opinion blizzard boycott

[dizmo]

8 hours ago, lewdicrous said:

Here's the thing, the most avid Blizzard fans will eventually go back to playing their games.

I've been reading what some people have been saying about this whole thing, and a number of people already went back to playing games like WoW, at least that's the few that I saw/read.

As long as Activision owns them, I don't think they'll be affected all that much, if at all.

 

The only way I see them getting negatively affected is if they get hit with a class action lawsuit or if it impacts Activision, the papa company.

Yeah. I haven't stopped playing Hearthstone.

Haha, there's no grounds for a class action lawsuit.

[Blademaster91]

9 hours ago, SaviorSix said:

This isn't going to affect Blizzard. Like I've said many times, it doesn't matter what a company does, juch which company does it. Blizzard introduced an auction house and made Diablo 3 always online. People "Boycott" it, but it was still one of their most popular selling titles. When EA introduced a store in Battlefront 2, they were crucified. Same thing with Simcity and always online. Although they've apologize, they've shown their true colors and I can't trust them anymore. It was such a knee-jerk reaction, it's clear whose boots they're licking.

Yeah, unfortunately people are going to forget about "boycotting" and go back to playing Blizzard titles, only the people that are having their accounts removed and stop buying their games are the only ones really avoiding supporting the company. Then again a few people avoiding their titles is nothing with how much these AAA game companies make. I agree with you though, sure they apologized but that's just backpedaling, and the people still playing their games seem to be loudest in defending Blizzard. I've considered getting into Overwatch or try COD MW but nope I can't trust them anymore either.

[SolarNova]

One has to wonder if the irony of a Company built around capitalism bending the knee to a communist government in order to continue to make capitalist gains, is lost on Blizzard leadership or not

 

What ever the case Blizzard ..or rather ActiBlizz, isnt the old Blizzard that was once great, same/similar name but different company as far as im concerned. So its just entertaining to watch them self destruct. I do feel sort of bad for the lower level employees though as they dont get a say on how things are run and their jobs are on the line if the company goes under.

[Tristerin]

I just got into WoW (Classic got me to try it, got into the 30s on a few toons so playing BFA now) and heard about this.  Its a Corporation, not a Political Party.  Its interests are NOT the people (Consumer or Otherwise) their interest is meeting their investors requirements for quarterly profits - or they will "find themselves on a chopping block" as well.  

 

You should only expect small companies, or companies backed by a vocal majority shareholder (example, Tesla) to ever step outside the realm of "actually" caring about anything unless it makes their profits grow.  

 

[tsmspace]

11 hours ago, Bramimond said:

Both true, but it won't stop me from being principled about my Nintendo boycott I started some 20 years ago.

you know, nintendo is a much more logical boycott. They are a key player in promoting certain aspects of copyright culture that are immoral. They would be the only company allowed to make video games of any kind if they could. For them, it's not about the reality of the spread of ideas, it's about taking advantage of loopholes in the laws designed to make it possible for the costly development of products. Sure, nintendo is a diverse culture, and they have some good contributions to game development (it was because of the multiwii project that drones got popular when they did,, although the wii died and everyone continues to use a joystick controller which ninento DIDN'T want), (Just like VR controllers you wave around are doomed to failure in the long run, and people will once again switch to normal game controllers, albiet with a few more joysticks and buttons),,

 

on the whole a nintendo boycott makes more sense..... EVERYONE wants to keep politics from disrupting their events, but not everyone wants to make a living using corruption. 

[SenKa]

13 hours ago, minibois said:

\Kind of a shame for your argument though that ActiBlizz just activated the UNO reverse card and gave the player his earned money, reinstated him into the competitive play.. etc.

Nope. He got his money back and will be reinstated in 6 months rather than 12.

 

Opinion/My answer to the OP:

 

I used to be a semi-pro in OW, D.Va main since day 1 and regularly hovered in masters and kissed GM a few times, played on a local league. Put the game down when Brig and Doom launched because good lord did they tilt me, and still do even though theyre quite shite. Was just getting back in to the swing of things with Baptiste and Genji (had always played Genji but never bothered with being a DPS in my league, we had better players for it.), heard the news, and have not launched the game since.

 

I don't care how much Activision-Blizzard backpedals, the fact that they ever thought that silencing the voice of one of their players was a remotely good idea is enough to show me that they aren't worth my time. Does it matter to them in the grand scheme of things? No. I never bought loot boxes and gave them no money directly, didn't even buy the game though them. Do I feel a little better about myself knowing im not supporting their actions? Yeah.

 

As to the actual topic of the HK riots, I have 0 reason to care either way as I know nobody in HK nor have I ever dealt with a person from HK in my life knowingly. All I will say on the matter is that I would hope that the citizens of HK know what is best for them and will act accordingly.

 

Also, I'll say it because I know as soon as a mod checks this thread they will.:

 

Keep it civil guys, political discussion is allowed to the point at which it stops being a discussion and becomes an argument.

[Anomnomnomaly]

A lot of people are calling this a bunch of hot air, and that people are directing their anger/annoyance at the wrong company.

 

I say... so what.

 

If some thing happens that makes people sit up and pay attention to world events, that's a good thing. Boycotting a company who openly supports this kind of censorship and cow tows to China regardless of if there was any influence applied to them... Is bad for the company, bad for publicity and pisses people off.

 

If people see it and think.. hey that's wrong... what can I do to make my anger known... It may be something small, it may be insignificant in the long run to that company... But it's something and that person is highly likely to share that with others, raising awareness of the issue among others... and that's a good thing.

It's all about feeling like you are doing some thing when perhaps you feel helpless... When my brother was in hospital after brain surgery for a tumour... we all felt utterly helpless.

So I shaved my head to match his... he wasn't able to speak but when I walked into his hospital room... he pointed and laughed at it... and that made me feel good.... Like I'd been able to do something other than feel completely helpless.

[tsmspace]

2 hours ago, SenKa said:

As to the actual topic of the HK riots, I have 0 reason to care either way as I know nobody in HK nor have I ever dealt with a person from HK in my life knowingly. All I will say on the matter is that I would hope that the citizens of HK know what is best for them and will act accordingly.

The HK riots DO matter, though,, because of the prices of goods and such. Honk Kong doesn't pay the same taxes to China that other export cities do, and also Hong Kong is a way for there to be "people like westerners" in mainland China. They are a buffer zone between the extreme cultural differences, so that when people meet to work together, it's easier for them to understand each-other,,, again resulting in lower prices for products. You might go on through life without realizing you could have had more money, and the more money for that one political situation might not be significant enough to have a fit about,,, but that's again not how things work. Hong Kong is just one place out of many that adds up to a lot of difference when combined, and when one group moves it causes the rest to move as well,,, so it will matter with exporters from China. If Hong Kong switches over to just being another Chinese city, that will cause sweeping changes across all related markets. Bodies will hit the floor over lithium prices if they change too dramatically, just like they will over oil prices. (special note: bodies are hitting the floor over oil prices as we speak, Syria, Iran, Turkey, Isis news and Trump news all have to do with prices for trade, and China is A BIG COUNTRY). 

 

Anyway, it's interesting that we can feel so separated from news in China, but the same feelings CAN be associated with news from the middle east. (who cares, we aren't going to change anything and McDonalds is still working.  )  speaking of McDonalds, if you go protesting politics in McDonalds, don't be surprised when they ask you to leave, and if you don't, don't be surprised if you find you get banned from McDonalds, or even are assigned a restraining order. 

 

If Hong Kong does lose it's "independence" from China, then celebrate your computer, because the next one is going to be more expensive....

[tsmspace]

2 hours ago, SenKa said:

Nope. He got his money back and will be reinstated in 6 months rather than 12.

right, so the protests worked exactly. Blizzard put too much of a punishment when a simple statement of "please do not promote politics" would have been appropriate, and after they felt the pressure of their overreaction they met somewhere in the middle. Lots of sports organizations fine or otherwise ban or punish their players for things they do that are not illegal, like promote party culture, or make political statements,, it's appropriate, but it's probably a mistake to be brutal with enforcement, because small statements are actually not very impactful. If the player had ACTUALLy sparked a riot, then a more severe punishment would have been appropriate. 

The problem with Hong Kong is, activists ARE SPARKING riots. They're humble and sedate, but any amount of traffic jam is very costly to the economy, and people are skipping work and school, which is going to cost later on. In such a huge city as Hong Kong, the mob would be so large that in order to clear it, a lot of force would need to be used. That's why it's such a problem. Even if the protestors are peaceful,,, if it's time to make them move, you will still need to drive tanks into the crowd to produce enough of a shock to cause them to leave. It's like spilling a cup of water vs. spilling an oil tanker. sure, the oil tanker barely spilled, but it was so much oil that it's still a disaster. That's one reason why china is so strict. Here, we get 1000 people in the streets and we think it's crazy, but there's plenty of ways to drive around, and honestly that's not many people. In Hong Kong, 1000 people isn't noticable, and when there ARE enough people to be noticed, they are occupying a road that gets normally much more traffic than most of ours. Protests in Hong Kong REALLY DO result in people losing their jobs across china,,,, which means that girls have abortions, youth don't care enough for grandparents, and people actually die when they wouldn't have. 

 

when a country is a big as china, a little problem is still fatal to a number of people. That's one of the major strengths of The U.S. , we don't have so many fragile people who are in so delicate a balance. If our country shakes, yes people lose their jobs, women get abortions, and grandparents don't get their healthcare, but the losses will be smaller. We have more space per person, therefore more resources, and therefore more backup plan. A lot more people in China will just be out of luck when something happens. It's a product of such population. 

[TrainFan475]

I've never even heard of Blizzard until now.

[Nena Trinity]

He was encouraging violence, telling people to do a revolution is as bad as telling people to kill cops! Its illegal in the USA and any democratic country... If this is OK then people should be allowed to say kill all cops or take down the US govt, both of which will get you tear gassed and/or shot in the USA! Remember Baltimore people? REMEMBER?!! If anything he is a terrorist sympathizer and got off easy... V-V

[Gegger]

i wouldn't bother with a boycott, though i do think that what blizzard did was wrong (even though they kinda reversed it), even though blitz probably shouldn't have said so in a game interview. i think that simply telling blitz that "blah blah blah don't talk about politics" would be enough. i've never played any blizzard games, though i've made some art for it. i will play their games in the future, but if they do more stuff like this, i would consider not playing, not that it matters to them.

[RoseLuck462]

Blizzard could have easily just made a statement saying that they endorse whatever the players have said.

 

But no, they had make known which side they were on.

[LogicalDrm]

22 hours ago, SenKa said:

Also, I'll say it because I know as soon as a mod checks this thread they will.:

 

Keep it civil guys, political discussion is allowed to the point at which it stops being a discussion and becomes an argument.

 

I guess you and pretty much all others didn't see my post earlier:

 

That said, this thread is now closed. Getting away from core of the discussion which was boygotts etc.