​

The developer behind Yooka-Laylee, a Kickstarter-funded spiritual successor to the beloved Banjo-Kazooie series plans to remove the Youtuber Jontron (Jon Jafari) from the game's cast of voice actors via a Day 1 update after his recent series controversial tweets regarding ethnic minorities in America. Jontron was always a big, vocal fan of the series and was invited to collaborate on the project back in February 2015. Many might say that he was pivotal in reviving the interest in Banjo-Kazooie through his content, both on Game Grumps and his own Youtube channel. Playtonic explained their position in an interview with Gameindustry.biz:

"We recently became aware of comments made by voice artist JonTron after development on Yooka-Laylee had been completed (...) JonTron is a talented video presenter who we were initially, two years ago, happy to include as a voice contributor in our game. However, in light of his recent personal viewpoints we have made the decision to remove JonTron's inclusion in the game via a forthcoming content update. We would like to make absolutely clear that we do not endorse or support JonTron's personal viewpoints and that, as an external fan contributor, he does not represent Playtonic in any capacity. Playtonic is a studio that celebrates diversity in all forms and strives to make games that everyone can enjoy. As such, we deeply regret any implied association that could make players feel anything but 100% comfortable in our game worlds, or distract from the incredible goodwill and love shown by our fans and Kickstarter backers."

This recent development in the Jontron controversy raises an important question regarding Free Speech. I can fully understand Playtonic's position - they're distancing themselves from Jontron in order to prevent any damage to their brand. On the other hand, one could argue that Jontron is free to voice his views on his own platform and shouldn't be penalised for them elsewhere.

Naturally this is a very controversial issue, so I'm eager to hear your thoughts on the matter. What's your opinion? Tell us in comments below!

Update: Jontron acknowledged the decision via his Twitter and although he finds it unfortunate, he understands it and wishes the developers a successful launch.

"Unfortunate to see Playtonic remove me from Yooka Laylee, but I understand their decision. I wish them the best with their launch!"

~https://www.twitter.com/JonTronShow/status/845038284967493638

Source (Gameindustry.biz)

 

[Foxi4]

he has all the freedom of speech in the world, but the moment he's working with, for or around others, his speech also effects them and they have any right to move away from him.

this has been a thing in public for decades, pretty much forever.

you know you can get fired from your job if you keep spouting stuff your employer doesn't agree with, right?



maybe not on its own, on its own, its just wishful thinking and ignoring actual reality.
because heterogenous society is already there. as is multiculturalism. at least in any relevant western country.
but if you want a homogenous society and no multiculturalism and if you actually want actions taken to make those reality, you're pretty much asking for a final solution. in addition to being racist, they are also too stupid to think two steps further. to what their wishes entail and require to happen.

What you're doing is called a Slippery Slope.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slippery_slope

Wishing to preserve tradition, customs and national identity does not necessarily lead to the holocaust - that's a slippery slope.

The U.S. existed for centuries with migrants from all around the world coming to America in search of a more prosperous life, assimilating with the population and making it richer. What conservatives want to avoid is creating pockets of non-assimilated migrants establishing small proxy states where they recreate the conditions of their country of origin instead of adapting to "The American Way", which is something we can observe today. The social contract of immigration assumes that the immigrant will adjust to the customs of the host country, it's how it's always been. If immigrants are creating cliques and enclaves, that's the system failing to work. If the host embraces you, you must in turn make an effort to embrace the host.

 

[jimbo13]

bugged post

 

[jimbo13]

you know you can get fired from your job if you keep spouting stuff your employer doesn't agree with, right?

this here isn't petty, its consequential. and jon only has himself to blame for it.



maybe not on its own, on its own, its just wishful thinking and ignoring actual reality.
because heterogenous society is already there. as is multiculturalism. at least in any relevant western country.
but if you want a homogenous society and no multiculturalism and if you actually want actions taken to make those reality, you're pretty much asking for a final solution. in addition to being racist, they are also too stupid to think two steps further. to what their wishes entail and require to happen.

Modern mass immigration is a product of intentional policy and can be stymied with reversal of those policies, which are only 40 years old. Quit assigning the furthest extremes to basic beliefs that people should acclimate and immigration should be regulated to avoid influxes of people who are hostile to your countries citizens and values.

And this is not simple someone was fired because they had socially unacceptable beliefs, this is McCarthy era hollywood style blacklisting of any who rejects mandatory celebration of globalism or wants basic regulations on immigration.

 

[yuyuyup]

LOL No worries, I'm just razzing you about a pet peeve of mine. I've seen the onset of 'my bad', and seen how it was latched onto by the range of people from blase-idgaf dismissive attitudes to the street-urchin-class ghetto-dwellers. I feel like it started its roots in ebonics as a subtly rude way to say sorry-not-sorry to people. So I always try to personally say 'my mistake' as it's a much more genuine way to apologize for small infractions and such.

Dude get therapy, you invented such "sorry-not-sorry" connotations with your own imagination. Holy crap such racial paranoia, I am very embarrassed for you

 

[flame1234]

I said it when the campaign was announced, long before the Jontron controversy, and I'll say it again - Yooka-Laylee seems like a total cashgrab to me. The developers are desperately clinging to their former glory and instead of making a brand-new, original game they're making a pretend sequel to a game they no longer have the rights to that's basically bordering on copyright infringement by replicating everything they can including the font and replacing the protagonists so they don't get sued. That's all they can do at this point because the flame of their creativity is long since dead. They're removing Jontron because he can damage the brand, and the brand is all they have left. Yooka-Laylee, like many other games of its kind, is an elaborate attempt to cash in on your nostalgia and squeeze the last bit of money out of your wallet. I know it because I fall for it too. Some companies do this well, like inExile, others fail miserably. This is not original content, this is desperation. It's C.P.R administered to a cold corpse of an IP.

It's new IP. A new brand the developers created. Removing JonTron won't stop damage to the brand, either.

Also, reviewing the game before it's out. Wait for reviews; give the game a chance. It's OK to say it's shaping up to be bad if you actually played it, but your statements aren't based on the game itself, unless you're commenting on something like character design.

That said, I always recommend not backing games that have met their funding goals. For games that have not yet met their funding goals, you should think twice. And never preorder - wait for reviews.

 

[Clydefrosch]

What you're doing is called a Slippery Slope.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slippery_slope

Wishing to preserve tradition, customs and national identity does not necessarily lead to the holocaust - that's a slippery slope.

The U.S. existed for centuries with migrants from all around the world coming to America in search of a more prosperous life, assimilating with the population and making it richer. What conservatives want to avoid is creating pockets of non-assimilated migrants establishing small proxy states where they recreate the conditions of their country of origin instead of adapting to "The American Way", which is something we can observe today. The social contract of immigration assumes that the immigrant will adjust to the customs of the host country, it's how it's always been. If immigrants are creating cliques and enclaves, that's the system failing to work. If the host embraces you, you must in turn make an effort to embrace the host.

and what is this called? false flagging? smoke screening?
'they may say one thing thats highly suggestive and can be taking negatively in 99% of the cases but what they're really meaning is that 1% case where its just about tradition and stuff'
preserving tradition, customs and national identity does not clash with multiculturalism or heterogenity either.
wanting minorities out out of a weird fear of becoming part of a non-migrant minority one day is not preserving tradition or national identity.

literally multiculturalism and heterogenity is engraved into post-native american america
not to mention all those pockets recreating countries of origin are also the norm. thats how america started. and thats how its still today in many regards

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

i also love how people are 'this is gonna damage their brand' when only overgrown manchildren and maybe the youngest, most impressionable teens out there actually care about jontrons inclusion in the thing at all. this isn't going to hurt them in any way. for the 4 people who are petty enough to not buy the game based on this, there will be 4 people who really don't care about games much that will now buy it instead.

 

[eworm]

why is multiculturalism bad thou?

What ties a nation is culture. When there are actually several separate cultures in a country, we have a broken nation - many groups of people whose interests collide instead of being overall about the nation's best interest. It's natural to care about one's or one's group's well-being first and foremost, but the very goal behind forming a nation of people is to have big interests that people in it share.

Now, if by multiculturalism you don't actually mean multiple cultures, but a single culture that's a mish-mash of many various cultural influences from around the world, that's a different story. That's basically what every culture is already, in fact, especially in America. However, the problem is a lot of people nowadays think multiculturalism is a goal in and of itself and a goal we should all actively and irresponsibly strive towards - it's not. Why should it be? Why should we abandon some of our roots and the meaning behind them and replace them with something from elsewhere that we share no deeper connection with? If we're bored with our ancestry, our holidays, our cultural heritage, our shared, deeply rooted values - the problem aren't those things, but the boredom itself. Bringing stuff from elsewhere just because it's new and different won't change the fact that we're getting shallow about our values.

 

[AlanWeird]

I agree with most of JonTron's views on the matter and I'm a Pole. I live in a city with a concentration camp in it, now a museum doing exactly the kind of education you call for. Believe me, I know what Nazis did - and it was not "preserving own cultural heritage by limiting immigration to reasonable levels", which is what JonTron wants. And don't tell me race and culture is completely different, because those are very much tied together. Not the same, absolutely not, but related.

If you're white and christian, there is absolutely ZERO threat to your cultural heritage. Our religious celebrations are front and centre all year round. Supermarkets are filled months in advance with celebrations of easter and christmas. Our achievements and history are always the ones most discussed, celebrated and studied. Yet some of you feel your entire way of life is in danger.

Get a grip.

 

[jimbo13]

i also love how people are 'this is gonna damage their brand' when only overgrown manchildren and maybe the youngest, most impressionable teens out there actually care about jontrons inclusion in the thing at all. this isn't going to hurt them in any way. for the 4 people who are petty enough to not buy the game based on this, there will be 4 people who really don't care about games much that will now buy it instead.

I don't care about Jon Trons inclusion, I've never watched his vids I don't videos of other people playing unless it is FGC tournaments. I do care about Hollywood style blacklisting of anyone right of far left open border immigration and wont buy or support this SJW-Platformer.

If you're white and christian, there is absolutely ZERO threat to your cultural heritage. Our religious celebrations are front and centre all year round. Supermarkets are filled months in advance with celebrations of easter and christmas. Our achievements and history are always the ones most discussed, celebrated and studied. Yet some of you feel your entire way of life is in danger.

Get a grip.

Pretty sure in those liberal ethnic studies classes that you don't speak for other groups or tell them what there problem is, your failing at your SJWing.

Go tell that to people in Sweden who have to sit through PSA's telling them to wear hijabs to avoid rape.

 

[UltraHurricane]

Well, if you wished harm upon them that would just make you a brute, I specifically mentioned a civil society to establish that we're all civil. Whether someone is "asking for it" or not is pretty inconsequential. It brings the recent "Punch a Nazi" shitstorm to mind, when people genuinely cheered when a man was physically assaulted, and not once, but twice. The fact that he's a terrible person aside, he shouldn't be assaulted in broad daylight and we shouldn't celebrate our descent into barbarism. If his ideology is truly flimsy then fight it on the ideological battlefield, not with your fists. To quote Winston Churchill, "the Fascists of the future will be the anti- fascists".

but i never said i did so stop assuming i do, and also stop assuming that every radical ideology can always be talked down in a debate, if that where the case we wouldn't have had WWII, The Cold War, or The War on Terror and i don't say that with any enjoyment or glee for violence but it's a sad fact we have to face, to quote Hitler himself

"Only one thing could have stopped our movement - if our adversaries had understood its principle and from the first day smashed with the utmost brutality the nucleus of our new movement."
​

or ACTUAL holocaust survivor Frank Frison:

"If fascism could be defeated in debate, I assure you that it would never have happened, neither in Germany, nor in Italy, nor anywhere"​

they don't care how flimsy their ideology might be, it's a means to a end, they're not looking to change their ways but to prove how they're right by any means which is why it's pointless to try to "talk them down" when they have no intention of listening to other's perspective

also funny you should quote Churchill for humanist advice, considering he once wanted to gun down the working class in the streets for striking

 

[Clydefrosch]

Modern mass immigration is a product of intentional policy and can be stymied with reversal of those policies, which are only 40 years old. Quit assigning the furthest extremes to basic beliefs that people should acclimate and immigration should be regulated to avoid influxes of people who are hostile to your countries citizens and values.

And this is not simple someone was fired because they had socially unacceptable beliefs, this is McCarthy era hollywood style blacklisting of any who rejects mandatory celebration of globalism or wants basic regulations on immigration.

but we're still talking about the migration thats been at a net negative for i don't know, like since 2010?
the other mass migration is a result of constant destabilization of countries in the middle east.

and no, this is playtonics freedom to choose with whom they associate themselves, their brand and their product. the same way jontron can chose to disassociate with followers and companies etc etc

 

[Foxi4]

It's new IP. A new brand the developers created. Removing JonTron won't stop damage to the brand, either.

Also, reviewing the game before it's out. Wait for reviews; give the game a chance. It's OK to say it's shaping up to be bad if you actually played it, but your statements aren't based on the game itself, unless you're commenting on something like character design.

That said, I always recommend not backing games that have met their funding goals. For games that have not yet met their funding goals, you should think twice. And never preorder - wait for reviews.

I already said that for all I know the game might turn out to be excellent and final judgement needs to be reserved for when the game comes out, but judging by the material available to me as of right now all I'm seeing is a desperate attempt at rekindling the fire of nostalgia, except with a new coat of paint for legal reasons.

but i never said i did so stop assuming i do, and also stop assuming that every radical ideology can always be talked down in a debate, if that where the case we wouldn't have had WWII, The Cold War, or The War on Terror and i don't say that with any enjoyment or glee for violence but it's a sad fact we have to face, to quote Hitler himself

"Only one thing could have stopped our movement - if our adversaries had understood its principle and from the first day smashed with the utmost brutality the nucleus of our new movement."
​

or ACTUAL holocaust survivor Frank Frison:

"If fascism could be defeated in debate, I assure you that it would never have happened, neither in Germany, nor in Italy, nor anywhere"​

they don't care how flimsy their ideology might be, it's a means to a end, they're not looking to change their ways but to prove how they're right by any means which is why it's pointless to try to "talk them down" when they have no intention of listening to other's perspective

also funny you should quote Churchill for humanist advice, considering he once wanted to gun down the working class in the streets for striking

I never assumed anything, I was stating a hypothetical. I find it even more amusing that you'd bring up the Cold War in your argument, considering the fact that it was called "Cold" for a reason. There was no epic battle between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, America simply "outspent" it into bankruptcy via the arms and space races.

As for Churchill, I'm not a fan myself - he sold my country to the Soviets as a part of the same appeasement policy that didn't work against Hitler's expansion before, however I acknowledge a cogent point when I see one.

Your biggest mistake however is assuming that the result of dialogue is supposed to be the opposition changing their mind. If you walk into a debate with the presumption that your opponent will necessarily change their mind, you'll get flustered and you'll lose, as they often dig their heels in. That's not necessarily the goal, the goal might also be to expose an ideology's internal inconsistencies, which is often times enough to expose it as bogus and limit the influx of new followers. Debates are often held for the audience's benefit, not the parties involved.

 

[GerbilSoft]

Pretty sure in those liberal ethnic studies classes that you don't speak for other groups or tell them what there problem is, your failing at your SJWing.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

 

[Clydefrosch]

Go tell that to people in Sweden who have to sit through PSA's telling them to wear hijabs to avoid rape.

where in the world did you get that?

you mean the stickers placed around one town that are so clearly over the top, they can't be anything but a false flag attack?
it couldn't have been more obvious if they had written 'this was placed by a muslim' below them.
it doesn't work when my younger brother tried to blame a ruined white wall on his even younger brother, it doesn't work today

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I already said that for all I know the game might turn out to be excellent and final judgement needs to be reserved for when the game comes out, but judging by the material available to me as of right now all I'm seeing is a desperate attempt at rekindling the fire of nostalgia, except with a new coat of paint for legal reasons.

well duh, that was exactly the one thing they were aiming for when they made it. and its exactly the reason why people backed them.
they didn't want new, they didn't want straying from the path, the wanted another banjo kazooie with the same lazy collectathon, no car building gimmics etc and thats whats going to be delivered. and the backers will eat it up while everyone else, who moved on from the lazy early years of 3d jump and runs will feel kinda bored. as they should be.

 

[jimbo13]

and no, this is playtonics freedom to choose with whom they associate themselves, their brand and their product. the same way jontron can chose to disassociate with followers and companies etc etc

I am glad your supporting freedom of association, lets see how much you believe it when someone applies it to someone who liberals deem a "protected class" because I am guessing the only time freedom of association matters to you is when it falls within your sensibilities.

But this is not the narrow issue of Playtronics/Jon Tron, this is PewdiePie and the whole of tech that profit of H1B1 visa's engaging in Hollywood style McCarthy era black listing of anyone right of far left open border globalism.

where in the world did you get that?

you mean the stickers placed around one town that are so clearly over the top, they can't be anything but a false flag attack?
it couldn't have been more obvious if they had written 'this was placed by a muslim' below them.
it doesn't work when my younger brother tried to blame a ruined white wall on his even younger brother, it doesn't work today

No I mean the actual UN funded PSAs in germany, or the wrist bands police think will stop rapists or any of the other thousand public statements from Merkel, other politicians, videos that go well beyond the scope of a post on forums.

 

[UltraHurricane]

What ties a nation is culture. When there are actually several separate cultures in a country, we have a broken nation - many groups of people whose interests collide instead of being overall about the nation's best interest. It's natural to care about one's or one's group's well-being first and foremost, but the very goal behind forming a nation of people is to have big interests that people in it share.

Now, if by multiculturalism you don't actually mean multiple cultures, but a single culture that's a mish-mash of many various cultural influences from around the world, that's a different story. That's basically what every culture is already, in fact, especially in America. However, the problem is a lot of people nowadays think multiculturalism is a goal in and of itself and a goal we should all actively and irresponsibly strive towards - it's not. Why should it be? Why should we abandon some of our roots and the meaning behind them and replace them with something from elsewhere that we share no deeper connection with? If we're bored with our ancestry, our holidays, our cultural heritage, our shared, deeply rooted values - the problem aren't those things, but the boredom itself. Bringing stuff from elsewhere just because it's new and different won't change the fact that we're getting shallow about our values.

the funny thing about culture is that it's always changing, and it's silly to think it can and should be stopped or that we need to backpedal social progress to a supposed "golden age" like people in america wishing we could go back to the 50's but don't realize how boring, restrictive and racist it was

whether you like it or not, multiculturalism IS happening but nothing is really being erased, and i can't think of any example of that ever happening to the dominate culture that didn't involve bloody genocide

 

[eworm]

the funny thing about culture is that it's always changing, and it's silly to think it can and should be stopped or that we need to backpedal social progress to a supposed "golden age"

Of course it's always changing, that's exactly my point - let it change naturally and gradually as it always does and will inevitably do. Don't change it forcefully and however you damn well please. It's not a goal.

If you're white and christian, there is absolutely ZERO threat to your cultural heritage. Our religious celebrations are front and centre all year round. Supermarkets are filled months in advance with celebrations of easter and christmas. Our achievements and history are always the ones most discussed, celebrated and studied. Yet some of you feel your entire way of life is in danger.

Get a grip.

If by Christmas you mean "Coca-Cola Santa Claus holiday" and by Easter you mean "that bunny and eggs day", then yes, our heritage sure is doing fine.

 

[jimbo13]

the funny thing about culture is that it's always changing, and it's silly to think it can and should be stopped or that we need to backpedal social progress to a supposed "golden age" like people in america wishing we could go back to the 50's but don't realize how boring, restrictive and racist it was

whether you like it or not, multiculturalism IS happening but nothing is really being erased, and i can't think of any example of that ever happening to the dominate culture that didn't involve bloody genocide

You seem to be mistaking organic cultural changes with targeted policies, deliberate social engineering and intentional demographic targeting for disenfranchisement.

One is people moving because jobs are available, welcomed, acclimating naturally as a community has the capacity and desire to accept people. The other is politicians and corporations loading hundreds of thousands people on to boats, bus's and planes like we seen China do in Tibet because they wanted to get rid of Buddhists who them deemed a nuisance.

 

[UltraHurricane]

Of course it's always changing, that's exactly my point - let it change naturally and gradually as it always does and will inevitably do. Don't change it forcefully and however you damn well please. It's not a goal.

but culture is a thing perpetuated by humans? how else does it change??

why do you think that cultural change is and should always be painless and quiet?

 

[jimbo13]

but culture is a thing perpetuated by humans? how else does it change??

why do you think that cultural change is and should always be painless and quiet?

So you admit it's a painful disenfranchising policy, yet still are calling people racist for their objections.

 

[AlanWeird]

Of course it's always changing, that's exactly my point - let it change naturally and gradually as it always does and will inevitably do. Don't change it forcefully and however you damn well please. It's not a goal.


If by Christmas you mean "Coca-Cola Santa Claus holiday" and by Easter you mean "that bunny and eggs day", then yes, our heritage sure is doing fine.

And whose fault is that????

Our bloody own. Your arguments hold no water.

I roll my eyes hard at the PC crowd. I roll them harder at the fundamentalist nutcases who cite a few pathetic points to further their ideals of a white-cleansed country to live in. Grow up and get yourself out into the world and see the inherent good in people of all colours and creeds. Defending any form of negativity or evil makes you just that. A dull little parasitic shitstain on humanity. I'm done here.