Lmao so they took valid complaints, boosted them to the masses themselves, and their only deflection is some cringy roleplay bullshit rather than addressing the valid point that they themselves are bringing to the forefront.
Hope whoever greenlit that is fired. But knowing Blizzard xey were a diversity hire and will get promoted.
I really truly don't understand how people can defend this company anymore.
You need to get out of this bubble more.Bold move to use complaints by the average MMO-C poster to sell an expansion.
They're not wrong doe.
This is probably the case. IIRC the average WoW player's age is somewhere in the 30s or so, and that age bracket is all but exhausted in terms of people that haven't tried WoW, but would be open to it. So instead of opting to try to attract the older guard back, they instead are trying to integrate an audience that, frankly, has relatively little interest in the MMO genre. Low floor, but higher ceiling, in theory.
Similar mindset to the above. And do keep in mind that a lot of established fanbases of megacorps don't really care much about things like product quality or the political doings related to their product. (See also: Pokemon SV breaking sales records despite blatantly needing more time in development)More recently a survey came out about the demographic breakdown of fans of the MCU, and it showed the vast majority of the people who would call themselves MCU fans are actually in the older generations (even baby boomers were a really large portion). Smallest subsection of fans was the younger generation. The irony is that a lot of the social and political messaging that's been shoved into the MCU as of late targets the smallest subsection of fans they have. What's interesting to discuss is why. Are they trying to bring in the new generation at the expense of the older generation? Are they just pure idealogues who can't see past their own worldview? Are they somehow stupid and hate making more money, so they won't make content for their actual fans? While the answer gives important insight as to what they're actually thinking over at Marvel/Disney, they aren't the exclusive company to enact such practices.
As mentioned earlier, unlike the MCU, WoW has the misfortune of being part of a genre whose heyday is behind it. It's possible they'll see a trickle of new people in spite of, rather than because of, this ad campaign, but that's about it. Funny enough I showed these ads to a neutral party, and they more or less brought up the same point in terms of being able to take the piss out of critics that may or may not be a past or present part of the fanbase.I wouldn't be surprised if WoW falls into a similar issue where the game has been trending and designed toward a demographic that may not be the core fan base. Could end up being a self-fulfilling prophecy, where you 'weed out' your fanbase until the only ones left are the ones who align with your new ideals and design. Regardless, the ads themselves do have a veneer similar to a lot of advertising campaigns of major media outlets as of late, where you become antagonistic towards your established fans and attempt to pander to whom you wish were your fans but likely are not or never will be fans. This isn't to say Blizz specifically doesn't have people who care about the game and its direction, nor is it to say that all the criticisms came from actual fans or players. The problem is that the front face of Blizz (especially in light of their recent history) isn't in a position to attempt to be cheeky towards criticisms or joke about them... that's something you earn through your actions and established reputation. It's not a good idea to throw shade when you yourself are in such a weak position and have a poor reputation.
On a personal level, it's just aggressively unfunny. Like, even the Mighty No. 9 "Anime fan on prom night" debacle was more entertaining.
Tbh I feel like game ads are usually a bit cringey, like I watched the recent Dead Island 2 trailer and the guy who was narrating was bordering on too much cringe but then when the woman started it was like she was immitating the infamous Forspoken trailer.
It just seems common to me, quirky, self-referential, sarcastic, edgy, '' owning '' people etc.
It feels like a bunch of teenagers to me.
I am not a fan of celebrity ads either, the Mr T ones back in the day were good but that was because it was Mr T.
I honestly can't think of any other ads with celebs that haven't made me cringe.
Like is it so hard to just show me the game without any of this?