The gaming industry is as much a spectacle as it is loaded with embargoes and secrets. There are deals being made behind closed doors every day that gamers won't learn of for years to come, but few companies are as secretive about their day-to-day operations as the house of Mario, Nintendo. Much isn't known about the inner workings of the firm, which is why those glimpses are so heavily sought after by fans and critics alike.

While the console manufacturer has earned a reputation for providing family-friendly experiences, however, the company is still very much out for its own benefit – as all successful ones are. And as the now former Nintendo employee Chris Pranger found out the hard way, there are serious repercussions for going against the company's wishes and conducting unofficial and unsupervised interviews.

Pranger participated in an interview with the Part-Time Gamers podcast, with the episode he participated in launching on August 3, 2015. As the localization editor for Nintendo's secretive Treehouse, Pranger talked about the stresses that originate from fans that don't understand why the Big N refuses to port some titles to North America. Evidently, this didn't sit well with the Japanese gaming giant, as they parted ways with him earlier this week after quotes from his interview began popping up on various news sites.

The former employee took to Facebook to confirm his departure from the company earlier today, in a heartbreaking open letter that expressed his sincere regret over the situation.

“Hello friends and family. As many of you have probably seen, I am no longer at Nintendo. I was terminated this week due to a podcast appearance I made last Monday. It was a stupid judgment call on my part and ultimately it cost me far more than I could have imagined."

"I spent the last week in a miserable place once the podcast began getting coverage. I was instantly scared when a coworker poked me and said, ‘Hey, you’re on GoNintendo.’ Suddenly article after article began appearing in game sites of all languages. Comments sections painted me as an idiot and the like. My Twitter started giving me hourly reminders from people meaning well and otherwise. It seemed unthinkable that I’d be let go for a single moment of poor judgment and my own misunderstandings, but here we are.”

“I look around my house and see images of my son and feel such intense shame and crippling sadness. I know that if I can’t find a job at least as good as this one, I won’t be able to provide for my family. I’ve lost them their health coverage and their security. I also know that I’ve probably lost a good deal of my friends, just because I know how hard it can be to stay in touch with someone when the convenience of proximity is lost. I’m so sorry to everyone. I’ve failed you. You believed in me and supported me and trusted me and I’ve failed you. I’ve failed me.”

It's certainly an unfortunate turn of events for the ex-employee, and that closing paragraph is sure to generate some genuine sorrow from readers. Still, Nintendo needs to look out for its best interests and this sets an example for current staffers that unsupervised and unauthorized interviews cannot happen and will not be tolerated under any circumstance.

Regardless, everyone slips up from time to time, and we here at Game Rant wish Chris Pranger the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Do you think the punishment fit the crime this time around or was Nintendo too harsh? Get at us in the comments.

Source: Chris Pranger (via Kotaku)