Blizzard Can Get Away With Murder - Fans Are Too Forgiving

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Blizzard Can Get Away With Murder - Its Fans Are Too Forgiving

Now that BlizzCon is over, it looks like fans will go right back to hyping all the new games and forgetting who Blitzchung is. Via: unkeek.ph Reaction throughout October to banning of Ng Wai Chung, known in the esports community as Blitzchung, was harsh and overwhelmingly disapproving, and yet with BlizzCon 2019 come and gone, it appears that all that outrage has been for nothing as fans eagerly await the release of more Blizzard games. Has everyone forgiven or forgotten about what caused their anger in the first place, or is something larger at play? Judging purely from the reaction of thousands of BlizzCon attendees, one would assume that the convention was a complete success. An outside or impartial observer would say that public opinion has been swayed following the shiny new trailers for games like , , and a new expansion for . This is a surprise considering the controversies over the past year. THEGAMER VIDEO OF THE DAY

Remember Diablo Immortal Or The Thing From Literally A Month Ago

Via: gamesradar.com Blizzard has been in hot water often lately. Last year it began during BlizzCon 2018, when the company decided to lead the convention with a reveal for , a mobile-only title, to an event full of diehard PC gaming fans. There was nothing inherently controversial about that move, but it did clearly show how out of touch certain individuals in the organization must have been to consider that a worthy reveal. The result of that announcement was months of online jokes and memes at Blizzard’s expense, including the now infamous “Do you guys not have phones?” This year’s BlizzCon looked to remedy that issue by leading with Diablo 4, and not once mentioning Diablo Immortal at the same scale as other prominent game projects. More recently Blizzard brought controversy onto itself on an international level through the aforementioned banning of Blitzchung. The Hearthstone player was supposed to be discussing his thoughts on a competitive match during the second season of the game’s Grandmasters Tour, but chose instead to state, “Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution of our age!” For the comment, he was banned from competitive play for a year, has his professional earnings revoked and the two casters interviewing him from a remote location were terminated from their positions. Via: wccftech.com The move boiled down to an American company censoring a competitive player to placate the desires of the Chinese government, and brought forth condemnation from players, media, and US lawmakers. While Blizzard was adamant that placating the Chinese market was not in any way associated with its decision, a released there and translated to English states the opposite, roughly announcing that Blizzard will, “…protect [or safeguard] our national dignity [or honor].”

It s Okay Because We Have Games Now

And so, when Blizzard president J. Allen Brack announced at the commencement of BlizzCon 2019 that, “…we didn't live up to the high standards that we set for ourselves. And the second is that we failed in our purpose. And for that, I am sorry, and I accept accountability”, many expected that there would be some accompanying news, like that the bans had been overturned and that the two casters would regain their jobs. Via: gameinformer.com Nothing of the sort happened, of course, and Brack then that the disciplinary action would stay. The words were little more than the reading of a public relations script, propaganda set to make all those devoted Blizzard fans forget why they were angry in the first place. Unfortunately, it might have worked. The news from BlizzCon this weekend appeared to be mainly positive. Following Brack’s hollow apology in the opening ceremony, it was only excitement for new video games. Blizzard fans appear to be easily swayed, so long as they get their shiny new sequels and expansions. In the grand scheme of things, the controversial behaviors of large businesses are often met with feigned indignation, or what is more recently being referred to as cancel culture. From afar, observers may be filled with anger and call out the behavior of others using online forums and social media, but there is little lasting effect. Apple has been accused of profiting from extensive Chinese labor, Nestlé uses child labor and warns that regulation might lead to consumers paying more for their candy, and would monetize the very air we breath if it could. Still, these companies flourish because the alternative is that consumers would go without their new iPhones, candy, and games. On the other hand, the picture from this weekend’s BlizzCon event may be distorted. The public was only witness to the reactions of those diehard fans, those who are willing to take time off work and travel from all over the world to celebrate their favorite games. Those individuals may be too invested to show indignation, but they are not the majority of the consumer base, they are the smallest of minorities. Everyone else meanwhile, the 99.9% of consumers who may enjoy a Blizzard game from time to time but would never make a vacation out of worshiping the company, may slowly be nearing a tipping point. Bit by bit, a portions of the consumer base may look and see that the video game market is saturated with so many diverse and well-made games that they need no longer tolerate behavior that goes against their own values. The problem may be insurmountable and inevitable for Blizzard. While freedom of expression was touted in Brack’s apology, the odds of there being another victim to censorship is quite high. Keeping its interests in the Chinese market alive and well is simply too important to let values stand in the way. Source: