internet has said. To Sheffield, he wants “to see this industry change its attitude toward the women it employs.”

It’s worth mentioning that Sheffield did make a clear note in one of the more controversial bits of Rapp’s history, her highly debated essay on the sexualization of children in Japan, in which he is not a fan of, and in some respects, against her views in this regard.

You can find the most relevant portion of his Gamasutra response below:

First, I should say that I do not know Alison Rapp. We’ve never met and never talked. My statement was less about her as an individual – it was in support of all those who have been harassed by the darker corners of the internet, largely because they were women.

I should say also that I am not a fan of her much-discussed essay regarding the sexualization of children in Japan. While I agree with part of the premise, namely that the West should not push its particular ideas of right and wrong on the rest of the world, I disagree with the core proof in her argument – that lower rates of child abuse and rape in Japan are indicative that pornography may be helping. Japan does have some of the lowest rates of reported rape and abuse, but those stats have been increasing as laws rise to support such claims. Many publications, including the Japan Times, support the idea that the lower rate of rape reportage is likely just that – lower reportage.

When I made that tweet, it seemed that the sole reason for her firing was the harassment she received over the last several months, stemming from the Angry Internet wanting someone to blame for changes to some Nintendo games, and finding a feminist, Rapp, to pin it on. She fit the narrative of who they wanted to see fry, and it didn’t matter that she a) was in marketing not localization, and b) said she would’ve really liked to see those Xenoblade Chronicles X boob sliders anyway.

Nintendo has since made a statement that they fired her for having a second job which as in conflict with their terms of employment. They also stated that they do not stand for harassment of anyone for reasons of race, religion, or personal views. Many have asked whether this makes our symbolic gesture ring hollow – my response is this:

If you stand against harassment, you have to actually stand against it. You have to stand against it while it’s happening, not after you’ve let someone go, when it’s convenient and easy. You have to stand against harassment when it’s difficult and painful and awkward and inconvenient, because that is when it matters. Otherwise it’s just words.

I stand by my decision because I want to see this industry change its attitude toward the women it employs. Our small games aren’t going to make a difference to Nintendo’s bottom line, but the discussion that surrounds it might make a difference to our collective conscience.