Quote Originally Posted by Shuuli View Post
I worked for many corporations before and need to be in close relationships with mangement because I did ERM. At most corporations it is mandatory to have a "dedicated spokes person" who is chosen to speak for and on behalf of the company. There is a literal agreement that these people must sign that they will approach public audiences in a way that will not tarnish or diminish the reputation and thereof the sales possibilities in any manner. Now, because of his position Yoshi P might have something different to this, but to say that customers cannot influence how a grown up adult (that represents a corporation) is just wrong. IF you work at a bank and you are a manager and you see that one of your colleague approaches customers in a way that will send mixed feelings, you can literally fire them based on that. I worked for a bank as well and this was very common. If you cannot "speak well" -so to speak, - in stressful situation, then you are going to lose customers, therefore profit.

PR is very important for companies and reputation is one of the main risks many companies focus on. Especially in today's world where there is an instant flow of information and bad news usually make bigger headlines than good news.
The live letter itself is very much an informal event. It always has been. I'm sure they're very serious and all business the rest of the time. The LL is a time to relax and loosen up. Yoshida-san is a fellow player talking to other players about what's coming up next. A little joke here and there doesn't seem out of bounds, considering the comments that likely show up in that ongoing flood.

They don't have to do all this. They could just have a letter and a slideshow and a very inhuman feel to the whole thing. Is that what you'd like to see? Maybe he should stop chatting with content makers when an expansion is coming up. I imagine the commentary on the forums would be even worse.