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Blizzard Cancels Overwatch Event

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Re: Blizzard Cancels Overwatch Event

#31

Post by errantspark »

streb-lo wrote: post #17
RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #4

This is a crisis point for everyone who supports political free speech. Every corporation and business person is watching this to see which hurts their bottom line less, suppressing free speech globally, or angering China. As consumers, we must make sure that they get the message loud and clear that suppressing free speech globally on behalf of China is going to hurt their bottom line far more than China will. Otherw…

> is going to hurt their bottom line far more than China will. Yea right. a) China has a huge market and b) most people don't really care. Go to /r/hearthstone or /r/wow and browse by new. People don't care.

Tencent owns a mere 5% of Actiblizzard and they generate less than 10% of their revenue in China. Sure it's an expanding market, but I don't think that the amount of pressure necessary to make it unprofitable is outside the reach of the protesting consumer-base. I don't really believe it will play out like that, but one can hope.

Re: Blizzard Cancels Overwatch Event

#32

Post by rayiner »

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #4

This is a crisis point for everyone who supports political free speech. Every corporation and business person is watching this to see which hurts their bottom line less, suppressing free speech globally, or angering China. As consumers, we must make sure that they get the message loud and clear that suppressing free speech globally on behalf of China is going to hurt their bottom line far more than China will. Otherw…

These incidents are making me reevaluate my views on the Cold War. Growing up after the Cold War was over, I always thought the domestic reaction (in the US) to the Soviet Union and Communism was overblown. Of course, growing up during the 1990s boom, it was inconceivable to me that any foreign country could have the slightest negative impact on me, or that there was any possibility that the future offered anything other than the American way of life for more and more people.

Re: Blizzard Cancels Overwatch Event

#33

Post by enragedcacti »

judge2020 wrote: post #25
caseymarquis wrote: post #19

Anyone know if they'll see it when I uninstall Overwatch?

If anything, playing Overwatch more without purchasing anything else cuts more into their ROI since you use up their servers.

In a vacuum sure, but you are the product that Blizzard is selling to new players and to players who want to show off the cool skins they got from loot boxes. If there is no one to play with no one will buy.

Re: Blizzard Cancels Overwatch Event

#34

Post by dtn »

cjbprime wrote: post #7
hartator wrote: post #3

The worst part they made the player gave up $10,000 of tournament prize he already won. It's a lot of money in China.

They reversed that decision already, and halved the amount of time of the suspensions. It's not good enough when combined with denying any wrongdoing in the original decision, though, and when Blizzard's own Chinese version of its apology for Blitzchung's speech included a phrase that translates something like "We will protect the national dignity [of China]". -- https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/10/10/verified-chine…

NetEase, their regional publisher, made that statement. It was also posted before the controversy started.

Re: Blizzard Cancels Overwatch Event

#35

Post by bhouston »

judge2020 wrote: post #25
caseymarquis wrote: post #19

Anyone know if they'll see it when I uninstall Overwatch?

If anything, playing Overwatch more without purchasing anything else cuts more into their ROI since you use up their servers.

You are still engaged and eventually you will buy something. A hard boycott is best if you want results.

Re: Blizzard Cancels Overwatch Event

#36

Post by gtirloni »

Waterluvian wrote: post #2

I hope this emboldens people as they see that their protesting actually works. I'm often super pessimistic that large corporations are immune to protest because people have short attention spans and get bored of being outraged.

I wish protesting against Blizzard would have an impact on Chinese policy but there's zero chance of that happening.

I understand it's a long game (no pun intended), getting more and more companies to take a stand for free speech, but the impact on the lives of the people really affected by it is too small.

The US government has much greater means to make a really powerful impact but I don't see that ever happening.

Re: Blizzard Cancels Overwatch Event

#37

Post by jacquesm »

rayiner wrote: post #32
RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #4

This is a crisis point for everyone who supports political free speech. Every corporation and business person is watching this to see which hurts their bottom line less, suppressing free speech globally, or angering China. As consumers, we must make sure that they get the message loud and clear that suppressing free speech globally on behalf of China is going to hurt their bottom line far more than China will. Otherw…

These incidents are making me reevaluate my views on the Cold War. Growing up after the Cold War was over, I always thought the domestic reaction (in the US) to the Soviet Union and Communism was overblown. Of course, growing up during the 1990s boom, it was inconceivable to me that any foreign country could have the slightest negative impact on me, or that there was any possibility that the future offered anything o…

Pity you didn't spend any time behind the Iron Curtain when it was still up. Formative experience if there ever was one for me.

Re: Blizzard Cancels Overwatch Event

#38

Post by microcolonel »

paulddraper wrote: post #22
cjbprime wrote: post #10

The huge question here is what's going to happen at BlizzCon in two weeks. There'll be 40,000+ attendees, cameras everywhere, there are usually Q&A panels, homemade signs for player support, cosplay, everything. How can you host BlizzCon when you're terrified of political speech?

They are between a rock and hard place. It's a total no-win for them now. (Queue morbid curiosity.)

Well, let's hope the kowtow to genocidal fascist dictatorship option is clearly the more painful of two painful paths.

Re: Blizzard Cancels Overwatch Event

#39

Post by rabite »

On this issue, I support China and Xi. This makes me like Blizzard for once in a long while. China has every right to put down arrogant, entitled brats committing acts of violence and property destruction on its streets. I have no desire to see my country entangled in more foreign conflicts, and the disgusting support of hawks and media entities for the petulant Cantonese brats in Hong Kong is yet another reason to support Blizzard.

Just reinstalled Overwatch, and bought a few friends copies.

Re: Blizzard Cancels Overwatch Event

#40

Post by notyourday »

rayiner wrote: post #32
RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #4

This is a crisis point for everyone who supports political free speech. Every corporation and business person is watching this to see which hurts their bottom line less, suppressing free speech globally, or angering China. As consumers, we must make sure that they get the message loud and clear that suppressing free speech globally on behalf of China is going to hurt their bottom line far more than China will. Otherw…

These incidents are making me reevaluate my views on the Cold War. Growing up after the Cold War was over, I always thought the domestic reaction (in the US) to the Soviet Union and Communism was overblown. Of course, growing up during the 1990s boom, it was inconceivable to me that any foreign country could have the slightest negative impact on me, or that there was any possibility that the future offered anything o…

The difference is that the USSR was a small market, so it was possible to crush it economically, which is what the West did.

This time around China is looking to become the largest market and if we let it to become one before China sheds its "communism with Chinese characteristics", it will crush the West.

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