Twitter user Calvin Wong has slammed EA Sports after he received threats and racist remarks as a result of him being included in FIFA 17’s Journey Mode.
FIFA 17’s Journey Mode is a new addition to the FIFA franchise and has been warmly welcomed by FIFA fans. The new mode takes players on a ‘journey’ by playing out the storyline of fictional Alex Hunter as he rises from a local footballing amateur to a signed professional.
In the ‘journey’ a social media section is emulated, reflecting on your performance after each game. This social media section features Twitter handles, which were presumably as fictional as Hunter himself.
However, one Twitter user noticed his username appearing on the emulated feed and was not happy.
Calvin Wong, a director at Cartoon Network tweeted a screenshot of the game and sent it to EA Sports directly with the caption, “Hey assholes, please don’t use real twitter accounts in your dumb game, k thx”
.@EASPORTSFIFA Hey assholes, please don’t use real twitter accounts in your dumb game, k thx pic.twitter.com/p5MRMcStU2
— Calvin Wong (@calwong) October 1, 2016
After receiving no response from the gaming developers, he tweeted the company five more times.
.@EASPORTSFIFA @EA you guys still have not explained to me why my ACTUAL TWITTER ID @calwong is in FIFA 17. Please take it out! pic.twitter.com/tBTAVUeaKa
— Calvin Wong (@calwong) October 1, 2016
.@EASPORTSFIFA do the right thing. admit that you did wrong. You were lazy. You exposed me to threats and racism in my life.
— Calvin Wong (@calwong) October 7, 2016
.@EASPORTSFIFA it really serves NO purpose to use real twitter ids in your game social media feed. It should’ve been resolved quickly.
— Calvin Wong (@calwong) October 7, 2016
.@EASPORTSFIFA this has never been about identity theft, it’s been about responsibility. What you did was irresponsible and easily avoided.
— Calvin Wong (@calwong) October 7, 2016
.@EASPORTSFIFA * knock knock * are you guys human in there?
— Calvin Wong (@calwong) October 7, 2016
Eventually, Wong received a response from EA Sports but was not entirely satisfied, suggesting to the company that they donate $1000 to Advancing Justice LA (AAAJ).
.@EASPORTSFIFA to be clear, thanks for taking my name out in a future patch. but I want you to call off your dogs. say something publicly.
— Calvin Wong (@calwong) October 7, 2016
.@EASPORTSFIFA I think you should donate $1000 to the @AAAJ_LA for every racist tweet I received due to your negligence.
— Calvin Wong (@calwong) October 7, 2016
