Blizzcon 2018 - 'Do you guys not have phones?'

[Asura]

I'm sure some of you might have read this, but Jason Schreier at Kotaku has published a fairly long article looking in detail at Blizzard and Diablo.

This all seems a bit convenient for me, but that'd be a bit tinfoil-hat.

I always get cynical when developers do this, as though they're trying to insist that even though they're part of Activision, it's okay because they're the outsiders, they're the "fun" bit of Activision. People say the same about Destiny, sometimes defending Bungie in the same conversation as bashing Activision specifically for the problems with those games.

Activision is Blizzard. Activision is Bungie. They each went into that partnership with their eyes open. If you're at a developer who merges with EA, you kinda can't moan anymore if your company later gets shut down.

Diablo Immortal is not the Activision overlords ordering Blizzard around. They're not the Rebel Alliance fighting the evil empire and Blizzard's employees aren't fugitive freedom fighters. When Activision wants to make Diablo Immortal, in that metaphor, it's Darth Vader ordering one of his Stormtroopers. It's the McDonald's CEO giving directives to a branch in Greenwich. They're one and the same; not separate - and if anyone at Blizzard believes otherwise, they've been deluding themselves.

[eastyy]

Jason Schreier .....great at breaking news stories....but that thing with Yong Yea i found very very cringeworthy

[Digfox]

This all seems a bit convenient for me, but that'd be a bit tinfoil-hat.

I think Blizzard as a subsidiary of Activision have enjoyed more freedom than their other studios. Although not noted in the article Mike Mohaine has recently left and their long standing staff profit sharing scheme has been closed. So there is change going on within Blizzard. That's undisputable. It feels believable that if revenue is dropping or stagnant the parent might be asserting more pressure on quicker projects, or not wasting development time. Again cutting costs fits with that.

That aside the article provides further proof the second expac from Diablo 3 DID exist. And that there was development time wasted on a D4 build which never came to be which provides insight on why some devs returned to D3 for the anemic Necromancer pack. Also provides weight to the fact that Blizzard was prepping to show something of D4 this year.

I thought it was interesting insight. For once in a hobby where we don't see much well researched journalism.

Activision is Blizzard. Activision is Bungie.

Technically Bungie is privately owned. They have an exclusive 10-year publishing agreement. Activision 'may' have a minority stake after the Destiny 2 delay but there is nothing concrete to back that up.

Jason Schreier .....great at breaking news stories....but that thing with Yong Yea i found very very cringeworthy

Yes, I think he came off badly in that conversation. I think he's unnecessary critical of communities and comments as if they are representative of the every single person that plays videogame. It's naive or points towards personal issues or views he has. Also to suggest that bad PR isn't warranted is also wrong. The only way to change companies behaviours is to make a fuss. That's just a fact.

I also thought his stance on criticism being bad, or because things don't affect him so therefore are OK, is unprofessional. He strikes me as more intelligent journalist than that.

My guess is that he just has a low opinion of YouTubers and doesn't respect or regard them as equals, which might be in due to the shake up of tradition videogame media from the internet and user generated content.

[eastyy]

I also thought his stance on criticism being bad, or because things don't affect him so therefore are OK, is unprofessional. He strikes me as more intelligent journalist than that.

My guess is that he just has a low opinion of YouTubers and doesn't respect or regard them as equals, which might be in due to the shake up of tradition videogame media from the internet and user generated content.

Trouble is I am seeing a few Youtubers missing the point of it to, and they along with Jason and websites always seem to concentrate on the more extreme (and the minority ) opinions rather then the majority which give well reasoned arguments.

My worry with Immortal is quite simple...the whales and the people who put money into the game more then make up the hardcore fans ( and lets say one whale = 20 people who would not have got the game anyway) the game makes loads of money....then Blizzard put more resources into mobile games and worse they start taking elements and putting them into the main games while i cannot see a Auction house in D4 i still think they will do something more gradual.

[Digfox]

My worry with Immortal is quite simple...the whales and the people who put money into the game more then make up the hardcore fans ( and lets say one whale = 20 people who would not have got the game anyway) the game makes loads of money....then Blizzard put more resources into mobile games and worse they start taking elements and putting them into the main games while i cannot see a Auction house in D4 i still think they will do something more gradual.

They are making a lot of money off whales in Hearthstone and Overwatch now. And free-to-play mechanics, systems and business models are already part of their games. It's a given Diablo 4 will have an aggressive business model. I doubt they do something as non-intrusive as Path of Exile for example.

[Digfox]

Feels like the right thread to post this news, more bad news for Blizzard:

Blizzard downsizes Heroes of the Storm team, cancels esports plans [Eurogamer]

For some reason EG only just published this although the news broke late yesterday in the states. It appears the game is effectively going into maintenance mode. Again reinforces the other news coming out of the studio, and there will probably be further staff loses/cuts off the back of this.

[Digfox]

Blizzcon 2019 is approaching (1st - 3rd Nov) and lots of a number of fans are saying they now intend to protest the recent banning of a Hearthstone eSports player for speaking out in support of Hong Kong activists.

https://kotaku.com/protests-are-comi...ard-1838983721

Multiple groups are in the process of organizing protests set to take place outside BlizzCon, the annual convention held by game developer Blizzard, in response to its suspension of a Hearthstone player for expressing support for Hong Kong during a live event. Today, digital rights non-profit organization Fight For The Future launched a website and Discord to kick off its organizing efforts, and a “ProtestBlizzCon” subreddit is gaining serious steam as well.

Given how last years Blizzcon went down, it feels like 2019 might even be more eventful with protestors added to the usual mix of vocal and passionate fans. God forbid Blizzard don't have a Diablo 4 or WoW expansion to announce. Although everything might be a damn squid by the time Blizzcon rolls around it might also be memorable for the wrong reasons (for Activision Blizzard).

[Asura]

Yeah, I think a whole generation of gamers is getting a harsh reminder that corporations, no matter how much you like the entertainment they provide, are not your friend.

[Digfox]

Indeed. Although I think Activision Blizzard have bungled this beyond belief (for example, a week for J Allen Brack to even issue a statement).

[Cepp]

It's going to be a ****show this year, and well deserved frankly. I don't envy whoever does the Q&A.

[eastyy]

It's going to be a ****show this year, and well deserved frankly. I don't envy whoever does the Q&A.

Depending on the next few weeks i really would not be surprised if they cancel Q&As

[Cepp]

Depending on the next few weeks i really would not be surprised if they cancel Q&As

Yeah I can see that happening as well tbh. Friday's "response" really did not help things.

[Asura]

Indeed. Although I think Activision Blizzard have bungled this beyond belief (for example, a week for J Allen Brack to even issue a statement).

Yeah; in truth, some of the big publishers are phenomenally bad at all this.

To play devil's advocate just a smidgeon, I strongly suspect that Blizzard didn't see it as opposing the Hong Kong protests by their actions. They probably just saw it as asking someone not to make political statements when dealing with matters close to their business. It would've likely been the same if they had campaigned pro-or-anti-Trump, or made a statement about Brexit or abortion.

But to jump out of that way of thinking, I'll explain this with an example. Back when The Division 2 was on the way out, a journo asked one of Ubi's people if they were making any kind of political statement by setting a game in a near-future version of a corrupted Washington DC. Of course, they said that they weren't making a conscious statement.

The journo involved kinda screwed up here, because they let the matter lie, when they should have followed that up with words to the effect of "you're aware that this topic and setting, consciously or not, does make a statement though?"

Now Ubi's guy obviously played it like that because they want to have their cake and eat it too. They want to make these vast sums of money, globally, by making entertainment products and services which, by their very nature, make statements about the beliefs and values of those who make them.

The point of this is that, in isolation, Blizzard's move probably makes sense. Their games are fantastical in setting and they probably want to keep real-world politics out of them to the greatest extent possible. However, that's naive, childish even, especially if they want to be involved with things like pro tournaments and stuff with a scope to compete with televised sports.

A company like ActiBlizz is definitely big enough to have people who have oversight on these sorts of things. They almost certainly don't have them due to a ****ty, mercenary mindset that those people don't directly earn the company money, so they don't have them.

[Cepp]

Well yeah, at the end of the day it all comes down to money and the only way to hold companies in line is to hold them to account to the point that it might hurt their bottom line.

I completely agree that this has been a good wakeup call for people regarding so called, "good" companies.

Ubisoft's statement regarding the Division 2 always makes me laugh, it's just so ridiculous when you look at the game's setting. Not to mention, its a Tom Clancy game.

-edit-
I would hope someone making a statement about kids in cages getting this type of treatment from Blizzard would generate the same kind of response, but who knows these days.

[Digfox]

To play devil's advocate just a smidgeon, I strongly suspect that Blizzard didn't see it as opposing the Hong Kong protests by their actions. They probably just saw it as asking someone not to make political statements when dealing with matters close to their business. It would've likely been the same if they had campaigned pro-or-anti-Trump, or made a statement about Brexit or abortion.

Blizzard China's statement on the initial ban very much politicised their response and stance. It strongly suggests that it was the pro-Hong Kong support that was the actual issue.

Blizzard's Chinese Weibo wrote:

"We are very angered and disappointed at what happened at the event and do not condone it in any way. We also highly object the spreading of personal political beliefs in this manner...We will always respect and defend the pride of our country."