SE presses to publish Last Fantasy 16’s negative speech! The latter question his “bullying hard”
Square Enix (SE) issued a legal request against a Japanese YouTubeer who published a video critical of Fantasia 16 and collated negative comments on 5ch of the Japan Cyber Forum. Square Enix asked the YouTube to delete all relevant content and warned that further legal action might be taken, which would eventually lead the YouTubeer to empty all videos on its YouTube channel.
The video published by YouTube, which is critical of Fantasia 16, includes negative evaluations of game design, drama or optimization, and quotes anonymous user comments from the 5ch Forum. The videos are said to use the title and thumbnails of “shocking”, such as the term FF16 “spam game” or suggest that Square Enix “failed”. In addition, part of the content may relate to personal attacks on developers or unproven market sales data, raising concerns in Square Enix.
Square Enix, based on its Corporate Client Harassment Policy issued on 10 January 2025, asked YouTube to delete the video. The policy clearly identifies acts such as “defamation/injury, denial of personality, personal assault (including online commentary or postings)” as harassment, which may lead to termination of service or legal action. Square Enix warned that in case of non-compliance, legal means would be taken to force the YouTube to delete all the channels.
Square Enix allegedly contacted the creator of the video in April and asked it to be deleted. Youtuber indicated that they had not initially taken note of the request and eventually deleted the video after about a month, but this did not prevent them from taking further action. They claim to have received a formal disclosure request and a notification of possible legal measures subsequently.
Youtuber also wrote to SE before emptied the video. He stressed: “I have simply taken the 5ch of words away from a more influential blogger, but I am staring at my soft tomato”.
Japanese law strictly regulates defamation and defamation. According to article 230 of the Criminal Code of Japan, the public dissemination of false or insulting information may constitute a defamation offence punishable by up to three years ‘ imprisonment or a fine of 500,000 yen (approximately 24,000 yen). The Square Enix legal warning may be based on this, and the content of YouTube is considered “defamation” or “personal assault”.
