I uninstalled the Blizzard App (maybe PR)

[Shapeshifter]

this about sums up everything going on very well and is very apt.

This is in regards to apple pulling that app.




$ above all else, who cares what monstrous or evil atrocities the country is doing, as long as we get $.

[bill dennison]

[Bires]

Originally Posted by Shapeshifter

snip

6421x3060 pixels? Wha?!?

[Shapeshifter]

Originally Posted by Bires

6421x3060 pixels? Wha?!?

yea no idea, that's the original size someone posted. Thankfully modern browsers auto-size now so it's not a big deal.

[theshadowcult]

Originally Posted by bill dennison

wonder how much unrest China would have if both fully pulled out of China

blizzard could turn off the China servers and none of the games would work in China


google is the worst in this and they are not getting heat like blizzard is

how is that? google is already banned in china, how does google have a stake in this?

[koralis]

Originally Posted by theshadowcult

how is that? google is already banned in china, how does google have a stake in this?

Google is developing AI in china. Given the required "partnership" relationship, that means that China now knows everything that Google knows about AI. Could china get there anyway? Maybe in time, but Google sped things up dramatically.

Is that AI not going to be used to harass their populace? Suspect that it's part of the Social Credit System. Will definitely become part of their drone warfare and surveilance programs.



https://www.scmp.com/news/china/soci...-10-ways-china

[Bires]

[logical]

Everyone will reinstall for Diablo 4

Would be hilarious if they released D4 or a beta/demo for it at Blizzcon.

[Bires]

True; the hardest part of this whole thing is having the discipline not to buy crap from China.

[Jet Black]

Originally Posted by Bires

True; the hardest part of this whole thing is having the discipline not to buy crap from China.

It's nearly impossible. Practically everything manufactured is from China. What's disappointing is that the open markets seemed to be encouraging China to move toward a better system, but it's the whole 'absolute power corrupts absolutely' thing. It's not even about whether it's capitalist or communist (because it's definitely not pure communist anymore), but that the government and its powerful leaders don't ever want to lose their power spots. Xi Jinping, like Vladamir Putin, are basically "president for life".

I think Jinping knows that he has to keep full power over his people because 1 Billion individuals could crush whatever government or army he has setup if they ever had the ability to coordinate, or even the will to want something better.

Bringing it back to the whole Blizzard thing: I don't think that China will change nor that we can really stop buying Chinese products, but we can at least choose to support companies that stand up and say they won't support the regime's processes.

[bill dennison]

Originally Posted by logical

Everyone will reinstall for Diablo 4

Would be hilarious if they released D4 or a beta/demo for it at Blizzcon.

Blizzard cancels major Overwatch event amid Hong Kong uproar

https://www.pcgamesn.com/overwatch/switch-launch-event

if they don't cancel Blizzcon this year or delay it

[logical]

Blizzcon doesn't happen in China not a chance it gets cancelled as it's Blizzards biggest event and a way to win the public back with their D4 announcement

[bill dennison]

Originally Posted by logical

Blizzcon doesn't happen in China not a chance it gets cancelled as it's Blizzards biggest event and a way to win the public back with their D4 announcement

the Nintendo thing was in New York

I don't think they will too many like my sister bought virtual tickets but it is a possibility with all the protesters going
https://www.fightforthefuture.org/ne...con-grow-even/


or they will make it worse by tossing protesters out

[xCLAVEx]

Let's just hope D4 isn't going by the early internal rumors stating that they wanted to change it to an over-the-shoulder 3rd person action RPG similar to Witcher.

[Nunz]

I don't get it. Blizzard is well within their rights to say "We don't want political speech or positions expressed at our events."

They did the right thing and reduced the punishment. They aren't saying they're only going to silence one particular group; they've said it applies to all. That is fair.

I see the pitchforks are already lit though. Let the brainless mobbing commence. Everyone has already hopped on the bandwagon.

[Drexion]

Originally Posted by Nunz

Blizzard is well within their rights to say "We don't want political speech or positions expressed at our events."

This line of thought can be used to silence any statement, as something that isn't political to one person may be political to another. If a tournament winner from HK says something like "I want my family to be free", it isn't political to him, it's just a personal wish for his family.

Anyhow the core issue is companies censoring themselves due to threats from a hostile non democratic government. That imo is what has gamers more worried, because if giants like Blizzard or the NBA can't stand up to them, whose next? How many other companies will we let them neuter before we say "enough, you've crossed the line".

[bill dennison]

These 3 factors explain why the NBA and other companies struggle to push back against Chinese censorship

3. Caving to censorship can hurt corporate bottom lines

As the NBA and Blizzard quickly found out, giving in to Chinese censorship can create a backlash in other markets — and that can hurt the bottom line. Blizzard, for instance, experienced a user boycott in reaction to Blitzchung’s suspension.

Self-censorship by companies can also hurt efficiency. Is Blizzard going to screen gamers and employees for their political views? In a recent large-scale experiment, we applied for jobs in foreign companies, private companies, state-owned companies and public institutions operating in China. We found most companies in China, including foreign-owned firms as well as local Chinese companies, do not screen out job seekers for their political views, in part because they want the best talent. Companies in China are not enforcing government censorship across the board when making business decisions that are less visible to the government and to the public.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...se-censorship/

[Jet Black]

Originally Posted by Nunz

I don't get it. Blizzard is well within their rights to say "We don't want political speech or positions expressed at our events."

They did the right thing and reduced the punishment. They aren't saying they're only going to silence one particular group; they've said it applies to all. That is fair.

I see the pitchforks are already lit though. Let the brainless mobbing commence. Everyone has already hopped on the bandwagon.

Originally Posted by Drexion

This line of thought can be used to silence any statement, as something that isn't political to one person may be political to another. If a tournament winner from HK says something like "I want my family to be free", it isn't political to him, it's just a personal wish for his family.

Anyhow the core issue is companies censoring themselves due to threats from a hostile non democratic government. That imo is what has gamers more worried, because if giants like Blizzard or the NBA can't stand up to them, whose next? How many other companies will we let them neuter before we say "enough, you've crossed the line".

I also think we expect companies in our part of the world to adhere to our values. They can hide behind their policy and say "we do not endorse any political statements" but that is a tough pill to swallow, because we can easily say that their actions in censoring things for some markets, or supporting regimes that deride our value system, are also political statements.

Many companies today are working toward a triple-bottom-line, and corporate social responsibility is part of what differentiates companies from each other and allows them to show what good they do (or don't do).

The thing that is great about our cultures here is that Blizzard has the right to do their thing, and we as consumes have the right to accept that or not. We can vote by continuing to support them, to buy their stock, to value their services, or we can decide they don't align with what we find important and hurt their business.

[Nascar24]

Sorry no can do, I paid for these games. If I did this I would want a refund!

[Meteor_of_War]

Originally Posted by Jet Black

The thing that is great about our cultures here is that Blizzard has the right to do their thing, and we as consumes have the right to accept that or not. We can vote by continuing to support them, to buy their stock, to value their services, or we can decide they don't align with what we find important and hurt their business.

Should be obvious, and its sad that needs to be explained to anyone.

Perfectly within our rights to protest/boycott a company who's values we don't agree with. Just the same as the BDS movement. We have free speech, but there will still be some who try to suppress it, especially when it threatens to cut into profits.

[bill dennison]

Originally Posted by Nascar24

Sorry no can do, I paid for these games. If I did this I would want a refund!

this

and I will buy diablo 4 hell I will pre order it asap

I will support freedom in Hong Kong but won't end mine for them

[logical]

Originally Posted by bill dennison

I will support freedom in Hong Kong but won't end mine for them

[Nascar24]

Originally Posted by bill dennison

this

and I will buy diablo 4 hell I will pre order it asap

I will support freedom in Hong Kong but won't end mine for them

For the first order of business Diablo 4 will not be tariffed

[logical]

Diablo Immortal first

[bill dennison]

Blizzard Bans More Hearthstone Players for Displaying a “Free Hong Kong” Sign

https://wccftech.com/blizzard-hearth...ong-more-bans/

[Bires]

When Blizzcon starts and there are thousands of cosplayers protesting...

[CurrentlyPissed]

Most people are doing it for the trend, not the cause. I personally will keep mine. I have far too much money/time spent into my account to throw away for something that has no direct cause to the incident.

[Meteor_of_War]

I don't see much use in deleting your already purchased games in protest. Unless its a monthly subscription based game its not going to hurt Blizzard much.

However I do see use in not buying their games anymore going forward, as well as letting them know you are boycotting.

[bill dennison]

Originally Posted by Meteor_of_War

I don't see much use in deleting your already purchased games in protest. Unless its a monthly subscription based game its not going to hurt Blizzard much.

However I do see use in not buying their games anymore going forward, as well as letting them know you are boycotting.

diablo 4 release date ………………………

……………. every diablo 3 player will buy it

[Mahjik]

Originally Posted by Meteor_of_War

I don't see much use in deleting your already purchased games in protest. Unless its a monthly subscription based game its not going to hurt Blizzard much.

However I do see use in not buying their games anymore going forward, as well as letting them know you are boycotting.

In the sense of boycotting, both can help. For example, planned DLC is based on user population. If no one is playing, then planning DLC isn't profitable and they'll have to move on and start developing new IP which is costly (especially if they don't have anything to fill in the gap like DLC does). Granted, this would mean you would need a large mass of players to stop playing, but it's possible.



On another note, I can see it both ways.. Using any platform to display ones beliefs is their own right. However, I can see it in the other light is that many people use entertainment (movies, games, etc) to escape real world issues and would rather not mix politics into their entertainment.