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Blizzard's Weibo Account Just Posted an Apology To China

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Re: Blizzard's Weibo Account Just Posted an Apology To China

#51

Post by slavik81 »

loceng wrote: post #25
Someone1234 wrote: post #2

If that's real, that's a surprisingly bad PR move from Blizzard. I understand this was targeted at a Chinese audience (since Weibo) but they must have known this would get back to their English speaking audience almost immediately. There has to be a better balance then "We will always respect and defend the pride of our country" (even if that is a slight mistranslation).

Indeed - did Blizzard staff post this willingly or was this posted on Blizzard's Weibo account via Weibo staff or even someone else who followed an order? They certainly want to make the Blizzard game fans fall in line thinking Blizzard is aligning with China's tyrants' orders.

If Blizzard has lost control of their official account on Weibo, they should say so through other channels. They could clear this up instantly using their official Twitter account.

They've given no indication they've changed their mind on this matter, so it seems kind of premature to assume someone else has taken control over their account. The Weibo statement is consistent with their public position.

If they want to show fans that their stance on this matter has changed, they should unban Blitzchung, give him back his prize money, and rehire the interviewers they fired.

Re: Blizzard's Weibo Account Just Posted an Apology To China

#52

Post by LudwigNagasena »

WilTimSon wrote: post #41

Gaming companies have messed up and lost gamers' trust in so many different ways: predatory microtransactions, oodles of crappy DLC, half-finished products being shipped with huge Day 1 patches, etc. But all those were directly related to the industry and could at least be bounced back from if the company removed transactions/made meaningful DLC/improved the state of their games in the future. How the hell do you bou…

>"Oh, sorry, player base, we didn't mean to support a totalitarian regime that slaughtered innocents and suppresses free speech. Have a cool skin!"

But what can they do if they are headquartered there?

Re: Blizzard's Weibo Account Just Posted an Apology To China

#53

Post by ulzeraj »

apotheon wrote: post #49
rubinelli wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Redditors are already talking about going in Rockets gear and Winnie the Pooh shirts.

It would probably be more meaningful to cancel registration, and maybe even picket the place wearing that stuff (or at least post photos of wearing that gear on social media announcing they cancelled their registrations for the convention).

Agreed but on the other hand I’m dying to see the “is this an April’s fool joke?” moments during Q&A.

Re: Blizzard's Weibo Account Just Posted an Apology To China

#54

Post by b0rsuk »

Someone1234 wrote: post #2

If that's real, that's a surprisingly bad PR move from Blizzard. I understand this was targeted at a Chinese audience (since Weibo) but they must have known this would get back to their English speaking audience almost immediately. There has to be a better balance then "We will always respect and defend the pride of our country" (even if that is a slight mistranslation).

I think they're betting that 13-17 year olds don't care about politics, and there will be plently of Blizzard apologists among older gamers. Western democracies are not very principled these days and people are easily bought. Either way I think gamers can't boycott to save their life.

Re: Blizzard's Weibo Account Just Posted an Apology To China

#55

Post by somebodythere »

ineedasername wrote: post #42

I'm trying to think of ways to stop this, but I can't think of any good way. 1) I simply don't think it's feasible to expect that companies themselves will band together and say "we won't accede to such demands." 2) Countries like the US that have better free speech protection could pass laws requiring US companies to comply with the freedom granted in the US. So a company could not impose punitive measures on a user…

#2 would be a violation of freedom of association.

Re: Blizzard's Weibo Account Just Posted an Apology To China

#56

Post by jonathanlydall »

ineedasername wrote: post #42

I'm trying to think of ways to stop this, but I can't think of any good way. 1) I simply don't think it's feasible to expect that companies themselves will band together and say "we won't accede to such demands." 2) Countries like the US that have better free speech protection could pass laws requiring US companies to comply with the freedom granted in the US. So a company could not impose punitive measures on a user…

See my other thread, but to summarise, I don’t think this is Blizzard, but actually a Chinese company with a license from Blizzard to operate their IP within China.

I think that actual Blizard has no control here and the situation is a lot more complex than is immediately apparent.

Re: Blizzard's Weibo Account Just Posted an Apology To China

#57

Post by class4behavior »

yorwba wrote: post #38
fwip wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've heard multiple people explain that this is standard phrasing in Chinese to refer to China the country, and not "countries in general."

"Our country" would be "我国". They used "国家", which is the term used for one or multiple countries in general. They could have meant just one country, but it's not what I believe to be the most likely interpretation.

国家 simply means state or nation and in this context national. 国家尊严 means national dignity. In the US you rarely address one's dignity, honor, or national dignity. You talk about US values, democratic values, respect for the constitution, etc. So to properly convey the meaning and intonation to a US audience, you would try to rephrase that term into "respect for the country" or something along those lines.

Re: Blizzard's Weibo Account Just Posted an Apology To China

#59

Post by wishinghand »

jonathanlydall wrote: post #39

When I did customer service at Blizzard Europe back around 2010 one of my immediate colleagues who could speak Chinese and English was involved in the re-launch of WoW in China. They explained that non-Chinese companies were not allowed to operate in China. What Blizzard had done was essentially a partnership, but legally they gave rights to a Chinese company to operate/use their IP in China. I suspect this is the sa…

> but legally they gave rights to a Chinese company to operate/use their IP in China

Probably why there's a very blatant Chinese Overwatch ripoff game that Blizzard hasn't gone after.

Re: Blizzard's Weibo Account Just Posted an Apology To China

#60

Post by OedipusRex »

WilTimSon wrote: post #41

Gaming companies have messed up and lost gamers' trust in so many different ways: predatory microtransactions, oodles of crappy DLC, half-finished products being shipped with huge Day 1 patches, etc. But all those were directly related to the industry and could at least be bounced back from if the company removed transactions/made meaningful DLC/improved the state of their games in the future. How the hell do you bou…

This is in the same vein as some other complaints around China's involvement in the gaming industry. There are calls to separate Chinese players from the rest of a game's population because of rampant cheating and unsportman like conduct. PUBG is the poster child for these calls for separation. The Chinese company TenCent has invested VERY heavily in the games industry (https://www.pcgamer.com/every-game-company-that-tencent-has-...) and continues to bank roll games. Due to the nature of business between Chinese companies and the Chinese government, I don't see this problem going away.
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