BlizzCon and Our Latest Plans - No BlizzCon This Year

[rhorle]

Read his link instead of blaming them. They actually say they dont know how long it lasts beyond 90days, not that its over at 90.. They recommend vacc over yoloing getting sick because vacc has less risk of speedrunning to the grave. Since he cant into reading comprehension and doesn't even understand his own links its not worth arguing. Let the thread die. Waste of space seeing it frontpage constantly.

Why must you turn to insults? I never claimed anything contrary to what you describe or what the link says. It does state that the CDC recommends vaccine over natural immunity. The claim another poster made was that the CDC recommends getting natural immunity over a vaccine. So before you accuse others of not being able to comprehend what they read you may want to make sure that you have an understanding to begin with.

[Triceron]

This is when you know you lost the argument. You changae to something irrelvant to what was discussed. You claimed they could nto have the event without internationals. I have shown that you can. And by the wy, Blizzard never said they couldn't have the convention without internations. In fact, they prove me right where they even admitted they would have some in-person gatherings with the virtual convention. That shouldn't be possible because it doesn't include internationals.

You didn't prove Jack shit.

I never said they can't do a show without international attendance, I said the show is fairly pointless without it, and I point at Blizzard forgoing a US only Blizzcon an example of that.

Otherwise think of it this way - I fully agree that Blizzard could do a US only convention. Now explain to me why they are not.

Whether you think they _can_ does not address the fact they have chosen not to, and have their reasons for doing so. I've explained that much of Blizzcon is hinged on showing floor demos, international esports, having international attendance (uniting guildmates from around the world) and encouraging people exploring the entire show floor. What Blizzcon can not be equated to is a seated event where everyone is a physically distanced in a controlled manner. And where it's concerned for a smaller venue that isn't supposed to actually replicate the full Blizzcon event, they've already stated approaching a smaller scale limited person event with plans to announce later.

Blizzard has been pretty transparent that Blizzcon itself doesn't net them a whole lot of money, and they work at a loss in order to garner the publicity and long-term support of fans. That's very different from sports and entertainment shows, whose very business is built around live events.

[Beefhammer]

No tickets, no money, money, money.

They don't make money from Blizzcon. It's a break even or a loss situation for them every year.

[Wangming]

Blizzard doesn't usually bring in star developers from outside. They promote from within.

although i cant speak for blizz, as payroll accountant i know todays "trend" is to hire new people on non-entry positions only if you have literaly nobody who could be promoted to it (or rarely if nobody wants it), if you have someone capable on lower position you promote him and hire someone for that low position, so yeah, thats not really newsworthy (not that someone leaving company after 10-20y deserves more than little remark)

its for few reasons, mostly bcs 1. its usualy cheaper, 2. person working on lower position is already familiar with the company so the transition is easier 3. promotes loyalty to company and motivates people on lower positions

Yeah you two make good points. But depending on what a person believes the last good Blizzard game to be, this might not be all that reassuring, logical though it might be. I think the mojo got lost in the early 2010s somewhere. I liked MoP, Reaper of Souls was a huge improvement over base Diablo III, Hearthstone was fun for the first few content updates. But after that....raid or die and borrowed power, life support with few substantial updates, and pay to win respectively.

[rrayy]

@rrayy

I admit at some point i got extremely pissed when they said on TV NON STOP, everyday (about the possible side effects of AstraZeneca vaccine and those few deaths)

"The benefits outweigh the risks so is better you still take the AstraZeneca vaccine"

I got completely mad about it.
You are in your right to not take it IMO

But

I wont tolerate anyone saying "wearing a mask is a symbol of stupidity and submission and they can even harm you"
Now that...just stop.

And that is fine. I never said anything about the mask and will wear one where required. I have not taken any issue with masks.

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Nothing you have said in this entire thread has any grounds in science. Literally nothing.

The side effects and concerns with teh vaccine? That does have grounds in science and they have even admitted they are concerned about it. You ignore that science because it doesn't fit your totalitarian stance.

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That isn't true. The CDC has been stating that the vaccine is better the natural immunity and can last longer. No one is ignoring data from the CDC or other scientific sources. Just because people don't accept fake, or twisted information, does not mean they are ignoring the science.

Say the one who continues to ignore the growing concernes of heart damage from the vaccines and wants people to be forced to risk their heart health and inject the drug anyway. ANd by the way, the CDC is corrupt and beholden to the government. It should not be blindly followed in anyway.

[rhorle]

The side effects and concerns with teh vaccine? That does have grounds in science and they have even admitted they are concerned about it. You ignore that science because it doesn't fit your totalitarian stance.

No one has ignored the science that says side effects exist and that some could be troubling. Those side effects though are rare and much rarer or less dangerous then those you can get from contracting COVID-19. Stop making this about a totalitarian state when you are the one that is afraid and can't handle the state you already live in.

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Say the one who continues to ignore the growing concernes of heart damage from the vaccines and wants people to be forced to risk their heart health and inject the drug anyway. ANd by the way, the CDC is corrupt and beholden to the government. It should not be blindly followed in anyway.

I have never once ignored it. Stop creating a fantasy just so you can keep raging about totalitarianism. The side effects are rare and being monitored. If it becomes an issue it will be paused and investigated just like happened with the J&J vaccine. The CDC is not corrupt. It has just as much scientific value as every thing else.

You tipped your hand though and showed it isn't about vaccines, side effects, or any other science. But it is about corrupt governments and politics. Which is why you have to keep yelling about being controlled and the totalitarian government. You are nothing put a conspiracy theorist latching on to any little bit of science that you can use to try and bludgeon your way to an intelligent objection.

[rrayy]

I haven't had COVID myself yet, but several members in my family DID and STILL have serious health issues due to COVID. Which is why I take major offense at anyone in this thread trying to pass COVID off as "not a real pandemic", "fake" etc.

You are being completely dishonest. There is a massive difference between calling the virus fake and the pandemic. NOBODY called the virus fake. You are blatantly misusing the word pandemic.

Also, we are no againsth the vaccine,so you can stop that disigenuous BS right there. We are for "individual choice" which means if you want to vaccinate, great. IF you don't, great. Stop misrepresenting our position.

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You didn't prove Jack shit.

I never said they can't do a show without international attendance, I said the show is fairly pointless without it, and I point at Blizzard forgoing a US only Blizzcon an example of that.

Not why they foregoed it at all. They canceld for safety reasons, not because of that internationals nonsense.

Otherwise think of it this way - I fully agree that Blizzard could do a US only convention. Now explain to me why they are not.

Safety reasons. has ZERO to do with internationals.

Whether you think they _can_ does not address the fact they have chosen not to, and have their reasons for doing so. I've explained that much of Blizzcon is hinged on showing floor demos, international esports, having international attendance (uniting guildmates from around the world) and encouraging people exploring the entire show floor. What Blizzcon can not be equated to is a seated event where everyone is a physically distanced in a controlled manner. And where it's concerned for a smaller venue that isn't supposed to actually replicate the full Blizzcon event, they've already stated approaching a smaller scale limited person event with plans to announce later.

Blizzard has been pretty transparent that Blizzcon itself doesn't net them a whole lot of money, and they work at a loss in order to garner the publicity and long-term support of fans. That's very different from sports and entertainment shows, whose very business is built around live events.

And again, they have already
shown how to have the e-sports events And it is funny you say you never said they can't do a show without ingterntaionals and then go on to say in the same post that it "hinges on internationals" SO, woithout directly saying the exact word, you actually did say that they can't hold the show without internationals with that quote And,again, I pointed to an event that does everything Blizzcon does and you continue to ignore it.

I have proven that Blizzard can have the event. You continue to deflect by parroting the same debunked claims over and over again.

[rhorle]

You are being completely dishonest. There is a massive difference between calling the virus fake and the pandemic. NOBODY called the virus fake. You are blatantly misusing the word pandemic.

A pandemic is just a epidemic of a disease that has spread across a large region. Typically countries or the world. COVID-19 has done that so it is a pandemic. To call the pandemic fake is to call a portion of COVID-19 fake.

[Ishayu]

ofc the amount of years is still relevant, obviously after working 20y on videogames they wont start selling bananas for living you fool...
"within a year or so"... more like 3 for Morhaime, more for others... like i said, some seniors members left during wotlk, hell one of founders left in 2004, then returned, then left again...
as a payroll accountant i can tell you employee fluctuation is absolutely normal, especialy in big companies, where i work little over 7y is average, actualy lower (little under 6.5y) for managers, people leaving after 10-20y is not surprising in any way...

Of course people can change career path. They do it all the time. My mom as a corporate secretary for 30 years, get fed up for it and started working in healthcare. There's a famous story of a man who was the leader of the Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen for 25 years getting fed up with it and working as a store clerk in a super market chain called IRMA.

My redirectino was less extreme - I switched from working in public IT to doing hardcore computational mathematics in a finantial technology firm. Incidentally we have like 40 people here with over 30 years of working for the company! 30!

I wouldn't necessarily say it's common, but it can happen. They're not switching career path - heck their product is not even switching genres!

Morhaime left in the middle of 2019. It's been about 1½-2 years now. The people who joined him left 6 months ago~ish, all of them.

I know well that employee fluctuation is normal - but it's the amount of it. It's quite revealing.

[apelsinjuice]

they have nothing new to show, overwatch 2 and diablo 4 is still years and years away, next wow expansion nowhere near ready to be shown obviously, maybe just another hearthstone expansion and some new mobile game would be all to show

[Triceron]

Not why they foregoed it at all. They canceld for safety reasons, not because of that internationals nonsense.

Right, and I never said they cancelled it *because of* the internationals. It's one of many factors *not to have* a full live Blizzcon event this year. We already know they're planning a smaller limited person event in the future.

It's why they literally mentioned 'We know some of you might be wondering about your own plans to potentially cross the country—not to mention oceans—and meet your friends, family, and fellow community members in California'

And like you said, there are regulations that allow for a US only event - but I don't think they are interested in doing that, otherwise they can just plan it that way. I don't see what is in conflict here.

I don't think that next year's Blizzcon will be a US-only event even if they choose to have smaller in-person gatherings. Not quite sure why you think that means they *can't* have a Blizzcon.

And it is funny you say you never said they can't do a show without ingterntaionals and then go on to say in the same post that it "hinges on internationals" SO, woithout directly saying the exact word

Because they do? I mean that is the core experience of Blizzcon, and why they even mention people *crossing oceans* to attend. They further reinforce the point by saying they are still planning a global event.

That doesn't tell me they're forgoing the international attendance to do a US-only event. My interpretation here. As I said, there's more to it than just the covid safety reasons thing, since you've already illustrated other events that can happen. I'm saying Blizzard's actions speak otherwise.

I mean either way, we're both speaking out on calling out reasons that can't be confirmed. You say they can absolutely do a US event - I never disagreed, but clearly Blizzard has disagreed by cancelling the event this year instead of making the shift to a US only event. Instead it's moved to next year with limited gatherings, with details yet to be said. Does that mean US-only event? I don't think that confirms it. Otherwise I see no reason for them to mention they continue to carry out Blizzcon as a *global* event. Their words, not mine.

You are being completely dishonest. There is a massive difference between calling the virus fake and the pandemic. NOBODY called the virus fake. You are blatantly misusing the word pandemic.

I know this wasn't directed at me, but just wondering what your stance is on the word 'pandemic'. I feel like this is relevant to how I'd go about understanding your views on the situation.

I feel like you are implying that you think the pandemic is 'fake', and that you may be using evidence of Wrestlemania and other events to support your argument. Would this be correct? And I figure this implies why you are trying to 'call Blizzard's bullshit' on using what you consider non-existent 'safety reasons' as a means to cancel Blizzcon this year?

If I'm following this correctly, then I'd address this by saying whatever you personally feel about the pandemic being a real thing or not, Blizzard says and feels otherwise. And whether truthful or under guise of an excuse, their plans are being made to avoid a Blizzcon this year, and work towards a smaller venue in the future. And I personally interpret their message to maintaining it as an international venue, rather than close it off as a US-only enterprise. Of course, I may be wrong, and maybe 'small in-person gatherings' could mean US-only. However as I interpret it, they are keeping it a global event, and I don't see them forgoing the international stuff for the sake of maintaining the event. I don't see how any of this actually conflicts with anything you've said outside of your personal beliefs that they *should* make a US only convention, which I've been explaining is not the direction they are taking. If they didn't believe a pandemic exists, I'm sure they wouldn't use the word in their own statements.

[khazmodan]

Blizzard no longer have the kind of people that want to put on an event like this. Morhaime and Metzen were 2 of the biggest reasons why Blizzcon existed, so with them gone, people like J. Allen "bitter" Brack and Ion Hazznoclue are happy to say goodbye to being on stage in front of people that might challenge there god complex delusions of strategy.

[rhorle]

Blizzard no longer have the kind of people that want to put on an event like this. Morhaime and Metzen were 2 of the biggest reasons why Blizzcon existed, so with them gone, people like J. Allen "bitter" Brack and Ion Hazznoclue are happy to say goodbye to being on stage in front of people that might challenge there god complex delusions of strategy.

You just described the problem being the people attending rather then the people presenting. Why would you hold an event when people are paying money just to be obnoxious and trolls? Also considering Morhaime and Metzen were often a small part of the presentations that is a silly conspiracy anyways.

[khazmodan]

You just described the problem being the people attending rather then the people presenting. Why would you hold an event when people are paying money just to be obnoxious and trolls? Also considering Morhaime and Metzen were often a small part of the presentations that is a silly conspiracy anyways.

Thinking that people are spending over a thousand dollars to go to Blizzcon just to be obnoxious trolls is a lot more of a conspiracy theory. These players going to Blizzcon just wanted to see the best that Blizzard could create, but lately its been more about how much Blizzard can milk the players for what loyalty is left.

[rhorle]

Thinking that people are spending over a thousand dollars to go to Blizzcon just to be obnoxious trolls is a lot more of a conspiracy theory. These players going to Blizzcon just wanted to see the best that Blizzard could create, but lately its been more about how much Blizzard can milk the players for what loyalty is left.

You are the one that said two Blizzard employees are "happy to say goodbye to being on stage in front of people that might challenge there god complex delusions of strategy". It is amusing how you agree with me that your claim is a conspiracy theory lol. There are plenty of people that like Blizzard games and what they are creating. It instead sounds like you are one of the many jaded players who love to hate everything about blizzard but can't stop playing or discussing their games or the company.

[MoanaLisa]

I think the mojo got lost in the early 2010s somewhere.

I've had the theory for some years now, based on interviews and a couple of films, that the failure of Titan was a trauma for Blizzard management. I don't think they've ever really recovered from that. Sure, they managed to salvage Overwatch from that but again, that was a salvage job from a failed project. They've been as dry as a bone for new games ever since. It's a timeline that people should think about.

I'll repeat that with their old-line management people gone Brack has an opportunity to put Blizzard back on track but he'll have to break the corporate culture to do that. I'm not sure he's that heavy a hitter.

[rhorle]

I've had the theory for some years now, based on interviews and a couple of films, that the failure of Titan was a trauma for Blizzard management. I don't think they've ever really recovered from that. Sure, they managed to salvage Overwatch from that but again, that was a salvage job from a failed project. They've been as dry as a bone for new games ever since. It's a timeline that people should think about.

I don't think that has anything to do with it really. Blizzard just has a glacial pace for games. WoW is the only thing they have had to do quickly and they have been hit or miss on that. Remember they even wanted to speed up the rates they delivered expansions for WoW. Even with out the failure of titan they still were not producing anything. We also have had some high profile developers move to "unnamed" projects. Could those have been the various next game in existing IP? Sure.

But it is more likely that there has been way more concepts and other games not brought to the table. Or Blizzard really just can't pump out games of any type.

[Cosmic Janitor]

Wasn't it more like the opposite? OW was such a massive success initially that Blizard stuggled with their newly set bar of what constitutes success.
Edit: To put this into perspective, the 50 mio OW sold, is higher than any CoD game. That certainly put them into the focus.

[aceperson]

Blizzard is dead

fixed that for you. if it isn't clear by this point that the blizz we loved no longer exists to you, i can only say your ignorant. i don't mean that in an insulting way. there are days i wish i was ignorant so i could just learn to love life. i actually envy you if you still have hope.

[rhorle]

Wasn't it more like the opposite? OW was such a massive success initially that Blizard stuggled with their newly set bar of what constitutes success.
Edit: To put this into perspective, the 50 mio OW sold, is higher than any CoD game. That certainly put them into the focus.

That is a bit of a misrepresentation. Overwatch is a single game that has sold 50 million copies in 4 years. CoD has sold more then 20 million copies 8 times. That is 8 out of 18 releases breaking 20+ million. Some of those were back to back. 2009 to 2015 were all 20+ million.