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Blizzard bans pro Hearthstone player a year for his support of Hong Kong protesters

SegaShack

Member
Sadly, first world western gamers are so spoiled by their comforts, they will make bigger noise for MTX than basic human rights suppression in other parts of the world.
It’s sad people are more upset about a video game not being how they wanted than labor at near slave-like conditions and low wages.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
It’s sad people are more upset about a video game not being how they wanted than labor at near slave-like conditions and low wages.

Of course it is. But maybe people can use this opportunity to make those who are usually not aware (marketing does fantastic jobs virtue signaling one plight, while hiding the atrocities of others their brand is a part of), more aware, planting the seeds, at least showing that we are all accountable with purchasing power and/or turning the cheek for the sake of minor comforts in our everyday lives.
 

FranXico

Member
We_first_ed_dust_jacket.jpg
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Helios

Member
Was this posted?

It seems many of Blizzard’s own employees are unhappy with the decision too, and have staged a walkout at the company’s Irvine, California office.

The protest took place on Tuesday afternoon, as a number of anonymous employees tell the Daily Beast. “The action Blizzard took against the player was pretty appalling but not surprising,” one employee says. “Blizzard makes a lot of money in China, but now the company is in this awkward position where we can’t abide by our values.”

One employee suggests this is the start of a new era at Blizzard. “Doing business in China, it’s been easier to ignore the authoritarianism of the government because they were asking us to do things like remove a skeleton. The stakes are so much higher now. What was previously an obvious decision is much less obvious now.”


A Reddit post from a person claiming to be a Blizzard employee shows a gathering of people at the orc statue outside the company’s office, holding umbrellas as a visual symbol that has been adopted by protestors in Hong Kong. The paper covering the company’s “think globally” and “every voice matters” slogans, which we heard about yesterday, is visible here.


Others involved with Blizzard have protested in their own way, too. Prominent caster Bryan Kibler has announced that he will no longer be involved with the Grandmasters tournament. Collegiate team American university held up a sign saying “free Hong Kong, boycott Blizzard” during another tournament this week, as Rod Breslau reports. Blizzard subsequently canceled further interviews at the event.
 
Just saw on Twitter that 2 fans at an NBA game were kicked out for having Hong Kong protest signs too, so its not just Activision.
 
Blizzard is willing to make their fan base as mad as it takes to make sure they stay good with China. The western world is seeing Blizzard on their knees pathetically and shamelessly whoring themselves out to China but blizzard doesn’t care because they know that at any moment China can and will ban them and if that happens blizzard would literally be shut down. I’m not defending blizzard because profits are never an excuse for a companies evil acts, but it is the sad reality of the situation.
 

Caffeine

Member
pretty sure thats illegal and against some privacy laws somewhere to prevent data deletion even upon request.
I don't really condone deleting your account it basically only hurts you they got the cash your losing access to some classic games. just don't buy their new shit unless they make sweeping changes on a corporate level.
 
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Blizzard will probably just end up giving the dude his prize money back and undo the ban.

Then everyone will forget about this in a few weeks like the amazon burning down.
 
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Blizzard has now temporarily disabled the ability to delete your Battle.Net account. No forms of authentication are currently functional and anybody who has submitted photo ID to try and disable their account has been informed that they are unable to do so.



This is why I would never do stuff like this. The Chinese already have their faces now to snipe them from home!
 

Hari Seldon

Member
This might be the biggest PR disaster I have ever witnessed in gaming lol. Unfortunately this is going to happen more often now that China is investing so heavily in western entertainment. When you hold the purse strings you get to control the message.
 

MayauMiao

Member
Blizzard has now temporarily disabled the ability to delete your Battle.Net account. No forms of authentication are currently functional and anybody who has submitted photo ID to try and disable their account has been informed that they are unable to do so.



I hear a class action lawsuit coming..
 

Thurible

Member
Blizzard has now temporarily disabled the ability to delete your Battle.Net account. No forms of authentication are currently functional and anybody who has submitted photo ID to try and disable their account has been informed that they are unable to do so.


Isn't that illegal?
 
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FMXVII

Member
Well, shit. And here I was about to buy Diablo III again this weekend.

I was about to buy it digitally for my Switch Lite.

I am glad I simply got too busy to do so, now that they have shown their true, ugly colors... yellow bellied and their spines controlled by foreign green backs.

I hope the U.S. government goes in hard on them.
 
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Blade2.0

Member
It very much does change your initial point. Blizzard can’t ignore this. Anything that happens during a Blizzard event that pisses them off is Blizzard’s problem. They get told to fix it or GTFO. They can’t just pass off responsibility on the streamer and be like “wasn’t us.” Like I said the NBA had nothing to do with the Morey tweet but the tweet became their problem.

China isn’t the US and isn’t Europe.
Which is why they shouldn't be treated with any respect. Everyone that can should tell them to fuck themselves
 

Eimran

Member
I am anything but a blizzard fan and that sanction is seriously exxagerated. But why not just keep politics out of gaming tournaments. People folllw it for gaming and not to see what your political statement is.
 
I am anything but a blizzard fan and that sanction is seriously exxagerated. But why not just keep politics out of gaming tournaments. People folllw it for gaming and not to see what your political statement is.

This isn't "atypical politics" people are getting the shit beat out of em by riot police. Where if they any get any whiff of dissension they try to snuff it out by finding out when they arrive before the train unloads and beat the shit out of em to make an example. This doesn't even include the Aug 31st beatings in the MTR that were so bad that authorities refuse to release the footage.


Trying to raise global awareness for his own country men is a worthy cause.
 

Nobody_Important

“Aww, it’s so...average,” she said to him in a cold brick of passion
Makes you wonder if Blizzard will prematurely announce Diablo 4 and cancel this year's Blizzcon.
Option A) Blizz comes out in the next few days and says exactly what its fans want to hear and it sends China into a rage thus making Blizzcon a shitshow

Option B) Blizz comes out and says exactly what China wants to hear and its sends its fans into a rage thus making Blizzcon a shitshow



So they might as well cancel it. Because barring a miracle there is no way Blizzcon is escaping this clusterfuckhole they have dug themselves into.
 
Option A) Blizz comes out in the next few days and says exactly what its fans want to hear and it sends China into a rage thus making Blizzcon a shitshow

Option B) Blizz comes out and says exactly what China wants to hear and its sends its fans into a rage thus making Blizzcon a shitshow



So they might as well cancel it. Because barring a miracle there is no way Blizzcon is escaping this clusterfuckhole they have dug themselves into.

I was thinking they'll probably cancel blizzcon as well. Employees more than likely won't want to do it as well.

Instead they'll probably put out some Nintendo Direct style video showing new trailers, etc.
 

Nobody_Important

“Aww, it’s so...average,” she said to him in a cold brick of passion
I was thinking they'll probably cancel blizzcon as well. Employees more than likely won't want to do it as well.

Instead they'll probably put out some Nintendo Direct style video showing new trailers, etc.

Yeah I wouldn't surprised, but honestly I think they are more likely to cancel instead of changing things up like that. Because at that point you are not so subtly admitting that you were wrong and that you know you are wrong, but that you are refusing to admit it or allow your fans to point it out to you. Its as close as you can come to burying your head in the sand without actually doing it.


Blizzcon has always been about the Devs and the community getting under the same roof and getting on the same level as each other. If that suddenly changes then we all know why and to me that is more embarrassing than just cancelling it.
 

Psykodad

Banned
China has infiltrated all aspects of the western world. That's why so many game companies are censoring and banning so many things. Because the Chinese want them to. I bet Sony's whole censorship bullshit is all because they want to sell more games in China and want to please the cunt communists. You see the influence of China on campuses etc. corporations etc. in the west. China has been at it for a long long time. Fuck China and fuck all communists
Lol honestly?

All the censorship in games you're talking about is due to Western leftist propaganda, mainly coming from the US.
No idea how you manage to drag China and communism into it.
 

sol_bad

Member
What the fuck! Sorry if this has been mentioned. But Blizzard want to respect and defend the pride of China!!!???



Fuck them in the bum hole.
 
:messenger_tears_of_joy: :messenger_tears_of_joy::messenger_tears_of_joy:

This is hitting Blizzard pretty hard.

This is what happens when they pretend to be an American company. Fucking loony tunes.

I hope no one shows up to Blizzcon at all. And instead maybe stage a protest or something. What Blizzard is doing is horrible and unforgivable.

At the last one didn't they force people to download the app in order to even get in? Heck at this point that tells me they are in kahootz with China on some kind of data collection program.
 
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This might be the biggest PR disaster I have ever witnessed in gaming lol. Unfortunately this is going to happen more often now that China is investing so heavily in western entertainment. When you hold the purse strings you get to control the message.

Ever heard of Ocean Marketing? That one along with EA's reddit post on BF2: pride and accomplishment. This one might just have legs though.

I am anything but a blizzard fan and that sanction is seriously exxagerated. But why not just keep politics out of gaming tournaments. People folllw it for gaming and not to see what your political statement is.

Blizzard: Our ToS deem all politics must stay out!
Blizzard also: China is the best, don't offend China. We'll include CurrentYear() culture elements in our games (except in political markets where it would not be politically correct to do so).
 

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
Why are the corporations allowed to pander to specific political leanings if this isn't appropriate? Why are journalists allowed to pander to specific political leanings if this isn't appropriate?

This tells me that "everything is politics" only applies when the corpos and the journos open their sinewy reptile jaws and speak their PR propaganda.

If you're a player, shut your mouth.
 
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