I'm not sure if the majority of Blizzards fan base have the ideological tenacity to make this into anything other than a quick blow. Sure, a few might protest. A few might cry out, revelling in rightous fury. But few, if any will do the one thing that could actually scare a company like Blizzard, stop playing their games. No one individual will cancel years of hard work and play and cancel their various accounts. So, unfortunatelly, all Blizzard needs to do is stay quiet and all will be forgotten come the next big DLC-drop.
1
I thought I heard somewhere that part of the reason Blizzard made this poor decision to ban the activist was that the company has deep investments by Chinese. True or not, it still does not excuse such action. I hope their fan base proves to tgem what a poor decision it was.
1
This does illustrate the convergence of capitalism (making money) and political fascism. Fascism wins when it controls the ability of a company to make a profit.
America should be promoting conscientious capitalism, only the American Chamber of Commerce and so many other corporate alliances do not care.
Money over all is the ultimate fascism and this is entrenched in the American corporate ethos. This is certainly not the America I was taught about in Civics.
1
Disclaimer: My start with Blizzard was with Warcraft I. I have played most of their games. My most played game is World of Warcraft.
I feel that each person has to make their own decision on the issue of boycotting. I note that the player who was punished did violate an agreement with Blizzard that he voluntarily agreed to. I also note that Blizzard has reduced the penalty the player faced to a more reasonable level. I have known (in game) other players who have been punished by Blizzard for violations of the terms of service with similar bans.
I also note that the boycott of Blizzard needs to reach a significant level to have any significant effect on Blizzard. If 10,000 players join the boycott, the disruption to the income stream Blizzard has will be on the order of a rounding error.
I support the call for a boycott as every person’s right of freedom of speech and association, but I also support any current player’s decision to remain also, as a use of their freedom of association, and I refuse to denigrate anyone for continuing to play Blizzard games.
The people that note that other companies have strong ties to China have a point. If you boycott Blizzard over this, but would buy the latest Apple or Samsung phone, you should probably rethink things (Apple phones are assembled in China, Samsung makes memory modules in China), and give up on Google and Amazon. And again, if it is not millions of people boycotting, it’s still a rounding error in size.
Anyone who sees gaming, online, as the next "Hollywood", should remember that in the early 1980's, Apple and Steve Jobs were going to be the most influential people and copmpany of the 20th & 21st centuries. Also remember America On Line which , merged with Time- Warner,( a real monster size entertainment company)- much like a local corner cigarette store, taking over American Tobacco or British American Tobacco.
Times Warner divorced itself from AOL, and Apple would have gone bankrupt if Bill Gates-who didn't make any machines, back then-had not bought in to Apple-giving the soon to be fired Jobs, money to keep his ever shrinking computer company a bit more time. Gates did this not out of pity or fellow feeling-he paid off Apple out of fear that the US government might step in and begin breaking up big tech, for running virtual monopolies.
Games come and go-the one thing their makers can't control are the people who play them. This event seems to highlight that fact.
Good for the players. Only the willingly blind don't see the importance of gaming.
Good for some gamers to recognize that China is often an enemy of liberty. There are alternatives to Blizzard. There are alternatives to dealing with Chinese diktats and dictators. Liberty means having the right and the gumption to choose better alternatives. Use that liberty or lose that liberty.
2
In classic authoritarian overreach, the CCP's vitriolic campaign against the NBA and now gamers, at least of Blizzard, shows weakness.
We don't know the Chinese think. No western journalist will find people who disagree with gov't, because the Chinese understand the risk. That doesn't mean they agree. Gaming is a huge phenomena in China, and it's impossible that this isn't being discussed, in ways that escape detection.
A regime that goes ballistic over a historical game map that's realistic is a frightened regime. China has 1.3 billion. It doesn't matter how heavy surveillance is. It's bureacratic, like any institution. Only pockets of activity can be monitored. With so many layers of bureacracy to run things, most people know how to escape notice.
Xi's administration is aware of this. Why be so desperate to suppress speech, if confident?
With someone like Trump in office, people in China are even less likely to take risks. The US looms large in terms of their government's actions, and the US is too unpredictable. One of the reasons Eastern Europeans didn't revolt against the USSR until 1989 was because of Reagan. They didn't trust an administration that might overreact.
1
It's good that some American gamers are reacting to Blizzard's capitulation to Chinese pressure to punish Hong Kong pro-democracy supporters. But a quick visit to the BlizzCon blog suggests that the backlash may be less overwhelming than the article suggests. Many pro-Blizzard posts justify the punishment as just "enforcing the rules."
But this could be the beginning of something big. The tech world is becoming more international at the same time that some major national players are retreating into a protective chauvinism. China craves becoming the world tech leader while continuing to enforce its increasingly authoritarian restrictions.
Outfits like Blizzard are being caught in the middle. China is a huge market for gaming and any corporation wanting to operate there will need to obey the government's rules. Until now most American gamers have been largely apolitical, allowing corporations a free hand to appease Chinese censorship without suffering negative consequences elsewhere.
But central to the business model for these firms is the need to actively and carefully cultivate public images of being the gamer's dearest friend and the locus of a warm and fuzzy virtual "community." Hong Kong has now pushed the censorship issue onto the front burner and exposed the corporate hypocrisy of pretending to champion freedom and community while punishing Chinese dissidents.
Until China figures a way to defuse the Hong Kong crisis, the gamer protests may only get worse.
1
Blizzard is really counting on the apathy of western gamers here. Virtually everyone in the West despises this move but it's going to be forgotten as soon as the next shiny new Blizzard game debuts, unless something happens at Blizzcon to cement this issue into the collective memories of would-be consumers.
Blizzard caved to pressure by the Chinese government and dishonored the winner of one of their tournaments. Shouldn’t an American company stand for American ideals. What ever happened to free speech. If you can’t even win a gaming tournament because of your political beliefs what can you do. I think gamers understand what’s going on here. “Show me the money”
57
Blizzard is doing it the American way, making money at all cost. Are they different the Google, Apple or the rest of the tech companies that see China as $$$$
1
The customer is always right. It makes doing business in a global world very complicated. It gets hard to maximize shareholder profits when the customers have political agendas.
3
@RG It gets harder to maximize shareholder profits when human beings value principles above profits.
Hopefully shareholders will realize that, for some companies at least, there is more money to be made in the long run by taking the high road.
2
Blizzard is opposed to democracy in Hong Kong and has taken action against it. For Blizzard to whine that they are doing it for the money would not help their image.
Worse in the gaming world, Blizzard is not playing fair. They have stripped the champion of his championship and winnings, for courageous action performed AFTER the contest.
Decent people will join this boycott.
72
I play hearthstone. The game was already in serious decline primarily due to lack of investment by Activision Blizzard. The key example of this is that more than five years after release we still don't have basic functionality like being able to view statistics or the ability to play tournaments within the client. There is also a widespread feeling that the game is stale. Meanwhile it remains very, very expensive. Twitch viewership is way down. People in the community generally believe they are just milking the game for as long as they can without making any plan for long term changes. This Hong Kong thing may truly be the final nail in the coffin. It's hard enough to motivate to play a dying game but if you think you are supporting the denial of human rights as well you start to look elsewhere.
32
it's nothing short of extraordinary, that in an age of unprecedented information sharing, the very companies that benefit from this, have been the first to kow tow to China on restricting the flow of information and the freedom to spread information and viewpoints. We should change the First Amendment to say ''We shall restrict free speech whenever it interferes with our ability to make as much money as possible"
51
@Sipa111
Well what Blizzard is doing is not violating 1st amendment rights. Only the government can violate those rights. Private businesses can stifle any speech that they want to.
Now I don't agree with what Blizzard is doing and obviously many gamers are feeling the same. That is their right to boycott a business, which by hitting the pocketbook of a business can change a company's policy.
But it is not a 1st amendment issue. Now if the government stepped in and told the gamers to not voice their opinions, then their 1st amendment rights would be violated.
Unfortunately China has been doing this for decades in order to control their people. They have limited speech. And I agree with you about how companies are bowing to what China wants.
That is capitalism though, make the biggest profit possible no matter the social costs. US companies have been doing this since the beginning of the country. Profit rules. People are last. As Greco said "Greed is good." That has been the US slogan since the beginning.
13
@Skip Moreland
This is true and sad. China laughs at the US. All the way to the bank. China was 40 years behind us in most categories of manufacturing, technology, and production. Knowing how stupid and greedy American companies are, they offered up their market with the condition that all things sold there have to be made there. After giving up all their secrets those companies are crying for government help claiming they are being pushed out. China is no longer 40 years behind. My guess is that within 5 years a chinese company will offer up a version of Warcaft and all the other games and the people will be 'encouraged' to play those. Blizzard will loose its shirt to counterfeit.
10
I think it's also worth noting that it is in fact young people who primarily spend their time playing video games. You know, those same young people who walked out of school to protest the inaction of politicians to prevent gun violence and halt climate change. Passivity is no longer fashionable, and it looks like Blizzard is learning that the hard way.
68
Who wouda thunk? Gamers more socially responsible than republicans!
1
Within 24 hours of #MeiWithHongKong, her image was visible in Hong Kong protests. Blizzard should get comfortable with one of their most popular heroes being the face of the #FreeHongKong protests. They have only themselves to thank.
Corporate cowardice - so what else is new.
All, and I mean - ALL - corporations are gutless & greedy.
2
"hoping the company comes to recognize that earning the last penny in Chinese profits is not worth squandering"
How much Chinese money, for how much other money?
It will be money, not principles, that decides this. That is because money appoints the boss, and measures him by rate of return.
Here is a very thoughtful take on this issue, from a major voice in the Blizzard gaming community:
https://youtu.be/oPrFvcdKxWw
1
What a great article - very informative from a valuable perspective. Thanks.
1
Games are only games. Nothing about them is important.
1
@Jonathan Katz "Books are just books. Nothing about them is important." -1300's reactionaries probably
Their Warden spyware alone is sufficient reason to avoid them.
Blizzard's pro-xi expediency is just icing on the nope cake.
Very well written. I hope the protests are strong tomorrow. #MeiWithHongKong
6
My God. If a picture speaks a thousand words, the lead photo is horrifying. These are not protestors: they're thugs looking for a violent confrontation. Throwing bricks at police officers is not a game. The Hong Kong protestors lost their moral high ground--and the support of millions around the world--when they chose violence.
Seth Schiesel, thanks for a great article.
3
Unfettered capitalism will destroy democracy. It's destroying our political institutions. It's destroying freedom of speech. As China's economy ascends and surpasses America's, China will call the shots.
11
It's nice to see gamers taking some time away from harassing or boycotting women in gaming.
In all seriousness, does this mean it's unethical of me to play starcraft for now?
1
The hysteria surrounding the anti-Blizzard rhetoric is staggeringly myopic and hypocritical. First, the gamer that caused all this fuss willfully violated Blizzard's terms of service by making political statements during a sponsored event. Would you all feel the same if it was instead an activist calling for a boycott of Israel or lambasting the USA for its economic sanctions of Iran? If you open the floodgates for this sort of thing then eventually some young gamer will hit upon a political viewpoint that you do find unappealing.
That aside, why go after a small fish like Blizzard? Are any of you calling for a boycott even remotely aware of the much larger American businesses like Apple and Nike that gleefully do a ton of business in China? Do they all get a free pass simply because they haven't yet publicly reprimanded any of their employees for using company time to make a political statement? The moral relativism is absurd and nauseatingly hypocritical. You want to make a real statement? Then call for a boycott on every single American or European corporation doing business in China.
2
@Joe Schmoe I don't know why you assume that people speaking against Blizzard aren't also doing so with other companies that have recently overreacted in the name of Chinese appeasement, but we can even move ahead assuming your assumption is correct:
What you are observing and somehow really frustrated by is an issue becoming aware to an audience that was previously unaffected by it, and it's not only perfectly ok but should be encouraged. That kind of engagement is rare, and should be embraced when it happens rather than inexplicably scorned.
Seeing as how there is no reason to believe that most gamers are in the Mercedes demographic or that they have much sway in the NBA, they're actually the most appropriate group of consumers to put pressure on this particular company.
It's called a free market. If Blizzard's amenability to it doesn't seem problematic when they shiver at the thought of offending the Chinese government, I don't see why anyone should have even a minor problem with the consumers exercising their power in it.
Finally, these "if you don't take on a cause on all front with full passion and on a full-time basis, you shouldn't be talking about anything at all" arguments don't make sense in any context. Change is accomplished by many people contributing a little bit. The only people who have problems with that are people who have problems with the changes at hand in a given discussion.
7
Blizzard is fully entitled to its opportunities to earn as much money possible in the world, including China. I honestly don't care about what's happening in Hong Kong because the feasible goals have already been reached and the movement has been hijacked by activists with their heads in the sky. China has appeased them, they've demanded more. Do they really think China will let Hong Kong go? No, and it's not worth fighting an armed conflict with China.
@LR Blizzard's consumers are also entitled to voice their concerns and flex their economic muscle in response. What's the problem?
4
"the game business is now bigger than the film box office and the recorded music industries combined..."
And - for the people who run those businesses - their target market are the gaming dollars of the current and future generations who are going to be in charge of the world in the very near future --
That's way more frightening...
Meanwhile, POTUS strong arms US automakers to join in in opposition to California's emission controls regulation for automobiles while leaving the rest of Corporate America to kowtow to totalitarian regimes like China.
7
What worth is a company that is willing to sell it's soul for greed...while dumping all ethics? None, insofar 'we' are concerned.
7
Apparently, for Blizzard, it's all about sheer, unmitigated greed--a hallmark of the current Trumpian era. There are no apologies expected from billionaires and corporations and none an be expected, as they kowtow to any entity no matter how inhuman.
I suggest Blizzard relocate itself to China and abandon the country that made it wealthy and the freedoms they enjoyed while doing so.
11
We are headed to a complete division between philosophies.
You are on the side of freedom, or you are on the side of dictatorship. China is the world's most populous country, but it represents about 18% of world population and GDP. That's a big market to ignore, but as they are bent on world hegemony, a boycott is a necessity.
The west is far from a Utopia, but there are orders of magnitude of difference between concepts of human freedom and dignity.
Hong Kong is almost free. Xinjiang is the largest slave camp the world has ever seen, a nightmare of unimaginable proportions.
Dan Kravitz
15
@Dan Kravitz The situation with Hong Kong and mainland China is complex. People should have the right to support the protest movement or condemn it. The most immediate issue with the Blizzard case is the denial of users' freedom to say what they think. What Blizzard has shown is that it is not on the side of free speech.
2
Hopefully there will be a meaningful stand taken by the entire gaming community... it might go some way towards redeeming the portion of that community who devolved to such an extent in Gamergate.
1
@SeoulPurpose It's such a tiny portion of the community that participated in that, and after a decades-long tradition of being unusually progressive, accepting and positive as a community vs many other hobby-based communities one can name. I find it terribly unfortunate to see that that incident impressed so many people who had no exposure to the community that years later, it's the first thing they think to mention where gamers come up - even when they are doing something positive that is the subject of the article.
The problem I see with Western portrayal of the protest movement in Hong Kong, and the resultant general sentiment among Western audiences, is that they think the protest is a heroic force battling for the ultimate good against an evil totalitarian regime. The fact is the situation is much more complex. If you look objectively at the movement today, it is obvious many of the more active elements aren't really looking for democracy and freedom of speech. They routinely vandalize and burn up shops and banks whose only "sin" is to be perceived to be pro-China or at least not pro-protest. University students threaten and damage facilities to force faculty and staff to publicly condemn the government against their will. Regular citizens who film the rioting on the streets are forced to surrender their phones for the rioters to censor out any photos they want. There is even a group that advocates throwing all mainland Chinese out (even ones who are here legally), and building a wall at the border, Trump style. Is this the type of democracy movement you support?
1
@Andrew "The fact is the situation is much more complex."
Here is the simple part:
The response to this movement by this particular company has crossed into non-HK/Chinese life, and in a way that consumers who aren't used to being politically silenced by another country aren't comfortable with. Perhaps the Chinese government should get the word out to various pandering industries that they don't need to try to channel Chinese authoritarianism to all other countries it does business in.
1
Totalitarianism is especially repugnant to the young it appears. Makes me feel better about our world’s future. China has lost its piece of soul that flickered for a time before 89 peaceful uprising. Increasingly Red China, with its ruler for life, is the example of a state obsessed with control of its citizens.
43
There seems to be a “cultural libertarian” streak within video game culture that resents being told what to do or anything that smacks of moral lecturing. This results in pushback against conservatives who say that video games promote violence, but also against progressives who call out sexist tropes in video games. Being (indirectly) dictated by the Chinese government as to what they can say falls into this category.
22
@Scott It's true to some extent, but if you've participated in gaming communities, both at convention centers and online, for a long time, there is also a pretty established streak of progressivism among gamers. Gamergate made a lot of noise when it happened, but most of them that I've been exposed to come from a misfit background, and are sympathetic to the underprivileged, underrepresented and mistreated.
5
The irony resonates by the fact that as Games become more Global (creating greater inclusivity as well as culturally uniting more and people together) they risk and start to rub the politicians and politics of the different regimes they are used and played in...the wrong way and are becoming a cause of perceived disruption and social blowback, making the industry and its players/consumers realising it's not just fun and games anymore.
Their purpose and function are beginning to create a reaction that is in complete opposition to their reason for being.
When things get to the stage its not so much a Game anymore , then it can't be too long it becomes untenable as Gamers losing interest and leaving the category or by authority causing difficulties to those that play.
Either way the outcome is the same and its Game Over.
4
@Loomy
This is not anything new. Years back, some of the Wolfenstein games were banned in Germany because of depictions of the Nazi swastika. Other games were modified to show blood as green, instead of red, so that you were, supposedly, shooting aliens and not people.
If games are art (and they are) then developers ought to stick to their art to make their point. Often times, it's the publisher of the game that capitulates to pressure from outside since making money is perceived as more important than making a statement.
9
I disagree with the writers characterization of the NBA's response to the Daryll Morey tweet. In the first few days, the tweets were retracted. However, in the days following Adam Silver came out vigorously, defending the free speech rights of all of NBA employees.
9
Boycotting may be appropriate in this circumstance. But, what's laughable is ascribing any sort of political activism to the vast majority of the gaming community. Serious gamers are notoriously oblivious to anything happening in the world. Good luck on trying to get any enthusiasm for a boycott, or anything else not on the screen.
1
@Lawrence Siegel by your statement, it's obvious you don't understand the gaming community's reaction to Blizzard's actions. Look at the abundance of gaming communities on Reddit and you'll see nothing oblivious about what's going on in Hong Kong.
32
I fear the writer uses too broad of a brush, and too limited of a viewpoint, to try to make a case here: "Video game culture is the vanguard of global online culture. Just as Gamergate presaged the weaponization of the internet, the #BoycottBlizzard campaign outlines the growing challenge of balancing democratic ideals with the lure of profit in authoritarian countries." The lesson from Gamergate wasn't the "weaponization of the internet"; it was that virulent misogyny thrives in video game culture. One hopes that is not the vanguard of global online culture.
17
Blizzard is correctly betting that gamers will make a big noise, but will continue to play the company's games. Meanwhile, the Chinese market is huge and Blizzard would be walking away from tens of millions to ignore the censor's requests. Blizzard isn't in the business of changing governments.
@Edith
I'm just one guy, but one who has been playing Blizz games since Orcs vs Humans. Here's an excerpt from my last ever email from blizzard.
"You filed a request on 2019 October 12 04:35 UTC to remove personal information from the Blizzard account registered to this email. This request is complete, and we have removed or disassociated all personal information from your account.
This included your:
- Name, contact information, and security details
- Payment methods and purchase history
- Purchased games, codes, promotions, and in-game items
- Game licenses and all game progress
- Communications with Blizzard support
- Any remaining Blizzard Balance"
63
@Edith go dark and make sure the chinese players know where to go to keep playing...everyone should be free
4