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Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

promethean.news

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Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A company is only just a shell. It is the creative people that work for a company that make the actual products. If you like a game, keep bookmarks on the people who made it and follow them around the industry.

Dreamhaven & frostgiant are the ones I'm following (and super hyped for), is there anything else I should be aware of?

Keep an eye on Ben Brode's scrappy new studio, Second Dinner.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#162

I cut my teeth on Diablo, and played Diablo II for probably fifteen years after its release off and on as a way to stay connected with a friend who loved it similarly. More recently, I have consistently played Starcraft II since its release and enjoy a sense of mastery over that game unparalleled by my experience in any other. I haven't purchased new Blizzard products since the Hong Kong censorship debacle[1] and qui…

Check out Path of Exile 2 -- it's the spiritual successor to Diablo 2. And it's freemium

Hades is a better Diablo than any of the Diablo games imo. I feel like it's the perfection of the mechanics that diablo's dungeon runs were supposed to be.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're a biglaw firm, which has its hands in many, many fields. If WilmerHale had anything resembling a specialty, it would corporate/finance law.

Real white shoe big law wont really want to do union busting

Sullivan and Cromwell helped overthrow an entire government to avoid unions.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#164
post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The website ‘Wikipedia’ is sketchy? Or who is? edit I guess you mean the news site this article is on, that is pretty sketchy indeed.

Additionally, the site wouldn't load for me. Turns out NextDNS blocked it because it's less than 30 days old, and indeed, it is[0]: Dates 30 days old Created on 2021-06-29 Expires on 2022-06-29 Updated on 2021-07-04 [0]: https://whois.domaintools.com/promethean.news

NextDNS blocks sites because the domain registration hasn't existed for long enough? That sounds... useless.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#165
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really understand this attitude, or line of reasoning, or whatever you want to call it. Sure, if a company does something that you find reprehensible, not giving them further money (or attention) is certainly a reasonable -- and honorable! -- thing to do. But if you've already purchased a standalone[0], non-subscription product from that company, and that company doesn't gain any benefit from your further use…

I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to feel weird about watching old DVDs of the Cosby Show, for example. With the "benefit" of context, the vibes are sort of irrevocably off.

Yet Michael Jacksons music is still played on the radio and in other media contexts.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#166

What world is this where companies hire union-busting mercenaries? Is this the Pinkertons in 2021? What kind of lawless place is the US where you can hire services to stop unionisation?

> What world is this were companies hire union-busting mercenaries? Is this the Pinkertons in 2021? Excellent example of how this headline can mislead people. They're lawyers "hired to review Activision’s policies", not armed thugs who bust union skulls.

No, they just advise what internal tactics to use, and where to hire said external resources.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#167

I cut my teeth on Diablo, and played Diablo II for probably fifteen years after its release off and on as a way to stay connected with a friend who loved it similarly. More recently, I have consistently played Starcraft II since its release and enjoy a sense of mastery over that game unparalleled by my experience in any other. I haven't purchased new Blizzard products since the Hong Kong censorship debacle[1] and qui…

I've slowly stopped playing video games after college... but I deleted my Blizzard account after Blizzard doubled down on Blitzchung. Banning the casters for six months... that still gets me riled up. It makes zero sense to ban the casters for the player's conduct.

I deleted my blizzard account at the time as well and I had most of the products they had ever offered. Aside from missing playing starcraft2 occasionally, I’m not sorry.

These companies are organizations who can change rapidly as management and staff turn over. Blizzard from last year isn’t the same as blizzard from 5 years ago isn’t the same as blizzard from 20 years ago.

The veneration of brands based on their inheritance from what the brand used to be distorts people’s view of reality, and leads to brands that feel they don’t have to continue in terms of excellence.

Personally I think the start of WoW was the end of an age for Blizzard. Similarly the release of Fallout Shelter was the end of an age for Bethesda. Beyond those points the organizations were distorted by the success and profit they encountered there, and basically shifted to new companies with different priorities yet still holding the brand name.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#168
post #142

I cut my teeth on Diablo, and played Diablo II for probably fifteen years after its release off and on as a way to stay connected with a friend who loved it similarly. More recently, I have consistently played Starcraft II since its release and enjoy a sense of mastery over that game unparalleled by my experience in any other. I haven't purchased new Blizzard products since the Hong Kong censorship debacle[1] and qui…

I don't really understand this attitude, or line of reasoning, or whatever you want to call it. Sure, if a company does something that you find reprehensible, not giving them further money (or attention) is certainly a reasonable -- and honorable! -- thing to do. But if you've already purchased a standalone[0], non-subscription product from that company, and that company doesn't gain any benefit from your further use…

It's called virtue signalling. See how virtuous this guy is, giving up the precious entertainment he already paid for a decade ago for no reason other than internet points - it's not like these girls are going to be ungroped by this guy's actions, if the allegations are to be believed.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a great game, but if you are concerned about Freedom in Hong Kong, Grinding Gear Games is owned by Tencent, so you are still sending money to support an authoritarian regime that is still finishing up their latest installment of ethnic cleansing and re-education camps.

So is Funcom, Riot, Epic, Miniclip... They're harder to avoid than Nestle...

No they’re very easy to avoid. Just don’t play games by ten cent owned companies. There are a lot of companies out there and a lot of games - more than you or I could conceivably have time to play.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#170

I cut my teeth on Diablo, and played Diablo II for probably fifteen years after its release off and on as a way to stay connected with a friend who loved it similarly. More recently, I have consistently played Starcraft II since its release and enjoy a sense of mastery over that game unparalleled by my experience in any other. I haven't purchased new Blizzard products since the Hong Kong censorship debacle[1] and qui…

I was sexually abused as a child, and having learned in the last week that Blizzard management has actively protected and covered up the sexual abuse and harassment that some of their high level employees have enacted on others, I have felt extremely sick to my stomach and it has been highly triggering for me.

Seeing that they're making literally no changes at all to management or executive leadership, I'm having a hard time describing the rage that I feel inside. These people who knew and covered up the harm deserve prison, not just being fired.

I've been a huge fan of Blizzard games since I was a child. When I see Blizzard pushing back by aiming to crush internal protest, these feelings I have about this corrupt anything good I ever felt for these games. These people in leadership positions and the HR department that covered this up are criminals and should be seen as such.

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