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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)

 

[SonicMC]

This isn't an issue of free speech, especially if the same people getting up in arms about this are going to turn right around and say "I wouldn't bake a cake for a gay wedding"

Playtonic is a private company. They can chose to add or remove whatever they want from their own products (as long as they aren't falsely advertising content). As a matter of fact, one could say this is also an expression of free speech

I don't mind that playtonic is removing it for brand sake; I just find it stupid for them to say:

"Playtonic is a studio that celebrates diversity in all forms and strives to make games that everyone can enjoy. "

For a company that celebrates diversity in all forms... They sure get upset when someone truly is diverse or different.

diversity means "showing a great deal of variety; very different." Which means they should be celebrating Jon Tron for having a different radical opinion...

 

[Sketchy1]

If it's a PR person posting such things on Twitter, yeah, you'd lose your job for posting such things.

I guess, but You get the analogy

 

[yodamerlin]

This is starting to remind me about Jeremy Clarkson and the BBC.

 

[Foxi4]

If it's a PR person posting such things on Twitter, yeah, you'd lose your job for posting such things.

That falls within the job description. A PR person's job is to represent the company, so expressing any personal opinion on any matter via the company channels and often times outside of them is overstepping certain contractual obligations. I'm not certain whether a voice actor should fall under the same umbrella - this was a guest appearance, Jontron doesn't represent Playtonic in any shape or form, he's not an actual employee.

 

[Sketchy1]

For a company that celebrates diversity in all forms... They sure get upset when someone truly is diverse or different

*Brain explodes after reading this part, realizing the irony*

 

[jimbo13]

Meanwhile SJW shit promoted in Mass Effect and a million other games. I'd demand my money back or a click option. If I have to see endless pandering to Anita Sarkeesian and the 10% hyper liberal trans-mutant homosexual community we need a standard conservative Liberal/conservative click option of who gets removed from our game.

One click, Alec Baldwins shitty voice acting is replaced by James Woods.

 

[Pluupy]

This is a stupid move on their part. They've essentially made their political stance known and are using Yooka Laylee to prove their point. This only hursts the game. Just leave him in there and who gives a shit.

We've had tons of movie actors who are Scientologists, actual fucking neo-nazis, anti-vax, prolife, and other idiotic stances but films are still made with them. Who cares about this one fellow who doesn't know how to express his opinion correctly? I've heard worse shit in my break room at the hospital. You'd be pretty fucking surprised the awful shit nurses be spewing about patients.

For a company that celebrates diversity in all forms... They sure get upset when someone truly is diverse or different.

 

[Online]

I thought it was bit extreme at first, but when you read thier statement it makes sense to me. jons voice is now linked to politics and some player will think about that when they hear him and it will effect the expereince of the game. I personally dont want to think about politics when I play a fun game like this so I think this decision was o.k

 

[chavosaur]

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.

Once again, I feel the opposite on this. Couldn't every game ever be called a cash grab when their primary goal is to make money? Is creativity truly lost on recreating properties in a new fashion utilizing the same measures that created the original property so long ago? Is it that wrong or that terrible to cater to an audience that has been starved of content like this because of the constant AAA in your face open world spiral we have fallen down in the past couple of years? Yookalaylee is the most genuinely unique game to be coming out these recent months despite its familiarity to the property all of those devs worked on YEARS AGO.
In the past 3 months, we have had 3 huge RPG's come out almost back to back. Horizon, Zelda, and Mass Effect. Nioh wasn't far off that trail either. Huge sprawling action RPG's with open world elements and hour long time sinks all hoping to gobble up your money based on buzz words of freedom and blah blah blah.
What is wrong with Yookalaylee coming out as a streamlined 3d platformer that we never really see anymore? Is this desperation for revival, or giving people what they've been longing for that other companies, quite frankly, are never going to give them again?

Is it dead creativity, or revitalized creativity? They still made dozens of original characters, original music using real composers, and poured all of their resources and development into crafting a really pretty game. I just don't see it as a cash-grab. If i did, I could apply those words to every property that has ever come out in the past decade because it could apply in anyway that I spun it.

 

[Sketchy1]

I thought it was bit extreme at first, but when you read thier statement it makes sense to me. jons voice is now linked to politics and some player will think about that when they hear him and it will effect the expereince of the game. I personally dont want to think about politics when I play a fun game like this

Players and politics wouldnt exactly fall in the same place though. Cause I mean, it's like saying by playing Donald trumps game, I like him more then Hillary.

 

[Foxi4]

I thought it was bit extreme at first, but when you read thier statement it makes sense to me. jons voice is now linked to politics and some player will think about that when they hear him and it will effect the expereince of the game. I personally dont want to think about politics when I play a fun game like this

Playtonic had to remove him when they found out that some of the Easter Eggs feature Jon reciting Mein Kampf while the characters are saluting at the screen. On a serious note, the characters don't actually speak - he was just making noise, the inclusion was purely symbolic.

 

[Online]

Playtonic had to remove him when they found out that some of the Easter Eggs feature Jon reciting Mein Kampf while the characters are saluting at the screen. On a serious note, the characters don't actually speak - he was just making noise, the inclusion was purely symbolic.

what the fuk. now I am glad they removed that part

 

[F4LK]

Why are people so butthurt about this. He probably doesn't even have a big role in the game.
He's probably just a small NPC in the hub world or something like in that hat game.

I like Jon too (at least the stuff he's making) but i'm not gonna cancel my preorder because of a few missing voice lines.

 

[Sketchy1]

Playtonic had to remove him when they found out that some of the Easter Eggs feature Jon reciting Mein Kampf while the characters are saluting at the screen. On a serious note, the characters don't actually speak - he was just making noise, the inclusion was purely symbolic.

Knowing this now, This honestly makes this mess even stupider.

Player: WOAH JONTRON MAKING A GRUNTING SOUND

Let alone that they can identify someone just by hearing a few bodily sounds.

 

[sarkwalvein]

And he we are debating a topic that amounts to nothingness itself.
Yeah, I really love wasting time, but it seem I am not alone.

 

[Online]

Knowing this now, This honestly makes this mess even stupider.

Player: WOAH JONTRON MAKING A GRUNTING SOUND

Let alone that they can identify someone just by hearing a few bodily sounds.

playtonic know a hitler refference if they see it. that is unacceptable for a kids games dude

 

[Foxi4]

Once again, I feel the opposite on this. Couldn't every game ever be called a cash grab when their primary goal is to make money? Is creativity truly lost on recreating properties in a new fashion utilizing the same measures that created the original property so long ago? Is it that wrong or that terrible to cater to an audience that has been starved of content like this because of the constant AAA in your face open world spiral we have fallen down in the past couple of years? Yookalaylee is the most genuinely unique game to be coming out these recent months despite its familiarity to the property all of those devs worked on YEARS AGO.
In the past 3 months, we have had 3 huge RPG's come out almost back to back. Horizon, Zelda, and Mass Effect. Nioh wasn't far off that trail either. Huge sprawling action RPG's with open world elements and hour long time sinks all hoping to gobble up your money based on buzz words of freedom and blah blah blah.
What is wrong with Yookalaylee coming out as a streamlined 3d platformer that we never really see anymore? Is this desperation for revival, or giving people what they've been longing for that other companies, quite frankly, are never going to give them again?

Is it dead creativity, or revitalized creativity? They still made dozens of original characters, original music using real composers, and poured all of their resources and development into crafting a really pretty game. I just don't see it as a cash-grab. If i did, I could apply those words to every property that has ever come out in the past decade because it could apply in anyway that I spun it.

I guess that the point of view depends on where you're seated. Judging by the gameplay mechanics alone I feel that this is a very blatant reskin, and while I don't know the developer's motivation, I think it's blatantly clear that they're making a Banjo-Kazooie game in the only way they legally can - that's the definition of "derrivative". I'm not judging the quality of the end product, it could be great for all I know, we won't find out until the game is out. You are correct in saying that technically every product made for profit is a "cash grab" in a sense, however I feel that many developers often mix business with pleasure, which is the way to go. All in all we're suffering from a major drought of creativity in the industry, it's been going on for a while now as the budgets, the workloads and the stakes increase with the risks taken diminishing. It happens in all of entertainment - developers are playing safe and make what they know will sell simply because it can make or break the studio, it's just the reality of the situation we're in right now.

 

[Sketchy1]

playtonic know a hitler refference if they see it. that is unacceptable for a kids games dude

But would kids get the nazi reference (let alone know who they are or what they did)?

 

[GerbilSoft]

He could have said them after the game was released I kid, I kid.

But Playtronic: "Screw 1st amendment rights" right? XD

I was unaware that the First Amendment protected this. Can you point out where the First Amendment says companies must be forced to use voicework if the person they contracted says something they don't like?

 

[Pluupy]

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.

That's because it is. Yooka Laylee lacks any real identity. The game does not uniquely stand on it's own without being accompanied by something related to Banjo Kazooie. It thrives on the nostalgia and desire for a new Banjo Kazooie game. These people actively pursed a few of the laid-off, ex-developers of Banjo Kazooie just to show nostalgia lens-doning fans how dedicated they are to literally just making a copy of Banjo Kazooie. In this, Yooka Laylee will never stand on it's own without having Banjo Kazooie mentioned. It is not a spiritual successor. It is a cash-in.