There has been blood and gore (pretty sure there are enemies that explode on death and have left blood mounds on the ground). Just look up Corpse Explosion for more emphasis.
Sexual themes is in the game in the form of bikini armor models, as well as the joke pocket romance novels that can be found. As well as written with inscription.
Language hasn’t really been in the game except the notorious “bitch” line from Garrosh to Sylvanas. Which happens to have been censored out.
War? Conflict? Literally a central theme to the game.
Hatred and vengenance? Got that covered with Tyrande, Sylvanas, and Illidan in most recent years.
Massacre? Slaughter? Guess I should bring up the burning of Teldrassil and the slaughter of Night Elf innocents. Going back a decade of lore we could also bring up the Camp Terajo massacre.
Now, I’m not saying I agree with who you quoted as I don’t think Blizzard will go that overboard; however, the themes they mentioned are/have been in the game.
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Pretty much this. They won’t remove the character, just the voice actor. Only way they would remove him as a character is to find something where he represents something bad. Like what happened with Pepe le Pew.
I think they've already gone too far
Watching the usual suspects losing their minds over what they THINK is going to happen is hella fucking entertaining. Quaking in their boots over perceived evils out to get them...
Removal of references to Afrasiabi is about as worthy of outrage as a grain of sand.
As if what's in game is what everyone is bothered about...
I'm pretty sure the censorship in the Chinese version is at the behest of the CCP, rather than due to the outrage of a minority of people, as is the case with our version.
OT: Given that Blizz is no stranger to removing/changing "problematic" content from their games. Ji Firepaw's dialog, Garrosh's BITCH line, and the recent Afrasiabi scrubbing all come to mind, and I'm fairly sure Millhouse's thinly-veiled prison rape line in Stonecore is long-gone. I wouldn't be surprised if that trend starts to accelerate here. I could see the recurring gag in Cata quests of male Blood Elves being mistaken for female Blood Elves being altered due to alleged homophobia/transphobia. I could see the BT harem being replaced with some other thematic "mortal desire", though that's a bit of a longer-term fix. Could also see any remaining "suggestive" wounded sound effects being re-recorded (I remember Paletress being a huge culprit of this, but I haven't done that fight in years, so IDK if that was ever changed).
Given his opinions not lining up with the current Blizz orthodoxy, I'm actually mildly surprised that the Mark of Kern item's name is still intact.
From the #1 Cata review on Amazon.com: "Blizzard's greatest misstep was blaming players instead of admitting their mistakes.
They've convinced half of the population that the other half are unskilled whiners, causing a permanent rift in the community."
Wowpedia had tweeted Blizzard's twitter with a screenshot from their page on Alex Afrasiabi, including all items referring to him as well as NPCs. Expect, at the very least, for Kariel, Field Marshal Afrasiabi, and Fras Siabi (as well as his cigar shop and all references therein) to be renamed, replaced, or removed, as well as most items referring to Afrasiabi to be renamed both in retail and Classic. Going forward, I would also expect to see much more stringent limitations on 'insider reference' NPCs unless they're in out of the way spots like that one burning tower with all the NPCs named after devs' families.
Be seeing you guys on Bloodsail Buccaneers NA!
I never said that’s what makes WoW great. I simply pointed out that, cartoon violence or not, it is still in there.
As stated, simply look up “World of Warcraft Corpse Explosion” for a reference to in game gore. It’s literally a mound of flesh and blood with bones sticking out of it. There’s Aboms with their guts hanging out. The game contains gore.
Teen marketed games and movies still have adult references and situations in them from time to time. PG-13 movies (those that can be viewed by teens) can still contain sex references, certain amounts of foul language, drug usage, crude humor, and more.
You state the game has never had mature themes. I’ve pointed out that WoW has the joke based “Steamy Romance Novels.” Mature themes could also be the simple inclusion of excessive violence. Seems to me that’s covered by the fact that we got a cinematic of Sylvanas taunting a dying NE before burning alive innocent civilians. That would be a pretty mature theme, wouldn’t you agree?
Mature content can also include excessive violence. Going back to my previous example of Corpse Explosion. You don’t think a character killing an enemy and then exploding their corpse to leave behind a mound of blood and bones is excessive?
As stated previously, I don’t believe Blizzard would go overboard with censorship/removal of these things. That said, these things have been in the game and I’ve given clear examples that they are. Just because something is okay for teens doesn’t mean it is absent of these themes and elements.
Bold take but maybe a second Azeroth revamp wouldn't be out of place after the dust settles from the lawsuit. Get rid of the rot, bring in new blood, and A Realm Reborn-style major updates to Azeroth, using the same 'evergreen storyline' policy from Exile's Reach so it can slot relatively reliably at any point in the story going forward.
Be seeing you guys on Bloodsail Buccaneers NA!