Blizzard General News

[Corrderio]

For me the only Blizzard game I played in recent time was Overwatch and well... fuck that game. It had potential but Blizz fumbled hard.

[arus2001]

It's mainly been Diablo for me over the years, with an honorable mention to StarCraft.

Pre-RoS D3 was a shitshow, and while they did make improvements with RoS, the fact they more or less abandoned it not long after didn't do D3 itself any favors. PoE always felt like garbage in comparison, despite its own cult following. This is more or less where Blizz started souring me. Last year's Blizzcon, shoddy forum moderation, and now this are just icing.

[Rulke]

Oddly, Blizzard began to lose me with how they handled SC2. Back when I went to Blizzcon 2009/2010 I was so pumped to try out SC2 and get news about D3. But they broke apart SC2 into separate games with years in between and I haven't even purchased final Protoss one (and toss are my go to race). But then again I haven't played SC2 in years now. I also got into D3 after RoS so it was pretty enjoyable. But after playing a couple seasons of running rifts it got stale.

Maybe a lot of us here from the older age of games. Lately (years...) it seems like more than not games miss the mark at what I consider a solid buy. I purchase fewer games now and usually they're way after the release so I get them cheaper and I know they're worth playing. Blizzard hasn't been marketing anything that appeals to me in some time but now it sounds like they're burning their current audience too. GG

[Silenka]

Diablo II is the best thing they ever made.

D3 was a shitshow and OW has continually been disappointing with balance changes. Never cared to play Starcraft or Warcraft. Wish I had a sub to quit in protest, all I could do was uninstall Bnet and D3/OW and make a bunch of angry reddit posts.

With Activision on board of course Blizz was gonna crash and burn. But it's one thing to make shitty games and quite another to bend to communist dictatorships because you care about money more than human rights.

[AidenCarby]

Cancelled wow sub and uninstalled, granted no one gives a fuck about my sub or 15 bucks a month but whatever.

[6souls]

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-49999144

Blizzard is requiring EU gamers to share their government I.D. in order to delete their accounts.

[Corrderio]

Gotta put them on that social credit project somehow.

Seriously though, I can't believe how much of a shitshow this has been just to close an account.

[Gokulo]

Was wondering why this topic is in general games, just noticed Blizz doesn't have a section anymore, lmao

[Salodin]

They removed the blizzard section like not even a week before this happened I think. What great timing lol.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[Petitssk]

Experiencing no such issues so far from Germany, but I suppose that may also imply that they actively implemented that change as a response due to a sudden influx of account deletion requests. They certainly are dramatic about it, though.

[Tomiko]

The president of Blizzard made an official statement. It's pretty much what you expect.

https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/bliz...ers-tournament

Spoiler: show

Hello Blizzard Community . . .

I want to take a few minutes to talk to all of you about the Hearthstone Grandmasters tournament this past weekend. On Monday, we made the decision to take action against a player named blitzchung and two shoutcasters after the player shared his views on what’s happening in Hong Kong on our official broadcast channel.

At Blizzard, our vision is “to bring the world together through epic entertainment.” And we have core values that apply here: Think Globally; Lead Responsibly; and importantly, Every Voice Matters, encouraging everybody to share their point of view. The actions that we took over the weekend are causing people to question if we are still committed to these values. We absolutely are and I will explain.

Our esports programs are an expression of our vision and our values. Esports exist to create opportunities for players from around the world, from different cultures, and from different backgrounds, to come together to compete and share their passion for gaming. It is extremely important to us to protect these channels and the purpose they serve: to bring the world together through epic entertainment, celebrate our players, and build diverse and inclusive communities.

As to how those values apply in this case:

First, our official esports tournament broadcast was used as a platform for a winner of this event to share his views with the world.

We interview competitors who are at the top of their craft to share how they feel. We want to experience that moment with them. Hearing their excitement is a powerful way to bring us together.

Over the weekend, blitzchung used his segment to make a statement about the situation in Hong Kong—in violation of rules he acknowledged and understood, and this is why we took action.

Every Voice Matters, and we strongly encourage everyone in our community to share their viewpoints in the many places available to express themselves. However, the official broadcast needs to be about the tournament and to be a place where all are welcome. In support of that, we want to keep the official channels focused on the game.

Second, what is the role of shoutcasters for these broadcasts?

We hire shoutcasters to amplify the excitement of the game. They elevate the watchability and help the esports viewing experience stay focused on the tournament and our amazing players.

Third, were our actions based on the content of the message?

Part of Thinking Globally, Leading Responsibly, and Every Voice Matters is recognizing that we have players and fans in almost every country in the world. Our goal is to help players connect in areas of commonality, like their passion for our games, and create a sense of shared community.

The specific views expressed by blitzchung were NOT a factor in the decision we made. I want to be clear: our relationships in China had no influence on our decision.

We have these rules to keep the focus on the game and on the tournament to the benefit of a global audience, and that was the only consideration in the actions we took.

If this had been the opposing viewpoint delivered in the same divisive and deliberate way, we would have felt and acted the same.

OK, what could Blizzard have done better, and where do we go from here?

Over the past few days, many players, casters, esports fans, and employees have expressed concerns about how we determined the penalties. We’ve had a chance to pause, to listen to our community, and to reflect on what we could have done better. In hindsight, our process wasn’t adequate, and we reacted too quickly.

We want to ensure that we maintain a safe and inclusive environment for all our players, and that our rules and processes are clear. All of this is in service of another important Blizzard value—Play Nice; Play Fair.

In the tournament itself blitzchung *played* fair. We now believe he should receive his prizing. We understand that for some this is not about the prize, and perhaps for others it is disrespectful to even discuss it. That is not our intention.

But playing fair also includes appropriate pre-and post-match conduct, especially when a player accepts recognition for winning in a broadcast. When we think about the suspension, six months for blitzchung is more appropriate, after which time he can compete in the Hearthstone pro circuit again if he so chooses. There is a consequence for taking the conversation away from the purpose of the event and disrupting or derailing the broadcast.

With regard to the casters, remember their purpose is to keep the event focused on the tournament. That didn’t happen here, and we are setting their suspension to six months as well.

Moving forward, we will continue to apply tournament rules to ensure our official broadcasts remain focused on the game and are not a platform for divisive social or political views.

One of our goals at Blizzard is to make sure that every player, everywhere in the world, regardless of political views, religious beliefs, race, gender, or any other consideration always feels safe and welcome both competing in and playing our games.

At Blizzard, we are always listening and finding ways to improve—it is part of our culture. Thank you for your patience with us as we continue to learn.

Sincerely,

J. Allen Brack
President of Blizzard Entertainment

[Corrderio]

Quit reading at the "but he violated his terms" statement. Yes I'm willing to believe there was a violation in place but taking all his reward money and a year long suspension? Absolute fucking bullshit. OWL did far more retarded shit and had repeat offenders and their punishment wasn't anything close to this.

[Ksandra]

Sounds like they might give him the prize money, but they don't even directly say it. Just, "Yeah we shouldn't have done that part."

Such utter shit.

Keep posting Mei HK memes. This will probably be our best bet to change Blizz.

[Corrderio]

Probably my bad for ducking out. Either way I still stand by my statement about the punishment being way too severe.

Makes me glad I never really got into Blizzard games. Prior to OW only games I remember I played by them were Lost Vikings on SNES as a kid.

[Ksandra]

I admit I am still playing WoW Classic.

It's crazy to think how much more I am enjoying it than retail, but also sad I feel guilty for playing it.

Just nothing else I want to fill up my gaming time with.

[Salodin]

Ksan confirmed for communist scum

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[6souls]

The president of Blizzard made an official statement. It's pretty much what you expect.

https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/bliz...ers-tournament

Second, what is the role of shoutcasters for these broadcasts?

We hire shoutcasters to amplify the excitement of the game. They elevate the watchability and help the esports viewing experience stay focused on the tournament and our amazing players.

With regard to the casters, remember their purpose is to keep the event focused on the tournament. That didn’t happen here, and we are setting their suspension to six months as well.

So the hosts themselves have the ability to control what is shown on stream? I thought that was the role of the guy behind the scenes (like what Blackrose or Callisto does)?

[6souls]

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/...-user-reports/

Blizzard changed the name of a homosexual WoW-Classic clan from "GAY BOYS" to "Guild ZFXPK." A game moderator reversed the decision, but warned that Blizzard's bot (algorithm) will likely change it again.

An email, apparently sent by Blizzard Customer Service, indicated that the guild's name-change process began because "your fellow players reported your in-game name as inappropriate multiple times." From there, the email cites "a thorough investigation" that also led to the guild's creator receiving a temporary account suspension. The suspension was later overturned, but the guild's name remains "Guild ZFXPK."

A member of the guild affected this week says that he is not surprised about the new round of user complaints. In an emailed statement, "GAY BOYS" member Ahmil Jilani wrote:

If you reviewed my chat logs, you would see multiple messages from individuals through my recruitment process of getting us to where we are today, with individuals messaging "Fuck the gays, reported," amongst other extremely hateful and discriminating comments... These are the individuals that find our name inappropriate. Giving in to their demands only means that you are siding with them as a company, which, after a decade of playing your games, is a surprise to me.

Update, 12:58 p.m. ET: Blizzard still hasn't responded to our questions, but the guild's original "GAY BOYS" name has since been reinstated, according to members of the guild. Jilani forwarded a screencap of Blizzard's latest customer service message to the guild, which begins, "I too would hate to lose my account if the account was caught up in something some [sic] thought was violating the TOS/EULA and got the guild renamed, and I'm bummed yours was."

After confirming that the guild name should be back to normal and citing a "careful investigation of your account warning," the unnamed moderator made clear that this kind of automatic takedown may very well happen again: "There isn't a way to stop people from reporting this name, as some find the way the term is used offensive. If you get actioned again, you can appeal like this, and we can look at it once more. For now, though, you have your guild name back!"

[fantasticdan]

"Our relationships in china had no influence on our decision." in english statement vs "We will do anything to protect the pride of china." in the chinese one. lol

Blizzard is happy to appear progressive in the west, gay characters in overwatch (who are conveniently not gay in the chinese version), support LBGT events, etc. But now access to basic human rights is a controversial issue, where we need to be careful not to offend either side of the argument? Fear of losing the ability to peddle their shit in china has nothing to do with it? Yeah ok.

[Krandor]

https://twitter.com/SGBluebell/statu...147052544?s=19