“Do not lose time on daily trivialities. Do not dwell on petty detail. For all of these things melt away and drift apart within the obscure traffic of time. Live well and live broadly. You are alive and living now. Now is the envy of all of the dead.” ~ Emily3, World of Tomorrow
Words to live by.
"It doesn't matter if you believe me or not but common sense doesn't really work here. You're mad, I'm mad. We're all MAD here."
You think they’d cut the feed, redact all prize money from the winner, discontinue him from participating in future tournaments, and fire two people for saying “I don’t like trump?”
Because I don’t think they would,
What they did was not “measured response,” it was “fear.”
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You pointed out that blizzard, in conjunction with one of its higher ups exclusively supporting republican causes, capitulated to China, and then stated that this would probably come as a “surprise” to the individuals who thought hey were an, in effect, “beneficent” liberal company. You were saying that assumption of both their beneficence and their liberal leanings were incorrect, and that the antithesis of that; I.e, what they actually are, was that of an amoral republican leaning company.
To which I found it quite funny that you as a conservative would admit.
“Do not lose time on daily trivialities. Do not dwell on petty detail. For all of these things melt away and drift apart within the obscure traffic of time. Live well and live broadly. You are alive and living now. Now is the envy of all of the dead.” ~ Emily3, World of Tomorrow
Words to live by.
The problem for blizzard is that they are political when it benefits them just like the NBA. You can't have it both ways.
We won't know until it happens again. It was not a response out of fear though because they acted exactly as the rules said they would. That isn't acting out of fear. Blizzard themselves likely have no control over the casters job as they likely worked for X sub contractor rather then direct Blizzard employees. Though I don't see why their jobs should be saved if they were involved in causing/enabling a person to break the rules.
Given the way contracts work they easily could have a lawsuit if they didn't enforce the rules. It was also an event with advertisers that might now be dragged into political mess against their will. The Mitsubishi logo was on screen during the incident. The response was not a reaction of fear. It was a reaction following the letter of the law (their rules).
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Sure you can. A company has the right to dictate when and where they make stances on subjects. Blizzard has also stayed out of country politics and things of this nature. The closest they have come is the support of LGBQT. Which isn't necessarily political since it is legal in the country.
"Man is his own star. His acts are his angels, good or ill, While his fatal shadows walk silently beside him."-Rhyme of the Primeval Paradine AFC 54
You know a community is bad when moderators lock a thread because "...this isnt the place to talk about it either seeing as it will get trolled..."
"It doesn't matter if you believe me or not but common sense doesn't really work here. You're mad, I'm mad. We're all MAD here."
They didn't make a political stand here though. They did the very opposite by not making one at all. They took the neutral stance of simply enforcing their rules with no statement either way. That is completely different then coming out in support of something. It is perfectly fine for getting blow back for remaining neutral. But that isn't what you and others are complaining about.
Blizzard choose not to take a stance on the subject after being forced into it.
"Man is his own star. His acts are his angels, good or ill, While his fatal shadows walk silently beside him."-Rhyme of the Primeval Paradine AFC 54
You know a community is bad when moderators lock a thread because "...this isnt the place to talk about it either seeing as it will get trolled..."
There's nothing "neutral" about that... especially considering the extremity of the punishment for said "rule broken". If he had a 6 month ban, tops, I'd possibly agree with you. But to have his entire rank and winnings witheld? That's downright vindictive, excessive and unnecessary based purely on the rules they're using.
EDIT: and, as others above pointed out - the mere act of punishing for a political view (especially when it wasn't calling out for violence) IS a political stance via Blizzard.
Simple: Activision never owned Bungie, they merely acted as a publisher. When that publishing contract ended, Bungie chose not to renew.
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The rule they used actually leaves very little room for discretion on that point:
Engaging in any act that, in Blizzard’s sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image will result in removal from Grandmasters and reduction of the player’s prize total to $0 USD, in addition to other remedies which may be provided for under the Handbook and Blizzard’s Website Terms
So, the parts they're using is "Blizzard's sole Discretion" and "Offends a portion or group of the public", translating into "Blizzard chooses Chinese government that is offended by his stance."
Yeah, total bullshit. The rules are written there clearly for things like Racism, Bigotry, ect...
Enforcement is at their discretion, but the punishment is rather explicit ("will result in... reduction of the player's prize total to $0 USD").
Again, though, to refer back to my previous post, Blizzard had no good options here. To go against China would be to potentially lose the entire market, take an enormous financial hit, be forced to lay off dozens if not hundreds of people, and get crucified by their shareholders. I'm not taking China's side in this matter, simply recognizing that this was a no-win scenario for Blizzard.