Police: 25-year-old suspect wanted revenge for not getting item despite spending 200,000 yen

Police arrested a 25-year-old male nursing home employee in Tokushima's Yoshinogawa City on March 29 on charges of intimidation and forcible obstruction of business, for sending a threatening message to media company Square Enix .

According to authorities, the suspect left a message in a questionnaire for a role-playing game by Square Enix on February 5. He reportedly wrote, "[ Square Enix ] staff, I'm coming to kill you tomorrow. Purify your heads [for a beheading]." The message forced Square Enix to increase security.

Police stated that the suspect admitted to the charges, and he wrote in his deposition that he had written the message to "seek revenge." He had spent 200,000 yen (about US$1,800) to acquire an in-game item but did not end up getting it. Square Enix also received around 30 messages with the word "kill" since last September, and police are investigating any possible links to the suspect.

Many Japanese games use the gacha (a term derived from gachapon capsule toys) model for in-game purchases. The system allows video game players to use in-game currency, often purchased with real money, to receive random items according to predetermined odds.

Source: The Yomiuri Shimbun via Hachima Kikō