Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale • Hacker News Board

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#261

Post by runawaybottle » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 8:03 PM UTC

itsoktocry wrote: post #245

runawaybottle wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can lend some color to that. Blizzard created a modestly successful MOBA to compete with League of Legends and it just couldn’t make a dent in LoL’s Asia numbers, so they slowly put the game into maintenance mode (effectively given up on it). Diablo Immortal is them outsourcing development of a flagship franchise to a Chinese company Netease to develop a mobile version. Netease mobile games are really big overseas.…

> Blizzard created a modestly successful MOBA to compete with League of Legends and it just couldn’t make a dent in LoL’s Asia numbers, so they slowly put the game into maintenance mode (effectively given up on it). Are you talking about DOTA2? It was hugely successful, both from a gamer's perspective, as well as in the eSports world.

No, Heroes of the Storm. DOTA2 was created by Valve :p

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#262

Post by steaknsteak » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 8:04 PM UTC

Phenomenit wrote: post #216

yaseer wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aside, but there seems to be a much higher level of collective cognitive dissonance with Michael Jackson, perhaps because of his stature in popular culture. I'm guilty of this myself - my brain sets a higher bar for evidence, perhaps unreasonably.

Yeah, his music is so deeply ingrained in my mind that the "new" information doesn't stick. I have to many fond memories associated with his music and art that it always takes a few seconds for my mind to change course.

He's also dead, so it's not like he is personally benefitting from our enjoyment of his music anyway.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#263

Post by elseweather » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 8:05 PM UTC

milkytron wrote: post #251

__john wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Blizzrd hasn't had a significant original release in 10+ years A quick search tells me that Overwatch has 6M players, which seems significant.

Haven't played Overwatch myself, but isn't it very similar to the other games that came before it? From a layman's perspective, it seems like a copy of Paladins, TF2, etc. Upon it's release, it didn't seem like something original (at least not to me), but rather something to compete with the unique games other studios had already created.

That's what Blizzard's always done - they didn't invent RTS games, or MMOs, or collectible card games, or roguelikes, they just refined and productized them. I think it's fair to call Overwatch a huge success if you're counting e.g. Diablo and World of Warcraft in there.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#264

Post by acituan » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 8:07 PM UTC

rapind wrote: post #244

acituan wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Feelings alone do not make a rational standpoint. This ex-pressing (pressing outwards) of our feelings was the problem of romanticism, and it has to be balanced with what the reality tells back at us. In other words, people don't seem to be saying they shouldn't have shared their feelings, but when they did they should have been ready to receive the criticism especially on logical results of their reasoning. Not usin…

I feel like any debate over the term “virtual signaling“ is missing the meta game (along with people who virtue signal or accuse others of virtue signalling). Like there’s an evil genius(es) with ulterior motives behind it all. Could just be my cynicism though.

> Like there’s an evil genius(es) with ulterior motives behind it all.

In a sense, I think there is. Instead of a cabal, it is just our collective intelligence getting lost in attractive pockets of irrationality.

I think virtue signaling could be as old as humans, because there are social and psychological benefits to being seen virtuous, without paying the costs of being virtuous.

The more it is demonstrated that people can get away with it, the more we are trained to consider that as an alternative, that we can get away with it too, and collectively we converge to a pit of empty appearances.

That said calling out something as virtue signaling also has failure modes; it is ultimately an accusation of duplicitousness and we can't really be sure of people's intentions. It can also have a chilling effect on genuine enactments of virtue.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#265

Post by dillondoyle » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 8:09 PM UTC

azornathogron wrote: post #76

biryani_chicken wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's dystopian to see Chinese people consume American products at the expense of American workers.

Turn-about is fair play, right? Less tongue-in-cheek, I'm really not sure it's China's responsibility to ensure good working conditions in the foreign companies that produce the goods they want to buy, and I'm not sure it's the west's responsibility to ensure good working conditions for the Chinese workers who produce the goods we buy either. I feel I may be in the minority with that view though.

I don't totally agree but it's a good point.

I think it's important to add that with China t's not simply poor working conditions (happens in other countries too, but CCP on a vast scale and what we're talking about).

It's forced labor and genocide, which I think we have a fundamental human obligation to do the smallest bare minimum of trying to avoid those goods (like cotton). That should rise above states and politics.

Though tougher action that could make a difference of course has big consequences and a big ethical dilemma for sure. But a boycot seems like the most basic bare minimum.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#266

Post by krona » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 8:10 PM UTC

afavour wrote: post #182

dnzkw wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The thing that gets me about “virtue signalling” is this built-in assumption that no one does anything earnestly, and that every action is performed according to how it’ll be received. I just don’t believe that’s how the vast majority of people live their lives. OP did what they did because the status quo made them uncomfortable. People don’t have to be soldiers in a mythical cultural war, sometimes they’re just peop…

Aren't you simply signalling your own moral purity by projecting the accusation back onto an accuser, as though it were a league table of moral status?

There was a time when one had to actually do things to be virtuous.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#267

Post by breakfastduck » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 8:12 PM UTC

alex_c wrote: post #222

brainfish wrote: post #26

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 haven't purchased new Blizzard products since the Hong Kong censorship debacle" I don't think Blizzard has released any new products (other than game updates) since then anyway, so I expect most people can say the same :) By the way, check out Grim Dawn with the Reign of Terror mod if you want a "Blizzard-free" Diablo 2 experience.

I think that's a purposeful misinterpretation of the post at best.

They clearly mean they have purchased no further Blizz products since the news.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

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Post by dylan604 » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 8:13 PM UTC

aftergibson wrote: post #253

bakuninsbart wrote: post #212

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Some of the best fiction was written by people with absolutely despicable opinions like Francois Céline or Knut Hamsun. You can see it in their art, but their art isn't limited to it, and still holds a lot of value. Friedrich Nietzsche's opinions on women and politics are plain dumb, yet his other thought can be extremely compelling, and he is rightfully one of the most influential thinkers of modern times. Going bac…

Celine and Hamsun aren’t getting engagement activity from their in-app analytics. They also can’t respond to all of the legitimate criticisms against them. Activision can and they’ve decided to bring in the Pinkertons. At the end of the day, another player booting up an Activision game is another (tiny) data point that says whatever activity Activision/Blizzard is engaging in is a-ok with that player. It’s not revenu…

>whatever activity Activision/Blizzard is engaging in is a-ok with that player

This is definitely how Activision/Blizzard will interpret it. However, not every single gamer is tuned into these kinds of stories about the game makers. Some will be totally unawares of any of the shenanigans that occur behind the game. Not everybody has the time and/or interest for that. Just like people do/don't care about Amazon, Walmart, Nike, etc. Someone that does care will bring to light something that may garner media attention. Some people will see that, and get worked up about it. However, the majority of people will be just as happy to put their head back in the sand and continue on with their day-to-day.

I also came here to see if anyone else was calling that Activision/Blizzard's next move were to call in the Pinkertons.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#269

Post by SantalBlush » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 8:14 PM UTC

podric wrote: post #195

scrollaway wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Hades definitely has more interesting game mechanics, but it's more of a Roguelike ARPG than a classic ARPG. I also find its enemy design and atmosphere lacking in consistency and quality. It just doesn't have the dark, dangerous, and foreboding feel that Diablo 1 and 2 have mastered.

Totally agree. Both Hades and Diablo are great, but the gameplay and art are considerably different between the two.

Re: Activision Blizzard Hires Notorious Union-Busting Firm WilmerHale

#270

Post by slownews45 » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 8:16 PM UTC

leereeves wrote: post #180

slownews45 wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We need to be crystal clear here that the unionization drive at Amazon, AL FAILED - and it wasn't close. This was a BLOWOUT loss by the unions. I mean, the vote wasn't even close even though they protested something like 500 votes? I didn't know WH was involved on company side - but if so it was a mighty effective campaign.

I was curious, and just in case anyone else was as well, the vote was 1,798 against unionizing, 738 in favor.

I heard the union also tried to get 400+ ballots thrown out. Does anyone know anything more about that - were they ever counted? Or was it Amazon that protested ballots?