GREE CEO regrets not disavowing negative Nintendo statement attributed to them

All the way back in 2012, a freelance journalist’s acquaintance went for an interview to work at GREE. The person that went for the interview claimed that the interviewer at GREE said, “You don’t know how to defeat Nintendo, right? I know the way.” The journalist then wrote up a piece about the statement, and it became quite a topic of discussion in Japan.

As the news spread, things started to get twisted around, and the statement was being attributed to GREE CEO Yoshikazu Tanaka. This idea snowballed, and turned the discussion into somewhat of an internet meme, which went on to grow in popularity over the years.

When the original news story came out, both Tanaka and the head of GREE’s public relations didn't do anything to disavow the statement. They felt that it was completely fabricated, and no one at the company would have ever said that. Thinking the statement was false and wouldn't gain any ground, the company remained quiet. It turns out this was the perfect way to further the rumor.

Now in 2018, GREE's CEO spoke to Sankei News about the entire fiasco. Mr. Tanaka says he regrets not coming out against the statement and letting the public know it was fake. He recognizes that their silence on the matter only helped to push the meme further. Hopefully with this statement, GREE can move on from the issue, and the meme will die off.