J. Allen Brack: Regarding Last Weekend’s Hearthstone Grandmasters Tournament

[tangers58]

to me the key take away is them saying they would have taken the same action had she spoke out in favor of China... long as the stance is equally applied to all sides it's ok.

If you believe that then I have a bridge to sell you...

[schwarzkopf]

Holy fucking shit, they're not even apologizing.

One doesn't tend to apologise when one hasn't done anything wrong.

[Prey0491]

Thanks, this is exactly what I was saying all along. People just wanted an excuse to get angry at Blizzard and they STILL won't let up.
Outrage culture at it's finest

[Alz94]

What's wrong with it is Blizzard choosing to defend a brutal dictatorship that is oppressing its citizens and violating human rights on a daily basis.

If you can't see what's wrong with that, then I can only assume you're a paid shill.

EDIT: Looks like there's a few other chinabots in this thread too. Lol.

Nothing wrong with getting your message across, just depends how you do it.

He broke the rules, he got punished. It's like saying "Oh i got fined for speeding but i really had to the bathroom so it should be okay". Nah mate, rules are there for a reason, if you decide to go against them then you accept the consequences, simple.

[tangers58]

Going to be hilarious next month when they have security confiscating signs and refusing entry for pro-Hong Kong clothing at the door. Remember when Blizz could manage to go for more than a few months at a time without turning in a dumpster fire?

[Xorzor]

"I want to be clear: our relationships in China had no influence on our decision."

Also...

- pigs fly
- Sylvanas is a good guy
- Anduin is sexually-attracted to Wrathion
- JaJa Binks is a classic SW character
- Dark Phoenix was a box-office smash-hit
- RIFT is not a WoW clone
- Edward Norton would have made a better Hulk than Mark Ruffalo
- Tony Stark is not actually dead
- Trump is the best US president ever

TLDR: Brack is just saving face...poorly

[Nokami]

Going to be hilarious next month when they have security confiscating signs and refusing entry for pro-Hong Kong clothing at the door. Remember when Blizz could manage to go for more than a few months at a time without turning in a dumpster fire?

With the outrage culture of reddit and co it's not as easy anymore.

[schwarzkopf]

Derailed the tournament? It happened at the end of the tournament, when it was over.

The tournament is more than one season ... if politics starts being part of the tournament, then it will kill it.

Next year it might be some pro Trump person, or anti Trump person, or some pro Nazi party or what ever.

Blizzard would then have to start making overt political decisions in a gaming tournament - what side of politics is allowed, and what isn't.

Anyway - how about the hypocrisy of people boycotting Blizzard and posting about it on their iPhones or Chinese made computers whilst wearing Chinese made clothes etc.

[Nathasil]

I am totally fine with Blizzard enforcing a "no politics on our stages"-policy...as long as the same rules apply to every case.

I don't think they would have had the balls to apply a penalty to a Chinese player shouting "One China!", i just don't see it. And i cannot imagine a penalty this harsh would have been applied to a US player shouting "Impeach Trump!" / "Trump 2020!".

With the way our world is becoming more and more extreme and divided, i think Blizzard may get a chance to prove me wrong very soon.

[Dziubla]

would you be saying the same thing if someone was spewing super right wing views after winning a match?

He wouldn't, because he's a hypocrite, like 99% of all those "outraged" morons, a.k.a. leftards.

[GenericDragon]

I've read many posts and comments across the Internet that stated this wouldn't have been a big deal if it was only a suspension and the prize money was untouched. Blizzard corrects themselves down to just that, yet people are still mad.

I accept Blizzard's statement and agree that blitzchung clearly violated a tournament rule. I also accept this change of decision as a vague apology. I'm still not convinced the casters should be punished, they didn't steer the conversation to that point and they have no control over what a player blurts out, but at least they aren't fired.

I also agree that the point of the rule is to keep non-game stuff out. It doesn't matter what it is. Literally none of you would be this loud if blitzchung blurted out anything else that would've got him punished. The Hong Kong issue is emotionally sensitive, stop and think before boarding the circlejerk train.

As a disclaimer, I support Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Tibet. You can say "fuck China" all you want and still think critically.

According to translations, the castors actually did steer the conversation to that point by saying something to the effect of, "Just say the words and we'll end the stream". Then they started to giggle and duck their heads when blitzchung started with his shit.

I'm not advocating for the violation of human rights by any means, and I'm disappointed in the way Blizzard has been handling this, but I'm not going to delude myself into thinking that anything Blizzard does would matter in the long run, short of putting all of their funding power into helping Hong Kong. But then, where is the financial support for those suffering from Russia's annexation? Or the help for the families of the people who got executed in Saudi Arabia?

If anything, we should be thanking Blizzard for their mighty screw up because it got even the Left and Right in the US to be like "What, wait a minute what the hell".

[Berndorf]

All I can say is that totalitarianism can take on many faces. Corporate entities control politicians and nod their heads to censorship which serves their goals. Google and by extension Youtube are perfect examples that we have just recently seen of this and if you don't know what I'm referring to then your head is too far down in the sand tbh. Its time to wake up.

[shadowmatrix]

So you are staying that Blizzard's stance is that people who want to be free and allowed the right of self-determination and not be under the shackle of a communist master is the same as the Klan and the Nazis?

Man, that is a long and far stretch of things of something trying to be edgy, drunk, stoned, or just someone ignorant of the world.

Reality check, as far as the courts are concerned you don't get to decide. If you allow one you can't ban the other which is what companies fear the most. Do you really think big name companies would walk away from that good PR if it was that easy?

[schwarzkopf]

"I want to be clear: our relationships in China had no influence on our decision."

Yep - that makes sense.

The possibility that the decision coincided with there interests in China is there - but the decision was exactly the same decision practised on the Blizzard forums when politics comes up - of ANY kind.

I know people are emotional and on the hunt for the latest reason to hate Blizzard, but be rational here folks.

[Pannonian]

Yeah totally.

Has nothing to do with politics while Blizzard CN broadcasts that they will defend the pride of China...

Now, the player knew what he was getting into, but still blizzard can't have it both ways. Either they have values that are more important than money... or not...

[Zandalariprelate]

I feel pity for the guys that works in PR department of Blizard

[Shinagami091]

I can appreciate their stance. They want to remain neutral on all things political and it was unfortunate what happened as it did cause some groups to get upset and others to get more upset when Blizz tried to correct it.

As long as they continue to enforce those rules for all other social and political stances and remain neutral on all things I will accept this explanation.

[Kyphael]

All right, everyone, stop whining and move on, if it's not your problem, don't try to be the world's hero. Stop trying to ruin video games for those of us not affected. I want more WoW expansions and Blizzcon to uninterrupted by stupid protests, if you don't like it, kiss my ass and go play something else, but leave Blizzard alone. They deserve to make money and have investors to answer to. Video gaming isn't a platform to protest human rights, that's just fucking juvenile and attention-grabbing whore shit.

So again, I ask you, kindly kiss my ass and stop trying to protest Blizzard. Find different venues.

Yours kindly,

[Kagthul]

Yea, but can we first stop at our own country?

Not how this works.

I can be upset and offended about both. I dont have to do only one or the other.

[Kyphael]

I can appreciate their stance. They want to remain neutral on all things political and it was unfortunate what happened as it did cause some groups to get upset and others to get more upset when Blizz tried to correct it.

As long as they continue to enforce those rules for all other social and political stances and remain neutral on all things I will accept this explanation.

That you, some fucking sense among a player base who want to play Captain Planet from behind their fucking gaming computer screens.