Nintendo will replace a 'Fire Emblem' voice actor after abuse allegations surface
Nintendo will remove voice actor Chris Niosi's work from a pair of Fire Emblem games in the wake of abuse allegations against him that surfaced in recent weeks.
Niosi, who voices Byleth in Fire Emblem Heroes and Fire Emblem: Three Houses (for now), allegedly subjected multiple former romantic partners and colleagues to abusive behavior. The allegations first came to light in a July 13 blog post penned by a former partner who identifies herself only as Amy.
Nintendo confirmed plans to replace Niosi with another actor -- specifically, One Punch Man's Zach Aguilar -- in a statement provided to Mashable. "After assessing the situation, we decided to re-record the character’s voiceovers in Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Fire Emblem Heroes with another actor. The new voiceovers will be included in a future patch," the statement reads.
Niosi addressed the allegations directly in a a blog post of his own, under the title "It's time that I apologize to all the people I've hurt."
Amy's blog post describes what she recalls of Niosi's behavior in detail, spread across nine separate points. Taken all together, it paints the picture of an anger-filled and rage-prone man who's prone to lying and physical confrontations, and who has no respect for another person's bodily autonomy.
Another account subsequently revealed that Niosi had also allegedly broken the non-disclosure agreement he'd signed with Nintendo regarding the reveal of his Fire Emblem role. The same post, typed into a Google Doc, also detailed further allegations of abuse.
There were others who spoke up as well. In another blog posted a week after she first spoke up, Amy linked out to six other accounts of Niosi's alleged behavior, including the aforementioned Google Doc.
Nintendo hasn't put a timetable on the coming updates, but the family-friendly company will presumably act swiftly to address its own part in this unfortunate situation.
[h/t Kotaku]
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
