Yeah, there's no accountability if the penishead isn't held accountable for anything. "Ooo, hol' up a minute. What's that shiny new game over there? ...don't mind the glazed over look in my eyes. I'm just one of the brainless masses that companies like Blizzard consider their customers to be." ☺☺☺☺☺ ...😐😐😐😐😐 ...😶😶😶😶😶
@@omarreyes7626 Yeah, they could've just banned him for 2 weeks. That way they still could've saved face by still saying they banned someone, and with the added bonus that 2 weeks won't have a detrimental effect on someone, or their career, in the way that half a year could. But this just proves what an asshole that long-haired jerkyboy is.
@@danieljohn9257 It was originally for an entire year. Then massive outcry got it to 6 months... That really shows how little of a damn Blizzard cares about their customers.
My favorite part was how he said, "our actions will speak louder than words." And then proceeded to take no action whatsoever. Yep, that speaks it pretty loud and clear alright.
They paid him, they reduced the sentencing for both him and the announcers. They elaborated that the hk tweet was not sent by them, it was done by their hk partner and they didnt consult them about it in any shape or form. They elaborated that the announcers got the sentence because they were aware beforehand of what the kid was trying to do. But hey: Just like your average soc.jus.warrior, dont let facts cloud your emotional outrage. Throw the brain away and go full emotional like any random animal does before getting shot due to rabies.
Blizzard: " We are sorry for the thing we did" People: " Are you going to fix the thing you did?" Blizzard: "No we are going to do nothing about what we did, we're just sorry for getting caught doing the thing" People: "You do know that doesn't address the problem we had with you doing the thing in the first place?" Blizzard: "Yes it does! Now shut up and buy our crap! See we are making a new one of those things you like" Look at the shiny! Shiny!"
Its like a company thinks it can jingle keys in front of us to distract from the pain of them stealing our kidneys. Jokes on them, EA stole them yesterday
The big thing is that Overwatch 2 isn't for a few years apparently and Diablo 4 "isn't even Blizzard soon". So the things they announced aren't even something ready anytime soon and they're just rushing out the announcement.
Yeah, he fought Activion to make it an expansion and lost. He even when on record to the press that the suspension of Blitzchung should have never been suspended and have his prize money revoked at anytime.
@@chuito0008 Legally, they couldn't revoke the prize money because the dude won the competition cleanly. It doesn't matter what their terms of service may or may not say. Components of contracts that violate the law are void.
Yeah well they want legal justification for escaping the whole "false advertising" of saying they'd never charge for additional content for Overwatch. Lootboxes, skins, cosmetics are not content.
Blizzard president during their "apology" said: "We will do better going forward, but our actions are going to matter more than any of these words." No action has been taken since. Players and casters are still banned.
But they did do something. They reduced his ban time and gave him back his prize money. It's stupid that he's still banned and that he got banned in the first place, but the fact is they did take action after the backlash.
@@Kornn66 I remmeber vividly that TB quit Cataclysm after Blizz caved in to idiots who said Cataclysm was too hard, and they nerfed literaly anything back down to Wrath of the Lich King levels of babysitting. To be fair, I don't blame him. Cataclysm was set to returning to challenging content and then 'Wrathbabies' started whining that it was TOO HARD, when it really wasn't.
Right? Im amazed at how much people are willing to forget what happened because they announced two games that will just have "cosmetic microtransactions". Bliztard fucktvision needs to disappear. At least konami said they only want to focus on pachinko machines
It's basic child discipline 101. I don't want them to say sorry because they've been told to say it, I want them to say exactly what it is they're sorry for
@@mofinebovine1597 Indeed. However, that is not an excuse. They issued this BS non-apology and then rolled out the popular announcements and are assuming they can just shake it off. Theyre endorsing and making money from a nation that does not observe basic human rights and they wont own up to it.
The "we accept accountability" thing almost tricked me into thinking an actual apology was coming when i watched it live, but then i kept waiting and waiting and there was nothing said about any steps towards accountability at all by the end.
"we will say as many words as necessary to make you think we give a shit until you all forget about whatever it is we are supposedly giving a shit about today. Oh actually *do* something? Lmao go buy a phone so you can play that micro-transaction store front pretending to be diablo" -Blizzard's template for their deepest and most Heartfelt Apology ™
No one talks about this but magic the gathering (hearthstone only real competitor) has for years allowed a Hong Kong competitive player to protest China and most recently say exactly what blitzchung said on live stage with no repercussions. And LoOk At AlL ThE aNaRcHy! Every tournament is filled with hate speech and dis... Wait, there isn't any and if there's any it's handled by case by case basis with clearly defined rules and a separate clearly defined rules for the casters that they agree with before hand. Blizzard is coward and a piece of shit.
Septimus ii tolarian community college is a solid community touchstone, wedge at the mana source is solid, and if you want more British spice, pleasantKenobi is for you
@@Septimus_ii The Tolarian Community College is a great around MTG content creator. For commander (the most popular format): Command zone, jumbo Commander, and commander quarters are great resources. For competitive side I just watch the twitch live streams, thou I believe they upload them to RUclips on the magic the gathering channel
In all honesty, there's no "Blizzard" anymore; what we're seeing a skinsuit made of ol' Blizz's corpse worn by Activision, like the cockroach alien in MiB wore the skin of Farmer Edgar.
You knew it was blizzard's idea to include auction house that use REAL MONEY in Diablo III, right??? And that same company was the one responsible for always online system in StarCraft 2, even for Single player campaign???
People are free to express themselves on their OWN time. Not on someone else's time. Especially when you sign a contract specifically stating you will not engage in such behavior while representing said company.
@@alexubel Yes. Blizzard is very committed to everyone having no right to express themselves on Blizzard's time. Which is why none of my time or money will be spent on their products.
@@alexubel thats not how it is mate, claiming its that simple is disingenuous. I mean, jim's already been over this, but the 'clause' in the contract you're referring to is a vague blanket catchall that can be applied to literally anything blizzard wants it to. according to the contract, interpreted as you would have us do, ppl under that contract are not allowed to speak. At all. And that, sir, is not actually a legally binding contract, because it contravenes the law, and thus it is null and void.
alexubel that’s not going to cut it, especially when Democracy and human rights is an issue. Go back to your corporate masters and shove that up their assess. Also btw, tell the 1% billionaire shareholders to pay their fair share of taxes. FREE HONG KONG!
Its depressing when the "we're sorry" meme from South Park accurately depicts how people react whenever someone "apologises." The idiocy goes futher when you realize 99% of the people who attended will get more pissed off when blizzard nurfs their main in overwatch than over a legitimate freedom of speech issue....
Idk what planet YOU are living on, but how good a cluster of pixels on a screen can shoot another monkey pixel cluster is an IMPORTANT human rights issue!!
Jim you said "Now it's *fashionable* to criticize loot boxes." - well lemme tell you something buddy. You're the one that MADE it fashionable. I think that's a reason to be happy.
Seriously. He kept at it, despite growing opposition to the sentiment... until it just got too bad, and suddenly his was universally the most reasonable voice on the matter. Thank God for Jim.
When heard the audience applaud and actually cheer his “apology” I actually got a little physically sick. I’m done with blizzard. Brakk is a colossal jag off.
@@Ulubaiif you listen carefully each time the audience begins to applaud it was started by the same few whistles/voices and someone yelling 'We love you Jay'.
@@christiandauz3742 dude no! Just don't buy their products. Employees are not responsible for decisions from the top and even if they were that shit is not cool. Fucks sake.
"we cant put the toothpaste back in the tube" said a man, actively still squeezing out toothpaste, with plenty still inside. who could stop at any time
The people at Giant Bomb pointed this out but their "apology" makes even less sense because they said they want to focus on the content of the games and not making statements, and yet he's literally wearing an LGBT Blizzard patch on his shirt while saying this! I also wanna be completely clear, I'm LGBT and people supporting us is fantastic. It's more about the hypocrisy of them saying "we don't want people making statements" while they do things clearly making a statement. Overwatch has a few LGBT characters in it and they made a big deal out of it. Those are big political statements too! The truth is they don't want people making statements about China because they make bank off of it.
Statements sells. Statements that sells are not statements, it's just another commodity to sell. Statements that don't sell are offensive. Welcome to capitalism.
Plinko Penguin They want to make safe political statements for themselves. Being pro LGBT is accepted and applauded because society has changed and I doubt china cares if they say pro LGBT things. Condemning china for the Hong Kong situation would affect their bank accounts like you said. Pathetic really.
That's the MO of corporations. They like to make statements when it's politically convenient and won't hurt their revenue but they don't want statements that affect their bottom line and Hong Kong's ongoing struggle is clearly one of those no-nos which make Blizzard's motto "Every voice matters" ring hollow.
@@Webshooters1 Ultra Instinct Goku Black 'Won't hurt their revenue' is understating the benefits they get from espousing progressivism. They politically and financially benefit from it. If it didn't garner any of the two, no public corporation would make even a statement beyond one that is widely accepted.
The free Hong Kong protest is about a Hong Kong citizen being accused of murder in Taiwan, Hong Kong government wants to extradite the accused to Taiwan to go on trial, the Hong Kong citizens instead want the accused to walk free. Go look up the vid that Asian Boss did last month interviewing the protesters.
All of this news makes me feel like an old man. Remember the good old days? You know, when games were made to be played for fun; not to squeeze as much money out of the audience as possible, then keep squeezing? Remember how game studios made more than enough money, with that old system? Thanks for doing what you do!
Those times never existed dude. Companies wanted to make money back then as much as they want now. If you really like to play games by studios making them "for the cause", check the indie scene.
To be fair there was kind of a golden era before now, but before home consoles, they had arcades. Those were specifically designed, often using psychological manipulation, to get players to pump just as many quarters into them as they could get their grubby hands on. People seem to have fond memories, and I guess it was a social thing too, you had to leave the house to do it, your friends would be there, but the predatory nature and even the methods employed weren't much different from what they're doing today. That being said, I think most people would maybe spend a couple dollars, if that. Some would dump seemingly endless amounts of money in. But you'd have had to been one dedicated motherfucker to drop over $2,000 worth of quarters into an arcade machine in even a month's time. That's one major difference between now and then. The 'whales' are fatter, and easier to bait. Really, the modern game industry hasn't innovated some new way to bleed people dry, it's just that the technology and infrastructure has finally reached the point that it's once again possible to milk every penny out of their victims. Some of the publishers doing it now were around back then, so this isn't really a new business model for them.
@@nonusbusinissus5632 First, unban the Hong Konger player and those college boys. Second, update a policy that players wouldn't be banned for supporting human rights. How is that so hard?
@@davenirline How is that hard? You are asking for them to make their events about your political opinion about any type of soc.jus.warrior topic you come up with. Remind me: What on earth makes you think you are entitled to use such a company, such events to push your own beliefs and messages? Sorry but how about no? How about having a heartstone tournmanet about heartstone and not encouraging uprisings and political messages? And all of this is BEFORE the consideration that they are a global entity so what anyone considers "human rights" is literally all over the place.
Aww BatsyGames’ favorite authoritarian regime is getting badmouthed. Anyhow, thanks for commenting, engaging and disliking - ensuring that the video is presented to even more authoritarian piglets, for their hatewatching pleasure
When even Randy Marsh, the guy who brutally killed Whinnie the Pooh for the Chinese government decides to stop doing business with China and you're pulling this BS, you _know_ you're screwing up.
@@namelessnpc6689 I don't, it's just the number that I see getting tossed around the most. We'll have to wait and see though as Blizzard does seem to pushing it as a new game.
@@namelessnpc6689 Then you can probably ignore the $40 price and bump everything up a tier as you include a $100+ price point. And change the bonuses to be relevant to Overwatch. (i.e. a number of loot boxes that include a bunch of shit no one wants or cares about)
J. Allen Brack: "We dont want people to use our platform for political statements that distract viewers from the games." Also J. Allen Brack: *wears a pride pin on stage during his "apology"* It's almost like political statements are okay if they are agreed upon and/or are profitable.
i'm part of the minority he's supposedly supporting by wearing that and it still pisses me off. between this and the "defend the pride of china" comment, and the american students having to ban themselves because blizzard didn't, i just have no trust for them. the scummy corporate side was always there, but they've been totally devoured by it.
Julián Alderete It’s not political but many many people and corporations and governments think it’s political. So Brack is showing he’s capable of deciding what is and isn’t political but he’s insisting that one type of human rights isn’t political but another type is.
Considering it took years of congressional progress and work to make gay marriage legal in the USA and the LGBT still have organized movements, yeah its political as it's related to governance, human rights, etc. Whether you agree with it or not, supporting LGBT pride is a political statement just like not supporting them is.
With sufficiently low IQ, everything can be a source of joy and happiness. Even smearing your feces all over the walls, or banging stones together. Not sure whether or not your should aim for that, but hey: At least you are happy.
My favorite moment of Blizzcon was during the Diablo IV announcement when the camera panned the audience and stayed on a woman with a shirt that said "Fire Bobby Kotick" for a good 5-10 seconds.
"J.Allen Brack and His Hair" I like to imagine that he has to share his job title with his hair, as well as salary split with it, so there could be a very real moment where he leaves Blizzard, but His Hair is required to stay to ensure the smooth transition of power to the new Corporate weasel.
If your apoloy does not include the following then its not an apology: 1: Admission of what you did. 2: Why it was wrong 3: How you intend to make up for it and make sure it doesnt happen again
How to make up for what? Not allowing random idiots to hijack streams for their own political and ideological messages? How about you * off J D and take your entitlement with you?
@@nonusbusinissus5632 i see you're one of those "just stick 2 video games" simpletons. you didn't actually watch the video, did you? if you do not speak up when somebody is bullied, you're not being neutral, you're taking the side of the bully! it's really not that complicated. anyway, let me leave you with a quote not said by thomas jefferson "All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent".
@@JD-hp8rz Have an upvote from me too on your admissions of running on the intellectual level of 9gag. Not sure why i needed to know that little zoomer has only 20 IQ points, but whatever floats your boat kid.
"I take full accountability" No one who ever says this really states how they're actually accepting the accountability, or what they're going to do to right the wrong, do they? It might be one of the most empty phrases in the english language.
@@KelZaan Iwata willingly took pay cuts when the Wii U underperformed, I'd say that was him putting his money where his mouth was. Also using his last years setting up for the Switch. I'd say he took accountability in the end
CONSUMPTION BASED PETRO DOLLAR MUST CONTINUE ITS GROWTH RAWR MEEP MEEP BOOP BOOP NPC CORPORATE DRONE MODE ENGAGED. Seriously consumerism is going to fucking destroy us all.
@@jtbrown51 The quest for infinite growth while trying to reduce the resources invested into it in an attempt to cut costs really doesn't help an economy out anyway, right
There used to be a joke that Strippers dress like schoolgirls and schoolgirls dress like strippers. Well now it's Jesters are political commentators and political commentators are Jesters. Nice video Jim
Nathan-DTS Is that how Dave Chappell is both beloved and reviled at the same time? There are plenty of hack comedians simply using their politics as a shield to avoid criticism of their lackluster material. Maybe we just need more gaming comedians since more people listen to comedy shows for their news than news channels.
To me the "apology" was lacking for different reasons. I don't care if he didn't explicitly said what he was sorry about, what I care about is the non proactive nature of it. Don't tell me you screwed up, I already know that; tell me what are you doing to fix it! Talk about policy changes and shit that actually matters.
Psssst, companies don't care about anything except making money. They wouldn't raise a finger to keep your grandma from dying if it net cost them less than a penny. Of course they don't inherently care about being logical, principled or moral.
@@ReddoFreddo pssst...it takes money to run a company and yes, i know it also takes people too. and customers. but whenever i see someone say "all they care about is money" i just think...uh yea...thats how the company runs, on money. no money=no company...AND, blizzard as a WHOLE, does care about more than money...its the higher ups, select managers and such that seem to not.
@@myrkrormr I mean, there's a reason Anti-Trust laws exist. Real shame that people seem to have been convinced that crimes against human decency are just things that happen in regular markets instead of specifically corporate welfare economies that people were stupid enough to vote for.
@@myrkrormr Some people seem to need reminding, even though it should be blindingly obvious. Every time I see praise for some corporation "supporting" some trending social movement or ideology its painfully obvious there still are naive people stupid enough to hand over cash to a company who's using an issue those people feel strongly about to extract money from them. I frequently disagree with those people on those social issues, but I that doesn't make me happy to see naviety getting exploited like that.
They may be doing what ubisoft did with Might and Magic and just release the mobile games in china and parts of asia. It's not like anyone wanted them in the US or europe anyway.
@@JimSterling They kinda did like, literally a few weeks ago, but the standards are so low at this point hardly anyone expected anything better of them
As a Hongkonger, thank you for your support Jim, couple of protestors just got shot by real rounds today by HK police. This is very serious issue in our city and we hope the world will know whatever that is happening to us right now, will eventually happen to anyone who supports CCP or kowtowing to RMB. You cannot get away from CCP once you earned their money, it comes with a price, and that price could be your freedom or even your lives.
Blizchung: I call for the liberation of my people Blizzard: HOW DARE YOU, YEAR BAN AND NO MONEY!!!!!!!!!!! Random other player: Makes homophobic comments Blizzard: Eh, slap him on the wrist and ban for a couple of weeks.
I'm surprised ex quality control isn't permanently banned at this point, his entire career is about being toxic. In fact he drives the entire community to be toxic, and pushes his opinion as law. Many people leave the game because of the behavior xQc encourages in the community.
I appreciate that you use the executives' names in these videos. Blizzard as a whole is not the problem. The developers at the ground level aren't the ones making these calls, it's the people like Jay Allen Brack and the other executives (I'm sure there are VP's of various functions there) that should be scorned. So thank you for calling out the actual responsible parties. :)
There's a side issue here about esports events being run by the companies that make the game, and not third parties. It's what allows trash like this to happen in the first place. The post-game interview is purely there to show people excited about the product, it has nothing to do with "free expression" Unless esports becomes less corporate it won't survive the few companies still pushing it.
Back to your forge! There's smithing to be done! Is there not an argument that eSports only exists because of internal pressure from the people playing it anyway? I don't think it will ever shrivel up and die now
His apology was a "fill in the blanks" one. They left it up to the viewer to answer what we felt he did wrong and then left it up to us to fill in what his "standards" are as well as what they plan on doing in the future to be better
I'm not excited for Diablo 4. I was there when Diablo 3 came out. I am excited to see how they screw it up this time, though. Auction hooooooouuuuuuse.
@@nonusbusinissus5632 how much time do you have to go around the comments fishing for fights about a subject you have no interest in? Is this a hobby of yours or do you have an especially boring day?
You know, when I first got into game design, my holy grail was to someday work at Blizzard. I own a half dozen of the art design books that came with everything from WoW, to StarCraft and Diablo. I had been watching the design quality they have always kept up, and all of the love that it's staff spoke of the company with. And now, I'm just not able to care any more. I wouldn't take the job even if they offered it, now. Overall, I can't be shocked by the way they've acted. I'm just tired and disappointed. I'm also not giving them my money anymore. I'm not even deleting my accounts. Let them figure out I left years down the line. At least most of Bethesda's issues seem to be from gross incompetence.
What the fuck do you expect them to do? Rescind everything? If they did that then they're essentially saying "our rules don't mean shit, you can say whatever you want and we won't lift a damn finger." Opening pandora's box in thar way is a bad thing.
@@AirahsELL Again as Jim said, what Blitz said was NOT hate speech. He wasn't enacting hatred towards any group of people except a human rights violating government.
@@TheMAM Except hate speech was never given as the reason for the ban in the first place (playhearthstone.com/en-us/blog/23179289). Like it or not, but what type of speech Blizzard allows on Blizzard run platforms is up to Blizzards discretion.
The government cracking down on protestors and denying people a voice is absolutely terrible, but getting shot by the police is one of the most American things you can do! That part is fine.
A student died recently... cops pour water over candles commemorating people hurt by the protests... 9gag.com/gag/a2R7b3D/hong-kong-cop-pours-water-to-put-out-candles-commemorating-student-who-just-passed-away-following-fall-near-police-operation This is what Blizzard defends but no Diablo 4 and fucking idiots cheer cause they got a new shiny thing. Pathetic.
All this to appease an authoritarian regime that's planning to enforce a gaming curfew anyways... Congratulations, Blizzard... YOU'VE PLAYED YOURSELVES
"I hope it's clear to everyone how committed we are to letting everyone express themselves" Then why, Brack, did Blizzard disable comments on the post first addressing the Blitz debacle?
Because they are THAT COMMITTED to letting people express themselves. The commitment is so great that it wraps around back to "not committed in the slightest." So damn committed.
His apology is the equivalent of getting caught by your dad stealing something off the shelf at a store and then telling him I'm sorry while you eat it and walk off.
I dunno why that would be such a problem. It's already off of the shelf and it's not as if you can put it back... just gonna have to eat it really, no other choice. /s
I'm currently studying to become a videogame artist, and while I was inspired to follow this path by the amazing work of other artists creating visuals for WoW, I would rather sift shit in a sewer for the rest of my days than even consider working with a gigantic mass of dung like Blizzard.
Flamia Minu Nah, don’t give up, man. I’m sure there are decent studios that are not scummy and greedy and in a need of good specialists. Naturally, they’re smaller and maybe don’t produce a AAA title every year, but make solid games nevertheless. Follow your desires, man, and listen to your inner self.
HK-WORD HARD G HK-WORD HARD G HK-WORD HARD G HW-WORD HA I'm sorry for getting caught in a heated esports moment just a moment ago, please accept my apology and don't forget to like comment and subscribe.
Admiral Ackbar fk Blitz Chung. That kid supported terrorists in Hong Kong who burn people alive and beat little girls with hammers. If someone supported ISIS on esports they’d be banned too! ruclips.net/video/pbKz6vcgkQs/видео.html ruclips.net/video/faO3o0T84Qs/видео.html ruclips.net/video/Wp0REdTGwWU/видео.html
@@skylinez4793 However bad the guy's background is (I haven't clicked your links to find out), it's completely irrelevant. Blizzard banned him for voicing support of a human rights protest.
This is why if esports are going to go forward there needs to be an actual governing body with proper rules and procedures. It's like if Nike and Addidas would run the World Cup just because they make football shirts and balls.
If you want to make a real apology, Blizzard, say “We’re sorry for banning Blitzchung for supporting Hong Kong. We will make sure our customers are entitled to free speech even if that means losing customers in another region due to political differences.”
The sad thing is that you will never hear a corporation say this. They are fucking cowards and only stand up for profit and gambling... nothing so noble as free speech or rights or anything like that.
A privately held company might do this. One with shareholders never will. If it doesn't bring in profit to make the shareholders happy, they don't care.
For the record: THEY DID NOT ACT TOO QUICKLY. They took 3 days to apply the ban. Thats alot of hours in wich some people said words to other people. Meaning in these 3 days, alot of shit could (and probably have) had happened behind the courtains. Don't let them get away with their stupid "We acted too quickly" excuse. It's bullshit. Utter bullshit.
What made me angriest about that "apology" is he had the nerve to wear an LGBT pin visibly while doing so. Yeah, talking purple poetry about expressing yourself freely while removing the gay from Overwatch in China. Yep that's some commitment to expressing yourself right there
not to mention the inherent hypocrisy of making a political statement at a blizzard games event while banning a player for a political statement at a blizzard games event.
@@Hellothere-lk7xi it feels kind of gross accusing someone of pandering for brownie points. And I don't know Blizzard's president, he could be LGBT far as I know. But even if he was, it's still in incredibly bad taste all the same
@@zombieplasticclock i'm pretty sure he is pandering for brownie points. i'm LGBT myself, and you get a keen sense for these sorts of things. a little badge says nothing, and it risks nothing. i'm sick of being a social bargaining chip.
The point of the "apology" was to have zero content in it but sell it with an appearance of emotionalism. It is hollow and nebulous by design precisely for lack of commitment and accountability, even while he mentions "accountability". "So a thing happened and it's sad and yeah *pouts* oh look a new shiny game so let's think about that instead!"
"hey, we're a game company, look at the games we do, because we don't want to be involved in politics. Which is why we had that rule to begin with. Go figure."
@@FFKonoko Nah. More like: "Hey we're a game company. Look at the games we do, because we don't want to be involved in politics... except, when someone made a political statement, we didn't merely reprimand or stem it, but rather responded extremely aggressively that it made our response look *far* more political than the issue we were responding to in the first place, alarmingly resembling on brand with the CCP's sentiments towards criticism of their authoritarianism. This issue is greatly withstanding -- but let's pretend it isnt."
@@jaidev777 except you just lied. If they punished him more than the rules said, you'd have a point. Otherwise, no. They didn't respond extremely aggressively. Again, the exact punishment given to that competitor was down in writing before he acted. He did so, knowingly. If you mean their punishment for the two casters was aggressive? I don't think you did, but even then. Considering their actions of encouragement is what most forced their hand on this, since not divorcing themselves from that encouragement would be very strong endorsement? ...yeah, no, if you deliberately fuck something up for a boss this hard, getting fired with extreme prejudice is pretty much the expected norm. Welcome to America, where bosses can fire you for nothing so if you give them something don't even try to act surprised. It looks political, because they were forced to do something. But are you gonna tell me that not following their own rules wouldn't be very clearly political? Divorce yourself from the fact you agree with one side and want that side to be represented, and it's pretty obvious this was the neutral option. The same one that every other company is picking, except they're not getting their hand forced.
FFKonoko - Lied where? Was Blizzard's rules that if anyone made any political-toned comment at all, they will be swiftly banned, prize money immediately void, and casters who were merely present would be similarly banned, while Blizz would let a company make a political statement of their own that they will "defend the pride of China"? Interesting direction of bias there. And yet both Blizzard's games and their communities including on those very platforms - and indeed many others - have always been political and yet those have been fine, especially if they're empowering women, pro-LGBTQ, etc, in fact only more so as time has gone on. So what's with the double standard? Why haven't those been similarly banned for any of those advocacy tones in their positions on their platforms and games? And why not in the same brand of swift, scorched-earth punishment as what happened here when Blitzcheung, for spending what, all of 3 seconds?, saying Liberate Hong Kong (an arguably wide sentiment in the name of democratic values against grinding authoritarianism, again a widely accepted belief just as we have come to widely accept female empowerment, LGBTQ representation, black representation) -- where he would be immediately banned for a year, prize money gone, and what reeks most of CCP influence: those merely around him, those just present at the time, the casters who were just doing their jobs and clearly showed they wanted to have nothing at all to do with the political sentiment, were themselves banned. Now, do I personally support pro-HK sentiments? You damn well better believe it, as much as I support the rights of women, the LGBTQ and black communities, and many other groups for freedom of speech and wellbeing of all. Blitzcheung's message does me proud as hell. The problem is that if Blizzard, while saying they want no political commentary on their platforms, responded to Blitzcheung's comparably minor political comment, with a much more exacerbating political comment of their own when they so punished him *and* the casters who did not themselves express support for the political message -- while not leveling the similar kind of response to other political messages. It not only reeks of a strongly politically motivated move on their part, but a largely awful one at that, especially when it's no secret that one may find it extremely practical and profitable to support certain political messages to chase after even bigger revenue streams in a very certain foreign market than what they're already graced with.
Imagine having such little respect for your audience that you'd go on stage and lie right to them, knowing that you're actively undermining every word of your "apology" by having no intention of actually changing anything. Like, it's not like people can't figure out that Blitzchung was still suspended when he said this, right? Or do they think we're dumb enough that we can't find that kind of information somewhere?
They think we're obedient enough to ignore their actions because they dangled two shiny new games in front of us. And unfortunately most of us fell for it.
@Patrick - It's just pure, unadulterated, narcissistic hubris and arrogance. Screw Blizzard. They can go in the bin with Bethesda where they can keep each other company.
Maybe a little dramatic in the context of Blizzard controversy, but it's worth talking about Whether it's just video games or the wholesale pillaging of planet Earth, those in power bank on the odds of it all blowing over; they stake their _lives_ on everyone else being too poor, sad, individualized, and overwhelmed to join together and tear their bullshit down, and the sad fact is that the world is _designed_ to keep it that way They're actually fucking _terrified_ of real human beings, because flesh and blood people are the only things that make the world work, and that is worth keeping in mind no matter the context In conclusion, everyone please Google "general strike" and have a good day
I remember when I was younger and games were FAR less complicated. Now its a matter of wading through the shit that is the AAA gaming industry in the hopes of finding a somewhat enjoyable experience in that cesspool of greed.
Indie games man, they're the only bastion left for people looking for an honest to goodness gaming experience without any of the Triple A bullshit and politics. Don't get me wrong its still there, but if AAA games are 95% Bullshit and Politics and 5% game then indies are 95% Game and 5% Bullshit and Politics.
@@samtepal3892 Oh. I had no idea of this, thanks for bringing that to my attention. But, My comment was mostly about the lack of predatory business practices in Indies and how they're more game then monetization platform, where the core design isn't altered to make you spend more money on their in-game shop, or, in other words, how the majority of indies just want to be good games first and foremost.
This is why I’ve been playing nothing but my SNES Classic and Minecraft lately. I have zero hope and zero faith in the AAA industry. I’ll continue to support indie companies.
I think what's most ironic is that people would have never known or cared some random hearthstone player said this if it weren't for Blizzard bringing attention to it by suspending him.
Most people are stupid, or simply don't follow the industry enough to even know anything about the Hearthstone ban thing. They just see a new Diablo 4 and OW 2 trailer drop on RUclips and its "OMG GET ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN GUYS"
@Mr J As a user of WoWhead and MMOC since 2009, are you fucking high? Those are just stupid fucking idiots and even if they are (and a couple users shill hard), they usually get mocked and ignored by most everyone.
As a personal story. I was a Blizzard junkie for the longest time. Starcraft Broodwar and Tides of Darkness were my childhood. I loved Warcraft 3, played World of Warcraft considerably through its first three expansions, then came back again for Warlords of Dreanor and War for Azeroth. I played Diablo 2 with friends to death, and after the Auction House was taken away Diablo 3 I really enjoyed. Starcraft 2 I enjoyed immensely, watched Day 9's videos and pro league games. Overwatch I got into for a little while, but didn't get too big into it. What little I did play I enjoyed and didnt have much bad to say beyond the loot boxes. Hearthstone I really enjoyed, and seeing how fun the single player campaigns looked I really wanted to give it a go. I was such a huge fan I still have a figure of my Troll Hunter from Wrath of the Lich King next to my PC. I'm older now though, and none of their controversies hit me quite like the Blitzchung one. It's so nakedly obvious the greed and general slimieness I dont think I can spend money on Blizz anymore without feeling greasy. Like I'm contributing to suffering by paying a company bending the knee to China. So despite how good the new WoW expansion looks, I wont be going back. No more Starcraft despite the Zerg being one of my favorite things in the world. No Warcraft 3 reforged. I was and am, done. I was hoping after the controversy blew up a lot of others would wake up too. Especially with Blizzcons non apology. Then I saw Bellulars video the other day reporting that WoW has the biggest subscriber boom it's ever had. Cant help but feel sad and tired. Guess we never do learn do we?
I'm with you there. Most people around me don't understand why I won't play their games anymore. They think it's stupid, and maybe it is. But I just can't reconcile what they did these last few years anymore. Plenty of other games out there anyways!
Don't be that bothered about WoW's subs. For instance I've been playing classic for a couple of months (I'm still subbed atm but over the last 30 days I've played maybe 5 times) but never gave a cent to them. In fact, ever since they implemented the token system I've never paid a subscription fee (although I did pay for the expansions, regrettably). I can easily see many many others do the same, so while the subs count is going up, I expect only a fraction of that (how big I have no way of saying) to actually be profit. So yeah, it's bad, but there's a silver lining.
I wholly disagree with the idea that "games shouldn't be divisive" that's an attitude that's secretly saying "don't treat games like they're any kind of art form"
I agree with you about your art comment. Art (and games) should be provocative. But I think Brack meant that gaming should overcome boundaries such as countries, races, genders, ages, religions etc. In that context, I agree with Brack.
"I take full accountability"
"So, what actions or repercussions will you face?"
"None whatsoever"
Right, of course, move along then.
Yeah, there's no accountability if the penishead isn't held accountable for anything.
"Ooo, hol' up a minute. What's that shiny new game over there?
...don't mind the glazed over look in my eyes. I'm just one of the brainless masses that companies like Blizzard consider their customers to be."
☺☺☺☺☺
...😐😐😐😐😐
...😶😶😶😶😶
"will you at least lift the ban of the player?"
"nope"
@@omarreyes7626 Yeah, they could've just banned him for 2 weeks. That way they still could've saved face by still saying they banned someone, and with the added bonus that 2 weeks won't have a detrimental effect on someone, or their career, in the way that half a year could.
But this just proves what an asshole that long-haired jerkyboy is.
Justice at last!
@@danieljohn9257 It was originally for an entire year. Then massive outcry got it to 6 months... That really shows how little of a damn Blizzard cares about their customers.
My favorite part was how he said, "our actions will speak louder than words." And then proceeded to take no action whatsoever. Yep, that speaks it pretty loud and clear alright.
Meaningless words + no action. 200IQ play
Their action was to cover it up with hype, as sad as it is, yeah it work :/
What better way to keep hush hush about something than to do absolutely nothing about it?
My favorite part is where he says that Blizzard is a piece of shit. ;)
They paid him, they reduced the sentencing for both him and the announcers.
They elaborated that the hk tweet was not sent by them, it was done by their hk partner and they didnt consult them about it in any shape or form.
They elaborated that the announcers got the sentence because they were aware beforehand of what the kid was trying to do.
But hey: Just like your average soc.jus.warrior, dont let facts cloud your emotional outrage. Throw the brain away and go full emotional like any random animal does before getting shot due to rabies.
Blizzard: " We are sorry for the thing we did"
People: " Are you going to fix the thing you did?"
Blizzard: "No we are going to do nothing about what we did, we're just sorry for getting caught doing the thing"
People: "You do know that doesn't address the problem we had with you doing the thing in the first place?"
Blizzard: "Yes it does! Now shut up and buy our crap! See we are making a new one of those things you like" Look at the shiny! Shiny!"
People: "... Does it have Hot Coffee in it?"
Its like a company thinks it can jingle keys in front of us to distract from the pain of them stealing our kidneys. Jokes on them, EA stole them yesterday
Reminds me of Southpark: ruclips.net/video/15HTd4Um1m4/видео.html
@@Jorgon01 That's the phrase that describes industry.
The big thing is that Overwatch 2 isn't for a few years apparently and Diablo 4 "isn't even Blizzard soon". So the things they announced aren't even something ready anytime soon and they're just rushing out the announcement.
Overwatch 2 isn't even deserving of the 2. Jeff Kaplan himself said it's going to be the same client. It's an expansion ffs
Yeah, he fought Activion to make it an expansion and lost. He even when on record to the press that the suspension of Blitzchung should have never been suspended and have his prize money revoked at anytime.
@@chuito0008 Legally, they couldn't revoke the prize money because the dude won the competition cleanly. It doesn't matter what their terms of service may or may not say. Components of contracts that violate the law are void.
Just pretend the "2" doesn't exist. Just imagine it's an expansion called "Overwatch - Reunited"... or something and everything looks great to me.
coughcoughLeft4Dead2coughcough Was still a fantastic game and used same client as L4D1.
Yeah well they want legal justification for escaping the whole "false advertising" of saying they'd never charge for additional content for Overwatch. Lootboxes, skins, cosmetics are not content.
I'm disappointed that "A tough esports moment" didn't become a meme.
Give it time, it will eventually.
I’m gonna do what’s called a tough esports move
Meme culture is stupid, but at the same time, some of it is pretty funny.
I don't want to like this because it's at 69 likes, this is a tough esports moment
It didn't become a meme because you didn't pay for the lootbox designed to give you a sense of pride and acomplishment.
Blizzard president during their "apology" said: "We will do better going forward, but our actions are going to matter more than any of these words."
No action has been taken since. Players and casters are still banned.
Taking no action is still an action. And that's the action we should take notion on Blizzards behalf, that they do nothing.
FUG that, say the word and then PROVE the statement. Blizzard can fug off with their wishywashy attempt to avoid actually saying the damn words.
They want people to forget this, only forget and the worst part is that the people will forget for the time being lol
And that lack of action speaks just as much.
But they did do something. They reduced his ban time and gave him back his prize money. It's stupid that he's still banned and that he got banned in the first place, but the fact is they did take action after the backlash.
"I take full accountability"
-Man who has more money than everyone in this comment section combined and has taken no real hit to his finances
Fr
Ikr I'm like accountable to whom? China?
Why would he take a hit to his finances?
The Trusty Sidekick because their stocks got impacted through their bad practice.
@@rexremedy1733 Ok but when has that ever been a problem for the higher ups in a company? They'll just cut jobs to offset the loss.
I miss TotalBiscuit. He would have been just as up in arms about all of this.
@The Stalker im sure he would be happier laughing at blizzard with the rest of us than being dead.
God bless you. I'm picturing that video in my head and it's glorious.
"I will now talk about human rights for 57 minutes"
@The Stalker Well i think TB did give up on WoW after Catalysm failures. I dont know if he ever returned to WoW or any other Blizzard games.
@@shawndimery Seriously?
@@Kornn66 I remmeber vividly that TB quit Cataclysm after Blizz caved in to idiots who said Cataclysm was too hard, and they nerfed literaly anything back down to Wrath of the Lich King levels of babysitting. To be fair, I don't blame him. Cataclysm was set to returning to challenging content and then 'Wrathbabies' started whining that it was TOO HARD, when it really wasn't.
Blizzard: *punches a random dude on the street*
Dude: WTF MAN!?
Blizzard: I acted too fast and I didnt perform to my standard, and for that I'm sorry!
... before punching the random dude a second time. And a third.
@@AB-fh9zh Exactly. We have it on good authority, that Blizzard is still punching.
Also
Blizzard: I accept accountability
Dude: what are you gonna do to make up for it.
Blizzard: nothing :)
China after Tienanmen square be like "This was a tough esports moment"
"nothing ever happened, but if it did, it was tough"
@@bagrym And if it did happen, you deserved it. Ah the narcissist's prayer. Always applicable in gaming and politics
Irak..afghanistan, haiti, ecuador, chile, honduras, venezuela, el salvador, greece, libya...etc.... "This was a tough esports moment"
Taking syrian oil, sorry..."securing"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_involvement_in_regime_change
@@SethPlato01 You do know that literally anyone can put anything in Wikipedia? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Editing
SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT
I like how you tore his speech apart. Its so important we recognize when people use lots of words to say absolutely nothing.
Right? Im amazed at how much people are willing to forget what happened because they announced two games that will just have "cosmetic microtransactions". Bliztard fucktvision needs to disappear. At least konami said they only want to focus on pachinko machines
It's basic child discipline 101. I don't want them to say sorry because they've been told to say it, I want them to say exactly what it is they're sorry for
@@needude7218 You are absolutely right. This is a child reluctantly saying sorry because they have to. Not because they actually are sorry.
every statement made by a corporation or politician, ever, is just empty words that say nothing. I thought we were all just used to that by now.
@@mofinebovine1597 Indeed. However, that is not an excuse. They issued this BS non-apology and then rolled out the popular announcements and are assuming they can just shake it off. Theyre endorsing and making money from a nation that does not observe basic human rights and they wont own up to it.
The "we accept accountability" thing almost tricked me into thinking an actual apology was coming when i watched it live, but then i kept waiting and waiting and there was nothing said about any steps towards accountability at all by the end.
"Let me just multiply my accountability by the number of fucks that I actually give... Oh look, the result is 0!"
You were doing the thing Blizzard was hoping you wouldn't. You paid attention. You actually knew what was going on.
I'm glad you paid attention.
"we will say as many words as necessary to make you think we give a shit until you all forget about whatever it is we are supposedly giving a shit about today. Oh actually *do* something? Lmao go buy a phone so you can play that micro-transaction store front pretending to be diablo"
-Blizzard's template for their deepest and most Heartfelt Apology ™
Blizzard: "We're sorry.... China"
People didn't see long haired mans fingers crossed behind his back while "apologising"
"We're sooooorry."
CHINAH!-trump
They say Brack’s hair grows longer every time he tells a lie.
Robert Kincaid the world shall become his hair one day
Robert Kincaid making his forehead bigger and bigger.
Jump kain jump!
On the sides lol
He'd look like that bloke from the Adam's Family in that case.
No one talks about this but magic the gathering (hearthstone only real competitor) has for years allowed a Hong Kong competitive player to protest China and most recently say exactly what blitzchung said on live stage with no repercussions. And LoOk At AlL ThE aNaRcHy! Every tournament is filled with hate speech and dis... Wait, there isn't any and if there's any it's handled by case by case basis with clearly defined rules and a separate clearly defined rules for the casters that they agree with before hand. Blizzard is coward and a piece of shit.
Magic the gatheting was always better than heartstone. Glad it still is
Can you recommend a good place to watch Magic videos, preferably on RUclips?
Septimus ii tolarian community college is a solid community touchstone, wedge at the mana source is solid, and if you want more British spice, pleasantKenobi is for you
@@Septimus_ii The Tolarian Community College is a great around MTG content creator. For commander (the most popular format): Command zone, jumbo Commander, and commander quarters are great resources. For competitive side I just watch the twitch live streams, thou I believe they upload them to RUclips on the magic the gathering channel
Septimus ii I would definitely start with TCC if you’re new, “the professor” does a good job explaining things for newcomers
In all honesty, there's no "Blizzard" anymore; what we're seeing a skinsuit made of ol' Blizz's corpse worn by Activision, like the cockroach alien in MiB wore the skin of Farmer Edgar.
Blizzard (Mike Morhaime) talked Activision into merging in the first place. Activision didn't want to at first. Although both are terrible companies.
"Dangles OW2 & D4 in front of you"
Activision-Blizzard: "There, is that better?"
Blizzard was worse before the merger. people were just blind because wow and sc2
You knew it was blizzard's idea to include auction house that use REAL MONEY in Diablo III, right??? And that same company was the one responsible for always online system in StarCraft 2, even for Single player campaign???
activision and blizzard are equally awful
"I hope it's clear how committed we are to everyone's right to express themselves." Yes. Yes, it is clear.
People are free to express themselves on their OWN time. Not on someone else's time. Especially when you sign a contract specifically stating you will not engage in such behavior while representing said company.
@@alexubel Yes. Blizzard is very committed to everyone having no right to express themselves on Blizzard's time. Which is why none of my time or money will be spent on their products.
@@alexubel thats not how it is mate, claiming its that simple is disingenuous. I mean, jim's already been over this, but the 'clause' in the contract you're referring to is a vague blanket catchall that can be applied to literally anything blizzard wants it to. according to the contract, interpreted as you would have us do, ppl under that contract are not allowed to speak. At all. And that, sir, is not actually a legally binding contract, because it contravenes the law, and thus it is null and void.
Not at all. Actions speak immeasurably louder than words.
alexubel that’s not going to cut it, especially when Democracy and human rights is an issue.
Go back to your corporate masters and shove that up their assess.
Also btw, tell the 1% billionaire shareholders to pay their fair share of taxes.
FREE HONG KONG!
Its depressing when the "we're sorry" meme from South Park accurately depicts how people react whenever someone "apologises." The idiocy goes futher when you realize 99% of the people who attended will get more pissed off when blizzard nurfs their main in overwatch than over a legitimate freedom of speech issue....
Idk what planet YOU are living on, but how good a cluster of pixels on a screen can shoot another monkey pixel cluster is an IMPORTANT human rights issue!!
one affects them personally and the other does not,it really is that simple.
I don't expect companies to ever issue a sincere apology. I just hope they don't start laying naked on a rug in front of a fire while they do it.
"we're sooorry."
"mmmMMmm, we're sorryyyyy."
"we're sorry." ;P
@@ionfalcom1 exactly
Jim you said "Now it's *fashionable* to criticize loot boxes." - well lemme tell you something buddy. You're the one that MADE it fashionable. I think that's a reason to be happy.
word
Seriously. He kept at it, despite growing opposition to the sentiment... until it just got too bad, and suddenly his was universally the most reasonable voice on the matter.
Thank God for Jim.
Blizzard: "Im sorry, you think you deserve an apology"
🖕🏻
There are two types of sorry. Genuinely sorry and just sorry you've been fucking caught out :)
But you don't
Stop it Beth! xD
ruclips.net/video/15HTd4Um1m4/видео.html
When heard the audience applaud and actually cheer his “apology” I actually got a little physically sick. I’m done with blizzard. Brakk is a colossal jag off.
To be fair those people were all payed to do it. Still gross though.
100% chance they were payed to cheer or blizzard employees told to cheer
@@Ulubaiif you listen carefully each time the audience begins to applaud it was started by the same few whistles/voices and someone yelling 'We love you Jay'.
Keep in mind that these people paid good money to visit a Blizzard convention even after the Hong Kong controversy. They obviously don't care.
@@christiandauz3742 dude no! Just don't buy their products. Employees are not responsible for decisions from the top and even if they were that shit is not cool. Fucks sake.
"i'm sorry you found out the shitty thing we were doing" isn't an apology
The only thing they apologized for is not talking to us all sooner. Not for suspending Blitzchung.
They were sorry because they'll still be supportive of China, that's all.
It's funny how he looks nothing like what you'd think of when you imagine a shady CEO, yet he plays the role perfectly.
He looks like an unnamed gas station attendant who's the first one killed by the crappy CGI monster in a crappy SyFy original movie.
Damn, Amanda, that was spot on!
Amanda Frazier if only that were the case...
He looks like an even more washed up John Romero
@@300IQPrower who ironically is making games again (in Ireland, lol why not) and has admitted his mistakes and regained a lot of his goodwill
he's clearly apologizing to China for this whole mess, not us.
I'm sowwy we got cawt. Pwease fogive us unco Jinping.
@@TealWolf26 you mean whinnie the pooh
@@110000116699 Yes sorry. My mistake Mr. Pooh. All is well in the People's Democratic Republic of the Hundred Acre Wood, sir.
Some people would regard
support for the Hong Kong protests
as racism
ruclips.net/video/b-nl0Hklwvg/видео.html
@@TealWolf26 Bruh, least racist Anti-China grifter
"we cant put the toothpaste back in the tube" said a man, actively still squeezing out toothpaste, with plenty still inside. who could stop at any time
throws blitzchung out the front door, stands in the doorway saying "sorry, can't let you back in it's done"
"What's done is done."
*said while writing another threat of termination of contracts if someone supports the cause on their own account*
Your Quirk Could stop writing at any moment, but why leave those i’s and t’s without dots and crosses?
" we can't put toothpaste in the tube" is pretty weird as an expression to begin with. Do they know what a funnel is?
The people at Giant Bomb pointed this out but their "apology" makes even less sense because they said they want to focus on the content of the games and not making statements, and yet he's literally wearing an LGBT Blizzard patch on his shirt while saying this! I also wanna be completely clear, I'm LGBT and people supporting us is fantastic. It's more about the hypocrisy of them saying "we don't want people making statements" while they do things clearly making a statement. Overwatch has a few LGBT characters in it and they made a big deal out of it. Those are big political statements too! The truth is they don't want people making statements about China because they make bank off of it.
Statements sells. Statements that sells are not statements, it's just another commodity to sell. Statements that don't sell are offensive. Welcome to capitalism.
Plinko Penguin They want to make safe political statements for themselves. Being pro LGBT is accepted and applauded because society has changed and I doubt china cares if they say pro LGBT things. Condemning china for the Hong Kong situation would affect their bank accounts like you said.
Pathetic really.
That's the MO of corporations. They like to make statements when it's politically convenient and won't hurt their revenue but they don't want statements that affect their bottom line and Hong Kong's ongoing struggle is clearly one of those no-nos which make Blizzard's motto "Every voice matters" ring hollow.
@@Webshooters1 Ultra Instinct Goku Black 'Won't hurt their revenue' is understating the benefits they get from espousing progressivism. They politically and financially benefit from it. If it didn't garner any of the two, no public corporation would make even a statement beyond one that is widely accepted.
The free Hong Kong protest is about a Hong Kong citizen being accused of murder in Taiwan, Hong Kong government wants to extradite the accused to Taiwan to go on trial, the Hong Kong citizens instead want the accused to walk free. Go look up the vid that Asian Boss did last month interviewing the protesters.
All of this news makes me feel like an old man. Remember the good old days? You know, when games were made to be played for fun; not to squeeze as much money out of the audience as possible, then keep squeezing? Remember how game studios made more than enough money, with that old system?
Thanks for doing what you do!
Those times never existed dude. Companies wanted to make money back then as much as they want now. If you really like to play games by studios making them "for the cause", check the indie scene.
To be fair there was kind of a golden era before now, but before home consoles, they had arcades. Those were specifically designed, often using psychological manipulation, to get players to pump just as many quarters into them as they could get their grubby hands on. People seem to have fond memories, and I guess it was a social thing too, you had to leave the house to do it, your friends would be there, but the predatory nature and even the methods employed weren't much different from what they're doing today. That being said, I think most people would maybe spend a couple dollars, if that. Some would dump seemingly endless amounts of money in. But you'd have had to been one dedicated motherfucker to drop over $2,000 worth of quarters into an arcade machine in even a month's time. That's one major difference between now and then. The 'whales' are fatter, and easier to bait.
Really, the modern game industry hasn't innovated some new way to bleed people dry, it's just that the technology and infrastructure has finally reached the point that it's once again possible to milk every penny out of their victims. Some of the publishers doing it now were around back then, so this isn't really a new business model for them.
We are old...
And don't forget!!
#blizzardisapieceofshit
blizzard: action speaks louder than words
also blizzard: do nothing
Blizzard's complete lack of action spoke volumes.
What do you want them to do? Support HK protesters with weapons?
Im really getting tired of the soycucks talking shait in this controversy.
@@nonusbusinissus5632 First, unban the Hong Konger player and those college boys. Second, update a policy that players wouldn't be banned for supporting human rights. How is that so hard?
@@nonusbusinissus5632 , Found the incel. XD
@@davenirline How is that hard?
You are asking for them to make their events about your political opinion about any type of soc.jus.warrior topic you come up with.
Remind me: What on earth makes you think you are entitled to use such a company, such events to push your own beliefs and messages?
Sorry but how about no? How about having a heartstone tournmanet about heartstone and not encouraging uprisings and political messages?
And all of this is BEFORE the consideration that they are a global entity so what anyone considers "human rights" is literally all over the place.
"Nazi tanks rolling into Poland.jpg" - "this was a tough e-sports moment"
“hong kong is literally hitler for trying to prosecute a self-admitted murderer” -the politics understander
“Gif from the Zapruder footage” - “this was a tough e-sports moment”
@@ATFADL they changed the hitbox a few weeks prior so necks weren't part of the head area anymore
Aww BatsyGames’ favorite authoritarian regime is getting badmouthed. Anyhow, thanks for commenting, engaging and disliking - ensuring that the video is presented to even more authoritarian piglets, for their hatewatching pleasure
Its like BP in south park.... "sorry" "were sorry" "were deeply sorry"
*rubs nipples*
When even Randy Marsh, the guy who brutally killed Whinnie the Pooh for the Chinese government decides to stop doing business with China and you're pulling this BS, you _know_ you're screwing up.
Not true, BP actually said what they were sorry for.
Blizzards apology was worse then south park parody apology of BP
@@Emesen528 maybe if he held a baby seal when i he "apologized" it would be as good
@@shivalian2721 Shit, you are right. That's what was missing from that apology :D
I don't get why you keep saying "two game announcements" when they only announced one game and a $60 expansion pack.
Do you know for a fact it's going to be 60 dollars?
@@namelessnpc6689 I don't, it's just the number that I see getting tossed around the most. We'll have to wait and see though as Blizzard does seem to pushing it as a new game.
I don't consider "Content that should have been in the game to begin with" to be "expanding" anything.
@Scorpinok300 I was talking about Overwatch. Not WoW.
@@namelessnpc6689 Then you can probably ignore the $40 price and bump everything up a tier as you include a $100+ price point. And change the bonuses to be relevant to Overwatch. (i.e. a number of loot boxes that include a bunch of shit no one wants or cares about)
J. Allen Brack: "We dont want people to use our platform for political statements that distract viewers from the games."
Also J. Allen Brack: *wears a pride pin on stage during his "apology"*
It's almost like political statements are okay if they are agreed upon and/or are profitable.
i'm part of the minority he's supposedly supporting by wearing that and it still pisses me off. between this and the "defend the pride of china" comment, and the american students having to ban themselves because blizzard didn't, i just have no trust for them. the scummy corporate side was always there, but they've been totally devoured by it.
Im not defending him, but how is a pride pin "political" ? how is accepting others sexualitiy something political ?
Julián Alderete It’s not political but many many people and corporations and governments think it’s political. So Brack is showing he’s capable of deciding what is and isn’t political but he’s insisting that one type of human rights isn’t political but another type is.
Considering it took years of congressional progress and work to make gay marriage legal in the USA and the LGBT still have organized movements, yeah its political as it's related to governance, human rights, etc. Whether you agree with it or not, supporting LGBT pride is a political statement just like not supporting them is.
There's a difference between political statement and ethical statements. Supporting gay pride is not political.
Jim repeating someone's name in increasingly aggressive tones is the best part of any of his videos.
todd.... Todd.... TODD..... BRACK!.... wait what?
He is a master of being obnoxious but actually still funny at the same time.
With sufficiently low IQ, everything can be a source of joy and happiness. Even smearing your feces all over the walls, or banging stones together.
Not sure whether or not your should aim for that, but hey: At least you are happy.
@@nonusbusinissus5632 ok
*TODD*
My favorite moment of Blizzcon was during the Diablo IV announcement when the camera panned the audience and stayed on a woman with a shirt that said "Fire Bobby Kotick" for a good 5-10 seconds.
I don't remember that. Or i did not notice it. Can you pls reply the video name.
"J.Allen Brack and His Hair" I like to imagine that he has to share his job title with his hair, as well as salary split with it, so there could be a very real moment where he leaves Blizzard, but His Hair is required to stay to ensure the smooth transition of power to the new Corporate weasel.
"Good morning J! I thought you resigned, didn;t you?"
"Well, yes I did, but My Hair still has some work to do before he can leave".
Weary is the head that wears the hair.
The dude who “apologized “ for blizzard looks like Chris Jericho in 20 years
Fitting, since he had to have A LITTLE BIT OF THE BUBBLY!
Actually 20 years and an alcohol problem.
@@boxtank5288 so Chris Jericho in 20 years
@@GrandArchPriestOfTheAlgorithm wow, did you have your puppy kicked by him or something?
How dare you insult Le Champion like that!
"We failed to live up to our high standards."
-The same people who thought Diablo Immortal was a good idea.
And then had the gall to get sassy with their fans after they expressed their anger and disappointment.
Wob Bob Jones I mean, technically true...this was below the standards of even Diablo Immortal
Only good when talking about the Asian mobile market. It should never have been a Blizzcon announcement, an event aimed strongly towards Westerners.
Don't you have a phone?!
@@BoomBoomBrucey I guess he still doesn't have one. It's the only possible explanation on how someone could still be mad at Blizzard.
If your apoloy does not include the following then its not an apology:
1: Admission of what you did.
2: Why it was wrong
3: How you intend to make up for it and make sure it doesnt happen again
How to make up for what? Not allowing random idiots to hijack streams for their own political and ideological messages?
How about you * off J D and take your entitlement with you?
@@nonusbusinissus5632 i see you're one of those "just stick 2 video games" simpletons. you didn't actually watch the video, did you? if you do not speak up when somebody is bullied, you're not being neutral, you're taking the side of the bully! it's really not that complicated. anyway, let me leave you with a quote not said by thomas jefferson "All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent".
Number 3 is the most important imho
@@nonusbusinissus5632 ok boomer
@@JD-hp8rz Have an upvote from me too on your admissions of running on the intellectual level of 9gag.
Not sure why i needed to know that little zoomer has only 20 IQ points, but whatever floats your boat kid.
Jim Sterling: when a man speaks so much reason, it costs him his sanity.
thanks cubone
@Sparrow We can agree to disagree, I hope you find that agreeable.
They're not sorry about what they did, they're sorry that it backfired.
They are "sorry" because is slightly more profitable than not being sorry.
"I take full accountability"
No one who ever says this really states how they're actually accepting the accountability, or what they're going to do to right the wrong, do they? It might be one of the most empty phrases in the english language.
Iwata did, but he died...
It's just another version of "I'm sorry you're offended."
"Full accountability" = and he keeps his job, benefits package, bonuses, and faces no consequences whatsoever.
@@KelZaan Iwata willingly took pay cuts when the Wii U underperformed, I'd say that was him putting his money where his mouth was. Also using his last years setting up for the Switch. I'd say he took accountability in the end
@@zombieplasticclock I was just about to mention president Satoru Iwata to Wooper and saw your comment. That is exactly how you take responsibility
You said: "and for that, I'm sorry, and I accept full accountability"
I heard: "We do not deserve your money. Please pirate Diablo IV"
Funny. I heard the same. Also i heard they want us to sell it on G2A.
I believe it's going to be always online? Piracy shouldn't be possible, as large chunks of the game will be held server side.
@@PlatonistAstronaut That sounds like a challenge. YARR, WHERE BE THE SALTY SEADOGS BRAVE ENOUGH TO COME ABOARD ON THIS HERE VOYAGE?!
@@PlatonistAstronaut many always online games have been cracked.
Which is exactly why they're going to attempt to lock it with "Always Online" DRM
It's uncanny what these sleazy corporate entities will do to keep pleasing Winnie the Pooh.
Filthy Frank knows the truth. He made a documentary about Winnie.
Alex IORRRR
Blizzard: "I take full accountability"
Me: "So you're gonna reverse your decisions?"
Blizzard: :| >:(
And then Blizzard says "I take full accountability!" but much louder
Never thought I'd see someone who has a Madolche card as their username.
"And by full I mean none"
"And by none I mean - Look Diablo 4!"
"What where we talking about again?"
I love how you managed to fit the npc-meme into 6 characters
They did reverse decisions?
The one time we needed an heckler to yell "Liberate Hong Kong" during this ""apology""
Those were very loyal blizzard fans. Only interrupt I've seen was during the WOW q&a.
Like anyone in that room wasn't being paid by blizzard.
I know I can’t believe they were clapping at that shit
I would've of rather wish for some1 to yell at him asking for the F he was sorry for to begin with....
@@scwirpeo Oh, it's worse than that. They're paying their own hard-earned money to clap and cheer like that!
"Don't ask questions. Just consume product and then get excited for next product."
CONSUMPTION BASED PETRO DOLLAR MUST CONTINUE ITS GROWTH RAWR MEEP MEEP BOOP BOOP NPC CORPORATE DRONE MODE ENGAGED.
Seriously consumerism is going to fucking destroy us all.
That's right Jay
Very cool.
The eternal consooomer
@@jtbrown51 The quest for infinite growth while trying to reduce the resources invested into it in an attempt to cut costs really doesn't help an economy out anyway, right
"You could just stop". Well said.
"This could all have been avoided if you'd just stopped. But on you marched. And for what?"
There used to be a joke that Strippers dress like schoolgirls and schoolgirls dress like strippers.
Well now it's
Jesters are political commentators and political commentators are Jesters.
Nice video Jim
Nathan-DTS Is that how Dave Chappell is both beloved and reviled at the same time? There are plenty of hack comedians simply using their politics as a shield to avoid criticism of their lackluster material. Maybe we just need more gaming comedians since more people listen to comedy shows for their news than news channels.
Kill Jester
To me the "apology" was lacking for different reasons. I don't care if he didn't explicitly said what he was sorry about, what I care about is the non proactive nature of it.
Don't tell me you screwed up, I already know that; tell me what are you doing to fix it! Talk about policy changes and shit that actually matters.
Psssst, companies don't care about anything except making money. They wouldn't raise a finger to keep your grandma from dying if it net cost them less than a penny. Of course they don't inherently care about being logical, principled or moral.
I think the lack of any future plans being shared or even hinted at says a lot about their stance.
@@ReddoFreddo pssst...it takes money to run a company
and yes, i know it also takes people too. and customers. but whenever i see someone say "all they care about is money" i just think...uh yea...thats how the company runs, on money. no money=no company...AND, blizzard as a WHOLE, does care about more than money...its the higher ups, select managers and such that seem to not.
@@myrkrormr I mean, there's a reason Anti-Trust laws exist. Real shame that people seem to have been convinced that crimes against human decency are just things that happen in regular markets instead of specifically corporate welfare economies that people were stupid enough to vote for.
@@myrkrormr Some people seem to need reminding, even though it should be blindingly obvious.
Every time I see praise for some corporation "supporting" some trending social movement or ideology its painfully obvious there still are naive people stupid enough to hand over cash to a company who's using an issue those people feel strongly about to extract money from them.
I frequently disagree with those people on those social issues, but I that doesn't make me happy to see naviety getting exploited like that.
Blizzard unlocked a trophy: *The Breathless Cackle*
Frantic Fox *A tough esport*
Just a note: Diablo Immortal still has no release date.
Incidentally, Commander Keen (Twins) isn't available on Google Play. Another good sign?
Nor has Warcraft 3 reforged
They may be doing what ubisoft did with Might and Magic and just release the mobile games in china and parts of asia.
It's not like anyone wanted them in the US or europe anyway.
@@Kornn66 it's was the only game I was looking forward to this year too and I cancelled my preorder maybe other did too ...
..
Keep it that way.
"We failed to meet our high standards" you failed, and did not even attempt to, meet our hilariously low standards for you, Brakk.
Brack!
Tell me lies tell me sweet little lies - Todd Coward
That apology sound so bad, that made me angry only by hearing that
Todd Coward is so good a name that I almost hope Bethesda does something that warrants a Brack-like apology now.
Ya thats like ask something from Bethesda "customers support" hahaha
Note: wish You a great day Jim
I wish that ceo was half as sincere as that grifting preacher.
@@JimSterling They kinda did like, literally a few weeks ago, but the standards are so low at this point hardly anyone expected anything better of them
As a Hongkonger, thank you for your support Jim, couple of protestors just got shot by real rounds today by HK police. This is very serious issue in our city and we hope the world will know whatever that is happening to us right now, will eventually happen to anyone who supports CCP or kowtowing to RMB. You cannot get away from CCP once you earned their money, it comes with a price, and that price could be your freedom or even your lives.
However, not everyone on the left here
agrees with the protesters.
Many also side with communist China
ruclips.net/video/b-nl0Hklwvg/видео.html
Hey bud how are things going in HK?
This video aged like both wine and milk. Wine on Jims end, and Milk on Blizzards end.
Fuck Blizzards
Blizchung: I call for the liberation of my people
Blizzard: HOW DARE YOU, YEAR BAN AND NO MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!
Random other player: Makes homophobic comments
Blizzard: Eh, slap him on the wrist and ban for a couple of weeks.
authoritarians gonna.... author..i...tary?
I'm surprised ex quality control isn't permanently banned at this point, his entire career is about being toxic.
In fact he drives the entire community to be toxic, and pushes his opinion as law. Many people leave the game because of the behavior xQc encourages in the community.
well, there is no powerful gay government to take on Blizzard
@@Flippwn1 authoritarians gonna authority. badly.
I appreciate that you use the executives' names in these videos. Blizzard as a whole is not the problem. The developers at the ground level aren't the ones making these calls, it's the people like Jay Allen Brack and the other executives (I'm sure there are VP's of various functions there) that should be scorned.
So thank you for calling out the actual responsible parties. :)
There's a side issue here about esports events being run by the companies that make the game, and not third parties. It's what allows trash like this to happen in the first place. The post-game interview is purely there to show people excited about the product, it has nothing to do with "free expression"
Unless esports becomes less corporate it won't survive the few companies still pushing it.
The NBA is one of the biggest brands in the world.
@@dramamine755 Cool, didn't know basketball was an esport. Fuck off.
Back to your forge! There's smithing to be done! Is there not an argument that eSports only exists because of internal pressure from the people playing it anyway? I don't think it will ever shrivel up and die now
@@janesmith1840 ooo an edgy one 😳 used the f word
Never expected to see you commenting on something such as this lol, you're completely right though.
And they just got worse.
By the way, I terminated my Blizzard account a few days ago. No interest whatsoever in any Blizzard products.
Greetings from Germany.
Jakob Dueck
Grüße!
Good job.
Greetings from nowhere USA.
@alaskanmes Quietly fuck off into the distance and dont come back, you transphobic sack of crap.
Thanks. Good bye and enjoy your attention wh__ing.
His apology was a "fill in the blanks" one. They left it up to the viewer to answer what we felt he did wrong and then left it up to us to fill in what his "standards" are as well as what they plan on doing in the future to be better
In other words it was an empty apology.
I'm glad you mentioned the overwatch coach being forced to take down his posts supporting Hong Kong, on social media.
I'm not excited for Diablo 4. I was there when Diablo 3 came out. I am excited to see how they screw it up this time, though. Auction hooooooouuuuuuse.
"I'm sorry you think you deserve a apology."
Your entitlement is not their problem
@@nonusbusinissus5632 Wait, are you a shill?
Froopyland
@@nonusbusinissus5632 Ok Boomer.
@@nonusbusinissus5632 how much time do you have to go around the comments fishing for fights about a subject you have no interest in? Is this a hobby of yours or do you have an especially boring day?
*Many fans forgive Blizzard cause exciting new product*
Me: Okay consumer
gottem
I'm going to start using this. Thanks, random person!
People dont give a shit about politics. We want games and we get them.
@Nathan-DTS wut?
You know, when I first got into game design, my holy grail was to someday work at Blizzard. I own a half dozen of the art design books that came with everything from WoW, to StarCraft and Diablo. I had been watching the design quality they have always kept up, and all of the love that it's staff spoke of the company with. And now, I'm just not able to care any more. I wouldn't take the job even if they offered it, now. Overall, I can't be shocked by the way they've acted. I'm just tired and disappointed. I'm also not giving them my money anymore. I'm not even deleting my accounts. Let them figure out I left years down the line. At least most of Bethesda's issues seem to be from gross incompetence.
@@SongokuJidai yup.
Well this aged from extremely fine wine to world record level.
The video is basically moonshine by now
"We're sorry, but not really sorry. We don't plan to do anything about it"
What the fuck do you expect them to do? Rescind everything? If they did that then they're essentially saying "our rules don't mean shit, you can say whatever you want and we won't lift a damn finger." Opening pandora's box in thar way is a bad thing.
@@AirahsELL Again as Jim said, what Blitz said was NOT hate speech. He wasn't enacting hatred towards any group of people except a human rights violating government.
@@TheMAM Except hate speech was never given as the reason for the ban in the first place (playhearthstone.com/en-us/blog/23179289). Like it or not, but what type of speech Blizzard allows on Blizzard run platforms is up to Blizzards discretion.
@@TheMAM which is a political statement. Ban.
@@AirahsELL god damn, you're just a big ol' corporate apologist all over this comment section huh
Meanwhile civilians are getting shot by cops in hong kong.
Go Blizzard.
You the best
And run over by cops on motorcycles
The government cracking down on protestors and denying people a voice is absolutely terrible, but getting shot by the police is one of the most American things you can do! That part is fine.
Hong Kong is turning into a real Overwatch there.
A student died recently... cops pour water over candles commemorating people hurt by the protests...
9gag.com/gag/a2R7b3D/hong-kong-cop-pours-water-to-put-out-candles-commemorating-student-who-just-passed-away-following-fall-near-police-operation
This is what Blizzard defends but no Diablo 4 and fucking idiots cheer cause they got a new shiny thing. Pathetic.
Hong Kongers are litting people who don't support them on fire.
All this to appease an authoritarian regime that's planning to enforce a gaming curfew anyways...
Congratulations, Blizzard... YOU'VE PLAYED YOURSELVES
The should have just said the truth “we are sorry when we figured out we’d lose less money if we didn’t give a pseudo apology”
"I hope it's clear to everyone how committed we are to letting everyone express themselves"
Then why, Brack, did Blizzard disable comments on the post first addressing the Blitz debacle?
BRACK?
Because they are THAT COMMITTED to letting people express themselves. The commitment is so great that it wraps around back to "not committed in the slightest." So damn committed.
His apology is the equivalent of getting caught by your dad stealing something off the shelf at a store and then telling him I'm sorry while you eat it and walk off.
I dunno why that would be such a problem. It's already off of the shelf and it's not as if you can put it back... just gonna have to eat it really, no other choice. /s
“I have sinned against my lord-
“And for that I accept accountability”
*Fart*
This content is amazing
I'm currently studying to become a videogame artist, and while I was inspired to follow this path by the amazing work of other artists creating visuals for WoW, I would rather sift shit in a sewer for the rest of my days than even consider working with a gigantic mass of dung like Blizzard.
What about Guerilla Games or Wayforward?
@@JaelinBezel I don't know about those in detail, I'll look them up.
Flamia Minu Nah, don’t give up, man. I’m sure there are decent studios that are not scummy and greedy and in a need of good specialists. Naturally, they’re smaller and maybe don’t produce a AAA title every year, but make solid games nevertheless. Follow your desires, man, and listen to your inner self.
"I can't believe those dummies put him on a blue screen background." Oh it's great isn't it?
Meme makers: "It's free real estate."
Going to stop reading the comments here. They simply can't get any better than this.
We need to make “this was a tough e-sports moment” a meme
Admiral Ackbar it already is
HK-WORD HARD G HK-WORD HARD G HK-WORD HARD G HW-WORD HA
I'm sorry for getting caught in a heated esports moment just a moment ago, please accept my apology and don't forget to like comment and subscribe.
Admiral Ackbar fk Blitz Chung. That kid supported terrorists in Hong Kong who burn people alive and beat little girls with hammers. If someone supported ISIS on esports they’d be banned too!
ruclips.net/video/pbKz6vcgkQs/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/faO3o0T84Qs/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/Wp0REdTGwWU/видео.html
@@skylinez4793 However bad the guy's background is (I haven't clicked your links to find out), it's completely irrelevant. Blizzard banned him for voicing support of a human rights protest.
We must agree with pride and accomplishment that this was an tough e-sports moment.
THIS IS TOOTHPASTE THAT IS RETUBEABLE FRIENDS!
- Jim Sterling, 2019
“Well excuse me, for having enormous flaws...that I don’t work on!”
Considering the last year, this aged like wine.
Logan Paul's apology video: "This was a tough esports moment"
"We're sorry if you feel bad"
“We had a chance to bring the Japanese community together, and we failed”
"We don''t worry about losing money. We get money."
PSA
J Allen Brack is the guy who said "You think you do,but you dont" when asked about WOW classic several years ago
How long until classic dies, though?
probably when asmongold stops streaming it tbh
Salty Shunk already dead PepeLaugh
"Blizzard keeps player banned whilst pretending to apologise" would be a great title for any games media
"chinese owned company keeps player banned over freedom of speech dispute" is just toxic enough to draw attention
I started every match of overwatch for 2 weeks with "fuck blizzard" in the match chat and got banned permenantly. :D
@@dreadcannibal3395 Well done.
@@JohnSmith-et1hr ty
This is why if esports are going to go forward there needs to be an actual governing body with proper rules and procedures.
It's like if Nike and Addidas would run the World Cup just because they make football shirts and balls.
Hopefully a good governing body and not something like the FA or UEFA.
You are 100% correct about that..The developers and publishers shouldn't be running esports for their games.
If you want to make a real apology, Blizzard, say “We’re sorry for banning Blitzchung for supporting Hong Kong. We will make sure our customers are entitled to free speech even if that means losing customers in another region due to political differences.”
That would require courage, and/or integrity. Neither of which are proper parts of corporate culture.
Either agree to those terms or it's not a sincere apology.
The sad thing is that you will never hear a corporation say this. They are fucking cowards and only stand up for profit and gambling... nothing so noble as free speech or rights or anything like that.
A privately held company might do this. One with shareholders never will. If it doesn't bring in profit to make the shareholders happy, they don't care.
For the record: THEY DID NOT ACT TOO QUICKLY. They took 3 days to apply the ban. Thats alot of hours in wich some people said words to other people. Meaning in these 3 days, alot of shit could (and probably have) had happened behind the courtains.
Don't let them get away with their stupid "We acted too quickly" excuse. It's bullshit. Utter bullshit.
Good to see you around :)
"Video games bring people together!" I thought that was the idea behind democracy and human rights.
sucks how fast people forget about this type of stuff and then go buy the newest game
What made me angriest about that "apology" is he had the nerve to wear an LGBT pin visibly while doing so. Yeah, talking purple poetry about expressing yourself freely while removing the gay from Overwatch in China. Yep that's some commitment to expressing yourself right there
not to mention the inherent hypocrisy of making a political statement at a blizzard games event while banning a player for a political statement at a blizzard games event.
@@Hellothere-lk7xi it feels kind of gross accusing someone of pandering for brownie points. And I don't know Blizzard's president, he could be LGBT far as I know. But even if he was, it's still in incredibly bad taste all the same
@@zombieplasticclock i'm pretty sure he is pandering for brownie points. i'm LGBT myself, and you get a keen sense for these sorts of things. a little badge says nothing, and it risks nothing. i'm sick of being a social bargaining chip.
@@Hellothere-lk7xi Right? It's disgraceful. Like he'll only give the time of day if it bails him out of a screwup. What a jackass.
@Dahn I hope that money is real good if they care so little about looking like complete hypocrites at even the tiniest bit of scrutiny
The point of the "apology" was to have zero content in it but sell it with an appearance of emotionalism. It is hollow and nebulous by design precisely for lack of commitment and accountability, even while he mentions "accountability".
"So a thing happened and it's sad and yeah *pouts* oh look a new shiny game so let's think about that instead!"
Ye it's disgusting.
"hey, we're a game company, look at the games we do, because we don't want to be involved in politics. Which is why we had that rule to begin with. Go figure."
@@FFKonoko Nah. More like: "Hey we're a game company. Look at the games we do, because we don't want to be involved in politics... except, when someone made a political statement, we didn't merely reprimand or stem it, but rather responded extremely aggressively that it made our response look *far* more political than the issue we were responding to in the first place, alarmingly resembling on brand with the CCP's sentiments towards criticism of their authoritarianism. This issue is greatly withstanding -- but let's pretend it isnt."
@@jaidev777 except you just lied.
If they punished him more than the rules said, you'd have a point. Otherwise, no.
They didn't respond extremely aggressively. Again, the exact punishment given to that competitor was down in writing before he acted. He did so, knowingly.
If you mean their punishment for the two casters was aggressive? I don't think you did, but even then. Considering their actions of encouragement is what most forced their hand on this, since not divorcing themselves from that encouragement would be very strong endorsement? ...yeah, no, if you deliberately fuck something up for a boss this hard, getting fired with extreme prejudice is pretty much the expected norm. Welcome to America, where bosses can fire you for nothing so if you give them something don't even try to act surprised.
It looks political, because they were forced to do something. But are you gonna tell me that not following their own rules wouldn't be very clearly political? Divorce yourself from the fact you agree with one side and want that side to be represented, and it's pretty obvious this was the neutral option. The same one that every other company is picking, except they're not getting their hand forced.
FFKonoko - Lied where? Was Blizzard's rules that if anyone made any political-toned comment at all, they will be swiftly banned, prize money immediately void, and casters who were merely present would be similarly banned, while Blizz would let a company make a political statement of their own that they will "defend the pride of China"? Interesting direction of bias there. And yet both Blizzard's games and their communities including on those very platforms - and indeed many others - have always been political and yet those have been fine, especially if they're empowering women, pro-LGBTQ, etc, in fact only more so as time has gone on. So what's with the double standard?
Why haven't those been similarly banned for any of those advocacy tones in their positions on their platforms and games? And why not in the same brand of swift, scorched-earth punishment as what happened here when Blitzcheung, for spending what, all of 3 seconds?, saying Liberate Hong Kong (an arguably wide sentiment in the name of democratic values against grinding authoritarianism, again a widely accepted belief just as we have come to widely accept female empowerment, LGBTQ representation, black representation) -- where he would be immediately banned for a year, prize money gone, and what reeks most of CCP influence: those merely around him, those just present at the time, the casters who were just doing their jobs and clearly showed they wanted to have nothing at all to do with the political sentiment, were themselves banned.
Now, do I personally support pro-HK sentiments? You damn well better believe it, as much as I support the rights of women, the LGBTQ and black communities, and many other groups for freedom of speech and wellbeing of all. Blitzcheung's message does me proud as hell. The problem is that if Blizzard, while saying they want no political commentary on their platforms, responded to Blitzcheung's comparably minor political comment, with a much more exacerbating political comment of their own when they so punished him *and* the casters who did not themselves express support for the political message -- while not leveling the similar kind of response to other political messages. It not only reeks of a strongly politically motivated move on their part, but a largely awful one at that, especially when it's no secret that one may find it extremely practical and profitable to support certain political messages to chase after even bigger revenue streams in a very certain foreign market than what they're already graced with.
Imagine having such little respect for your audience that you'd go on stage and lie right to them, knowing that you're actively undermining every word of your "apology" by having no intention of actually changing anything. Like, it's not like people can't figure out that Blitzchung was still suspended when he said this, right? Or do they think we're dumb enough that we can't find that kind of information somewhere?
They think we're obedient enough to ignore their actions because they dangled two shiny new games in front of us. And unfortunately most of us fell for it.
@Patrick - It's just pure, unadulterated, narcissistic hubris and arrogance. Screw Blizzard. They can go in the bin with Bethesda where they can keep each other company.
Maybe a little dramatic in the context of Blizzard controversy, but it's worth talking about
Whether it's just video games or the wholesale pillaging of planet Earth, those in power bank on the odds of it all blowing over; they stake their _lives_ on everyone else being too poor, sad, individualized, and overwhelmed to join together and tear their bullshit down, and the sad fact is that the world is _designed_ to keep it that way
They're actually fucking _terrified_ of real human beings, because flesh and blood people are the only things that make the world work, and that is worth keeping in mind no matter the context
In conclusion, everyone please Google "general strike" and have a good day
They just went from pathetic to disgusting.
I remember when I was younger and games were FAR less complicated. Now its a matter of wading through the shit that is the AAA gaming industry in the hopes of finding a somewhat enjoyable experience in that cesspool of greed.
Indie games man, they're the only bastion left for people looking for an honest to goodness gaming experience without any of the Triple A bullshit and politics.
Don't get me wrong its still there, but if AAA games are 95% Bullshit and Politics and 5% game then indies are 95% Game and 5% Bullshit and Politics.
@@Landjrin but even indie games are getting censored. Look what happened to Devotion.
@@samtepal3892 Oh. I had no idea of this, thanks for bringing that to my attention.
But, My comment was mostly about the lack of predatory business practices in Indies and how they're more game then monetization platform, where the core design isn't altered to make you spend more money on their in-game shop, or, in other words, how the majority of indies just want to be good games first and foremost.
This is why I’ve been playing nothing but my SNES Classic and Minecraft lately. I have zero hope and zero faith in the AAA industry. I’ll continue to support indie companies.
Landjrin
Monster Hunter is the only gaming franchise I know of that hasn’t been tainted by lootboxes or bullshit ideologies.
Every time I heard "Brak" I was picturing Brak from Space Ghost...
I forgot about the Brak show until the comments reminded me it existed.
I think what's most ironic is that people would have never known or cared some random hearthstone player said this if it weren't for Blizzard bringing attention to it by suspending him.
"Fired from a catapult into the sea along with all the other sea pigs" I am dying, thank god for you Jim.
'This has nothing to do with Blitzchung! Our Chinese overlords told us so!' - Blizzard
Are we really forgiving blizzard for what, at the of the day, amounts to teasers for two video games that won't be out for yeeeeeaaars?
Most people are stupid, or simply don't follow the industry enough to even know anything about the Hearthstone ban thing. They just see a new Diablo 4 and OW 2 trailer drop on RUclips and its "OMG GET ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN GUYS"
@@sean8102 Choo Choo, get on board, buy the preorder. just on a cutscene trailer, Choo Choo.
@Mr J As a user of WoWhead and MMOC since 2009, are you fucking high? Those are just stupid fucking idiots and even if they are (and a couple users shill hard), they usually get mocked and ignored by most everyone.
As a personal story. I was a Blizzard junkie for the longest time. Starcraft Broodwar and Tides of Darkness were my childhood. I loved Warcraft 3, played World of Warcraft considerably through its first three expansions, then came back again for Warlords of Dreanor and War for Azeroth. I played Diablo 2 with friends to death, and after the Auction House was taken away Diablo 3 I really enjoyed. Starcraft 2 I enjoyed immensely, watched Day 9's videos and pro league games. Overwatch I got into for a little while, but didn't get too big into it. What little I did play I enjoyed and didnt have much bad to say beyond the loot boxes. Hearthstone I really enjoyed, and seeing how fun the single player campaigns looked I really wanted to give it a go. I was such a huge fan I still have a figure of my Troll Hunter from Wrath of the Lich King next to my PC.
I'm older now though, and none of their controversies hit me quite like the Blitzchung one. It's so nakedly obvious the greed and general slimieness I dont think I can spend money on Blizz anymore without feeling greasy. Like I'm contributing to suffering by paying a company bending the knee to China. So despite how good the new WoW expansion looks, I wont be going back. No more Starcraft despite the Zerg being one of my favorite things in the world. No Warcraft 3 reforged. I was and am, done. I was hoping after the controversy blew up a lot of others would wake up too. Especially with Blizzcons non apology.
Then I saw Bellulars video the other day reporting that WoW has the biggest subscriber boom it's ever had.
Cant help but feel sad and tired.
Guess we never do learn do we?
Just goes to show you that as much responsible Blizzard is for this mess.....It's fanbase is equally as bad or worse to keep giving them business.
I'm with you there. Most people around me don't understand why I won't play their games anymore. They think it's stupid, and maybe it is. But I just can't reconcile what they did these last few years anymore. Plenty of other games out there anyways!
Don't be that bothered about WoW's subs. For instance I've been playing classic for a couple of months (I'm still subbed atm but over the last 30 days I've played maybe 5 times) but never gave a cent to them. In fact, ever since they implemented the token system I've never paid a subscription fee (although I did pay for the expansions, regrettably).
I can easily see many many others do the same, so while the subs count is going up, I expect only a fraction of that (how big I have no way of saying) to actually be profit.
So yeah, it's bad, but there's a silver lining.
I wholly disagree with the idea that "games shouldn't be divisive" that's an attitude that's secretly saying "don't treat games like they're any kind of art form"
I agree with you about your art comment. Art (and games) should be provocative. But I think Brack meant that gaming should overcome boundaries such as countries, races, genders, ages, religions etc. In that context, I agree with Brack.
Yeah TBH I understood it the same way as Johan did. But I totally agree with your statement though.