Activision-Blizzard Sued By California

[Orange Joe]

while true, Ive found that people who think like Seaintothesky tend to base rejection on being ugly rather than, say, bad time / place or having a HOIRRIBLE personality. Like it's very...incely type of thought. Especially since he was dismissing very valid concerns about workforce hostility because 'pfft, women only want the hotties"

I've personally found confidence attracts women more than looks. Obviously this isn't 100% for every person but it rings true from what I have seen.

[Vladier]

I dunno, you have yet to trot out your actual opinion. So we're all here waiting with not so baited breath for you to come out with it already. Or do you know your views on this are bad, and you'll get trashed for openly saying your opinion?

I believe I've stated my opinion finely enough by declaring the author of those Discord messages a waste of neurons and expressing vague hope that his ire at his current circumstances means that conditions at Blizzard are being ameliorated for their more reasonable developers, as well as a desire to see their HR department's inner workings be thoroughly reviewed in regards to the efficiency of their work, to which I got called out on the HR department being perfectly functional in regards to them satisfying the demands of their corporate higher-ups. I facetiously agreed to that observation, and you made your outburst at me for some reason that eludes me. Likewise, in the post you quoted to make a demand for me to express my position on the matter discussed in this thread, several of the words and expressions I'd used in the first paragraph could be fairly easily used to divine my opinion purely from their semantics.

Was this post sufficiently elucidating in regards to my point of view, or do I actually need to write a manifesto? Because I'm not going to.

I feel Blizzard cannot be saved, I see a scenario where the higher ups might collapse Blizzard completely and just absorb it into Activation. Now I believe this wont fix the issue, obviously, but seeing how corporate works they wanna save their ass and absorbing the other side of their company might be the more logical route they'd take.

In my opinion burn the whole company down, but lets be honest that isn't gonna happen. So they may take a sort of illusionary action. And folding the Blizzard part of their company may be what they may do especially if the rumours about about many people within Blizzard are leaving.

Just saying in a few years it might be Activisons World of Warcraft. That Blizzard logo may bite the dust and it may be more of a activision made game than Blizzard.

Isn't Activision and Blizzard already the same? Pretty sure I've seen it previously expressed that they are already merged entities, and Blizzard is just a formal title without any actual substance.

[Orby]

Isn't Activision and Blizzard already the same? Pretty sure I've seen it previously expressed that they are already merged entities, and Blizzard is just a formal title without any actual substance.

Yes you are right, but I am saying that Activison Blizzard may try and save face by getting rid of Blizzard department or at least removing their property logo. As some dumb way of saying 'we did it'. :P

[Tsarez]

That's still kind of a gross way of putting it. It just allows people to make the excuse of "If I were more attractive, she wouldn't have minded me grabbing her ass like that". It normalizes the behaviour. It's exactly that kind of thinking that creates the kind of environment we see at Blizzard.

How does it excuse it, though? People can claim that, it won't make them less idiotic.

I personally think this is just a matter of overinflated ego rich alpha male behavior. They felt safe in an environment built by them, for them. Now they're all losing their shit collectively as more and more of their daily behavior surfaces.

[Egomaniac]

How does it excuse it, though? People can claim that, it won't make them less idiotic.

It seems to have worked pretty well up until recently. Someone goes to HR sying "X sexually harassed me" and HR does their "investigation"...X says "Y is just being overly sensitive" or "Y didn't seem to mind when Z did the same thing".

[Armael]

It seems to have worked pretty well up until recently. Someone goes to HR sying "X sexually harassed me" and HR does their "investigation"...X says "Y is just being overly sensitive" or "Y didn't seem to mind when Z did the same thing".

Well, yeah, either it's all bad/wrong or none of it is.

[Kallisto]

Wanna hear something funny? Amidst all bad press, ActiBlizz stock is recovering. LOL

Because in reality, outside of a few bubbles in the internet gaming circles. People either are unaware or simply put do not give a shit. I don't like watching asmongold but the video posted recently he's 100% correct for once. The gaming community is one trailer away from sweeping the entire thing under the rug, like they've basically did with Riot and Ubisoft. Generally didn't make a peep when FFXIV devs were accused with evidence to back it up. Know full well what goes on at EA and other major gaming companies including Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo. If all of this happened during the height of Wrath (well it was but no one knew about it) essentially the gaming community would have gone "Meh games good, and it's only a handful of people."

As for the stock, the people that buy and sell generally don't care either. Everyone knows you have to be a special kind of scum to be in the upper management of any business. Boby Kotick being scum is just the position people like him get into. Business newspapers were telling people to buy Activision-Blizzard stock and people that read it jumped at the chance.

[Egomaniac]

Well, yeah, either it's all bad/wrong or none of it is.

It's not really as simple as that actually. Power dynamics play a big role. Repeating unwanted advances are also different.

[Armael]

It's not really as simple as that actually. Power dynamics play a big role. Repeating unwanted advances are also different.

My point was, is that it all should be treated as wrong and not something anyone does in a work environment.

[Egomaniac]

My point was, is that it all should be treated as wrong and not something anyone does in a work environment.

Fair enough. I think that is perhaps an overcorrection though.

[Cthulhu 2020]

Please don't spread bullshit like this. Asperger's isn't common enough to account for all these tools. Many of them are just pieces of shit who think women have no right to refuse their advances.

Mental health is expensive. And to "have" asperger's and be counted towards statistics, you have to be diagnosed. When someone complains about how everyone finds them antisocial or awkward, social ostracization when they're very young, that they got super good grades and were good at everything they did, that they had a delayed emotional development as a person... you know, the symptoms keep piling up. It's also a high-functioning form. Many many people who have it will never know they do, either because they don't want the mental care or can't afford it, or it's not even available in their country.

I'm not saying some people CAN'T be naturally bad at social interaction, but a large number of these people I meet, it's pretty clear what's going on. Not saying the Geoff Frasier has it, was more responding to the general notion about antisocial shit heads.

It doesn't change that they're asshats. But it's definitely a more insightful take than simply writing them off as terrible people.

[Egomaniac]

Mental health is expensive. And to "have" asperger's and be counted towards statistics, you have to be diagnosed.

Which works against you more than it helps. You're making a sweeping assumption that these people have aspergers when you have zero evidence to back that claim up.

[Cthulhu 2020]

None of that means someone actually has asperger’s. Stop trying to diagnose people based on what you saw in some Hollywood production.

I've worked with low income kids with all kinds of undiagnosed mental issues. Let me repeat: Mental health diagnoses are not only expensive, but the treatment costs an arm and a leg. Most families never go for it because there's no point to a diagnosis unless they can also get treatment. I got over my ASD with similar help from someone else when I was a kid, though my family was more privileged. Sorry to burst your fantasy that you seem to think this is all some kind of fiction, but I really don't give a fuck what some random nobody on the internet thinks about my volunteer activities and experience with ASD kids.

So perhaps get back on topic about Blizzard, rather than trying to bash something you clearly don't know anything about.

[Flarelaine]

Chill out.

[Verdugo]

https://kotaku.com/lego-delays-overw...-al-1848337971

Lego is rethinking their partnership with ABK. God knows if its due to the lawsuit or that Overwatch merchandise doesnt sell outside of porn sites.

[Orby]

https://kotaku.com/lego-delays-overw...-al-1848337971

Lego is rethinking their partnership with ABK. God knows if its due to the lawsuit or that Overwatch merchandise doesnt sell outside of porn sites.

shame they are just delaying it. They should just stop doing business with them, who knows, maybe it will lead to that. Its kinda of sad that no matter what is happening the higher ups are standing their ground and just waiting out on this to calm down and blow over.

When did these lawsuit come out? July was it? Its been 7 months and is still not dying down. Just typing in 'Activision Blizzard' on google is proof that people wont let it die either and neither should they.

[dope_danny]

https://www.pcgamer.com/amp/activisi...en-interviews/

Time for your daily clock resetting. Only its now reaching the point actual comparisons to The Titanic and "leaving a sinking ship" with connotations it can't be fixed accompany it. At this point their rep is about the same tier as Miramax and i wouldn't be shocked to see that name above the gates get replaced with "Activision Irvine" in a few years. Their IP's are probably seen as more valuable names than the companies at this point.

[Edge-]

https://www.pcgamer.com/amp/activisi...en-interviews/

Time for your daily clock resetting. Only its now reaching the point actual comparisons to The Titanic and "leaving a sinking ship" with connotations it can't be fixed accompany it. At this point their rep is about the same tier as Miramax and i wouldn't be shocked to see that name above the gates get replaced with "Activision Irvine" in a few years. Their IP's are probably seen as more valuable names than the companies at this point.

I mean it's bad and it's still bad and all but also (and this is mentioned in the piece)...Riot. They were on the top of folks shitlist (especially gaming media) for a while, with very brutal coverage of how toxic their workplace was.

Look at them now, though. They've got multiple games coming out, a critically acclaimed animated show, they just signed papers to wrap up some of their remaining legal issues, and they look like they're on track for continued success/growth.

Activision is far, far too big for this to sink the company. We'll get more financial info next earnings call, but as of the last earnings call they're still beating expected revenue targets.

I'm still hoping that they become the first major unionized publisher in the US off the backs of this. That would arguably be one of the best outcomes since it would give the workers the leverage to actually make sure that the company doesn't spend another 10-20 years protecting harassers and hoping everyone keeps their snitching mouths shut.

[dope_danny]

but also

Thats not how this works in the media by and large though. Was Weinstein the only sex pest in Hollywood? even the only one being accused in significant numbers at the time? no. But its the name that gained traction to the point i doubt most can even remember the other big names being accused at the time of the exact same thing. Hell in this case my 78 year old grandmother who refers to any games console as "your gamecubes" and still thinks i go to midnight launches of "your warcraft boxes" saw mention of this on mainstream news. She has never heard of league of legends let alone Riot games. Theres a level of mainstream "lego and coca cola cut ties with blizzard entertainment" recognisable names attached to this scandal so the mainstream news reports on it.

We can say "but what about the other companies?" and its like people who said "but what about all these other producers and directors with a 'casting couch'?" with weinstein its sadly going to fall on death ears as one noted example becomes the figurehead representation of it.

Videogame developers have been dickheads forever. Go back to the 1980's and read about the "punishment rooms" employed by companies like Bandai and Zainsoft. The sad fact is for the most part theres so much money coming in people don't care, not until it gets too loud and starts effecting their money. If something effects the money then it changes its face, it never goes away because thats how fucked up entertainment is to say nothing of things like Bobbys parachute clause in this case.

Theres absolutely no way activision goes away. But there is probably a point coming along this current trajectory where "Warcraft" is a lot more important to keep around than "Blizzard" as a name in trailers and on a box to Activision. If something has to go i don't think its a company. I don't even think its Bobby. I think the name Blizzard is the thing that is at risk here. So the leopard can change its spots and keep the money rolling in.

Because lets be real are the people who pay for WoW after all this going to care if the blizzard name isn't on the box as long as their brand of choice is? probably no more than call of duty diehards care.

[dope_danny]

Time for your daily Blizzard shitshow: https://twitter.com/stephentotilo/st...90026392104960

TL-DR: Blizzard has revised their internal complaints policy so harassed/abused employees cannot talk about any ongoing case or even warn other people about the abuser.

Perfectly normal good guy behaviour. That unions coming any day now.