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24

Doghouse

November 4, 2019 by Tim

So I know we’re all angry at Blizzard right now, buuuut… Diablo 4 looks pretty promising. So maybe we just stick ’em in the doghouse for the next couple of years, and if they can take the many (many) lessons learned from D3 and keep D4 looking sweet as hell… then we kiss and make up?

Really, though, I’m digging the loot approach this time, and the open top-world with lots of dungeon fidelity sounds really cool as well. I was never one of the people who hated Diablo 3’s art style (in fact I really dug it), but I’m not against a change of pace either, and the darker tone for Diablo 4 looks pretty rad.

Sucks we have to wait a bazillion years in Blizzard Time™ for it to come out, but at least they’re, you know, working on some games.


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jatenk
jatenk
4 years ago

I actually thought this comic was supposed to be about _not_ just letting their really not okey behaviour slide just because they’re also still doing their job. I guess that’s a thing of ideology?

jatenk
jatenk
4 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Would also have been an opportunity to raise awareness on that and show a possible other way, that’s what I thought, but that’s also not my place so I hope this doesn’t sound like I’m trying to overreach here.

Kaitensatsuma
Kaitensatsuma
4 years ago
Reply to  jatenk

I mean Diablo has never been exactly an explosion of innovation as far as gameplay went, so I’m not particularly bound to them or that IP.

I’d rather opt for something more meaty as far as mechanics go beyond Hack and then, optionally, Slash.

St0nemender
St0nemender
4 years ago
Reply to  Kaitensatsuma

I dont know, on which planet you were born, but Diablo 1 pretty much invented the whole genre (there were early predecessors like Ultima underworld).

Diablo2 revolutionized the genre again with introducing the whole Multi-Player concept, itemization and a lot of other concepts and ideas which were readily gobbled up by later games.

I would agree that D3 wasnt all that innovative (personally i prefer PoE), but generally calling Diablo “no explosion of innovation” is simply wrong.

The Legacy
The Legacy
4 years ago
Reply to  jatenk

I don’t think it’s going to help, because even the developers aren’t happy with corporate’s messaging about HK, among other things. For the most part, I’m certain that the developers are being held hostage by corporate, and risk losing their jobs by attempting to speak out. Keep in mind that Blizzard is one of the most successful developers in the world, thus losing that job would basically be ending your career. That’s why I haven’t gone as far as to boycott Blizzard, or to destroy my physical copies of my Blizzard games. I realize there’s a lot more going on… Read more »

Lisa
Lisa
4 years ago
Reply to  The Legacy

They could have pretended it never happened, like the Chinese government does with Tiananmen Square

Kaitensatsuma
Kaitensatsuma
4 years ago
Reply to  The Legacy

Simple Solution:
Don’t say anything.

If China started rattling their sabre then point to your “We don’t take sides” policy.

GilWho
GilWho
4 years ago
Reply to  Kaitensatsuma

That isn’t good enough anymore.

Helldemon
Helldemon
4 years ago
Reply to  Tim

I’ve uninstalled overwatch and destroyed the physical copy I had, I’ve done the same with starcraft II and I and and diablo games I had.

Philippe Laramée
Philippe Laramée
4 years ago
Reply to  Helldemon

Why destroy the stuff you bought when the company already got your money? It seems pointless to me. You said destroy, you didn’t just put it in the trash.

Sayer
Sayer
4 years ago
Reply to  Helldemon

They already have your money.

Michael
Michael
4 years ago
Reply to  Sayer

If Helldemon is the type to fall for loot-boxes, this is still a faint victory because it’s one less game to sucker them in.

Helldemon
Helldemon
4 years ago
Reply to  Michael

It’s a matter of principle and the fact that I will never buy a blizzard game again. Not to mention it’s a matter of “engagement” which companies love, any time spent on their games look good for them even if you’re not spending anymore money.

Karnasis
Karnasis
4 years ago
Reply to  Helldemon

Look, I don’t support how Blizzard Upper Management handled itself during the Blizzchung scandal, but you’d be foolish to think that most if not all of the actual developers have ANY say in policies/bannings of players of their games. So I will continue to support them and enjoy the content they make regardless of this situation they are stuck in becuase it wasn’t their fault, it was someone in upper management somewhere worried over some backlash.

Ben
Ben
4 years ago
Reply to  Tim

I dunno, I might. Especially after they “apologized” at Blizzcon and then, less than an hour later, admitted in an interview that they won’t be rescinding Blitzchung’s ban.

Removing Winnie the Pooh from Kingdom Hearts was absurd, but as far as I know Disney didn’t single anyone out to be “punished” for it. Activision Blizzard actively decided to be China’s arbiter in hurting somebody they disagreed with.

wkz
wkz
4 years ago
Reply to  Ben

“If you allow one protester you allow all” is probably what Blizzard is thinking.

What happens next if someone shouts “Destroy Abortion Clinics, safe sex is the only way” on air (or something else just as touchy) in the next Blizzard stream? If they let Blizchung go, they SHOULD let that guy go to… but should they?

Eric
Eric
4 years ago
Reply to  wkz

Context matters and not all sides are equal. The fight for a free and democratic HK is vastly different then a call to destroying abortion clinics. I don’t think very highly of Blizz at the moment but I would still be really surprised if they treated LGBTQ+ supporters the same way they would treat conversion therapy nutters. It’s possible, profitable, and I would argue moral for Blizzard to censor some speech and not others.

Ashi
Ashi
4 years ago
Reply to  Eric

I’d also argue that it’s for Blizzard to decide what stances they want to take, not for some player on their stream. If someone drags them into an arena they want to part in, why exactly should they be forced to take part?

wkz
wkz
4 years ago
Reply to  Eric

“(or something else just as touchy)”

I am certain I can go down the list of “flamebait political topics” until I find something you feel strongly about. What then, do you protest Blizzard until they remove that guy from all future streaming?

Or: Context Matters, but different things weighs differently to different people, contextually. Who is Blizzard to allow one touchy topic and not another?

Clayton
Clayton
4 years ago
Reply to  Ben

Are you talking about the white blob thing? Because that was just one chinese website and other chinese websites showed Winnie the Pooh or just cut him out. https://kotaku.com/chinese-game-site-censors-winne-the-pooh-in-kingdom-hea-1830618072

Alex
Alex
4 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Do i need to remind you all the 4 extra edition of Diablo 3 we got over the years? just just dont buy the game on release date, wait a bit and see how it goes, i made awful mistake of getting D3 at release date ON PC and it was a MESS a fun mess but a mess notherless, you could always buy the game on second hand man.I am not going to support companies that support totalitarians goverments like china and unlike many gamers that have never live under that goverment before, watch how your economy crumble around… Read more »

Diogo Salazar
Diogo Salazar
4 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Except, you know, PoE does it better

ArdentSlacker
ArdentSlacker
4 years ago
Reply to  Diogo Salazar

It took me a while to realize you meant Path of Exile, and not Pillars of Eternity.

But at least I knew you didn’t mean Edgar Allan.

Mirra
Mirra
3 years ago
Reply to  Diogo Salazar

More clunky, more illusion of choice and more opaque doesn’t sound “better”

Maliwan Employee 05345
Maliwan Employee 05345
4 years ago
Reply to  Tim

That’s how I feel with Bethesda. FO76 was an experiment that face planted pretty hard, but I got a good 50 hours out of it. I’m still looking forward to Starfield and ES6 and, some day, FO5.

I really liked real time VATS.

Trevor
Trevor
4 years ago

Their apology rang hollow and empty and I hope a lot of people in that crowd only applauded just so it wouldn’t be more awkward if he just got silence. A lot of “Games are what bring us together” talk without actually acknowledging what it was they did wrong to begin with or what actions they plan to take to fix it if any at all. It’s a pretty large attempt to brush things under the table and then dangle the fantastic games in front of us to distract from it. There’s a lot of confusing things going on with… Read more »

Helldemon
Helldemon
4 years ago
Reply to  Trevor

Pretty sure the people appluading(other than the blizzard staff and family members) were just the sheep who don’t care that blizzard is suppressing peoples freedom of speech at the behest of china

ArdentSlacker
ArdentSlacker
4 years ago
Reply to  Helldemon

I’d hate them less if they’d even waited for china to get upset. They’re proactive about appeasement… which is worse. They’re being *worse* than what’s necessary to do business in china, just in case. So they’re going to continue to be worse than china actually demands of them…

Ashi
Ashi
4 years ago
Reply to  ArdentSlacker

How exactly is it better to come out and say “We’re doing this because China ordered us to?” Are you saying it was okay for Apple to pull that app after getting told by Beijing “Do it or else?” I just do not get why they seem to be getting a free pass for something that, if this is really about “a free Hong Kong,” is INFINITELY worse.

KitsuneDragoon
KitsuneDragoon
4 years ago
Reply to  Ashi

I think it’s that both are awful, it’s just that the appeasement before China flipping their (censor) is an extra layer of spineless that people find distasteful.

Cyrad
Cyrad
4 years ago
Reply to  Trevor

Blizzard is not sorry. Brack later confirmed that Blitzchung and the casters are still punished for 6 months. His justification for doing so was a blatant lie.

MRD
MRD
4 years ago

Ehhh…. No. Unless Blizzard changes their polices somewhat, I’m not buying D4. Don’t get me wrong, it’s tempting. I’m just not willing to give my money to a company that’s willing to suck up to China like that.

Hans
Hans
4 years ago
Reply to  MRD

They made an apology during Blizcon. I thought it was really well done. So i am giving them a chance again. But i will hit harder on any missteps than i used to or would normally do for a company that i like. So i have my eye on them and they are in the doghouse. But they are not yet bethesda.

Sanquin
Sanquin
4 years ago
Reply to  Hans

What they did wasn’t an apology. It was a bunch of vague statements that don’t have to really mean anything in the end. And they didn’t even directly acknowledge what they did wrong, or give a single detail about how to do better. Plus the parties involved are still banned for no good reason, something blizz could undo with the flick of a switch.

They basically only went “sowwy, we will do better, pwomise!” without actually doing anything.

Mnemnosyne
Mnemnosyne
4 years ago
Reply to  Sanquin

Yeah, a proper apology would have addressed it head-on, instead of refusing to even mention the incident and talking about it only vaguely. A proper apology would have these things as its primary substance: -Our policy left it at our discretion what to do – we misused that discretion by enacting a major penalty to Blitzchung for his statements. -We are fully rescinding the penalty we implemented. At this time, it is impossible to assess a reasonable and fair penalty because of both our own mistakes on this issue and the controversy surrounding it, therefore we are using our discretion… Read more »

Doc
Doc
4 years ago
Reply to  Mnemnosyne

Few games have done a proper apology done right. Blizzard definitely ain’t it; they’re even saying different things on the China side than they are on the US side. Think the ‘apology’ that stands out best right now would be No Man’s Sky. So many lies, so much shame, so much disappointment – but instead of a big ol’ damage control campaign, Hello Games actually worked to implement the promised features, and has even put in a number of things that weren’t part of the initial hype, growing the game further. They are still writing that apology letter, three years… Read more »

Zaldrak
Zaldrak
4 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Utter bullshit. The weibo account which posted “we will respect and defend the pride of our country” wasn’t in Netease’s name, it was Blizzard’s official Hearthstone account. Yes, it was ran by Netease and those were their words, but the moment you allow someone to speak in your name while using your name, you must be willing to assume full responsibility for what they say. The moment Blizzard agreed to the conditions that allowed Netease to post stuff using their name, they became fully complicit in anything they decide to post. Don’t like it? Don’t sign up with the Chinese… Read more »

Urazz
Urazz
4 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Problem is that Brack said that way too late. They could’ve easily just clarified that immediately when they saw what was said and keep NetEase away from any kind of messaging for Blizzard.

Mirra
Mirra
3 years ago
Reply to  Zaldrak

Utter bullshit. That was Blizzard China official. And Netease handles the official China business under the label of “Blizzard China”.

Nate
Nate
4 years ago
Reply to  Tim

I love your work man and i am a big fan but you are wrong here. This is bigger than gaming. You can forgive Blizzard, that’s on you. But you don’t speak for the rest of us. What Blizzard did should scare you.

no thanks nintendo
no thanks nintendo
4 years ago
Reply to  Hans

You are wrong. What they did wasn’t even an apology.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T2_PU8rHtk

BTW, for all Bethesda has done wrong this year, they still look saintly compared to Blizzard

Urazz
Urazz
4 years ago

Nope, Bethesda doesn’t look saintly compared to Blizzard they look just as scummy.

Kaitensatsuma
Kaitensatsuma
4 years ago

Eh, It’s like trying to give the prize for the better shit covered pig.

Urazz
Urazz
4 years ago
Reply to  Hans

That was a weak apology. They could’ve announced actions and changes to policy they would take. I.E. they could’ve suspended or fired the person that made the ass kissing message to China.

Kaitensatsuma
Kaitensatsuma
4 years ago
Reply to  Hans

No, they just repeated some hollow platitudes and tried waving Diablo 4 in people’s faces in hopes that they’d forget.

Helldemon
Helldemon
4 years ago
Reply to  Hans

That apology was garbage as others said. Not to mention they are liars, they said they were fine with people using social media to say what they wanted yet they forced an employee to take down their tweet in support of blitzchung just a couple days ago.

Ben
Ben
4 years ago
Reply to  Hans

Hey Hans, here’s a fun fact:

Shortly after that “apology,” J Allen Brack (president of Blizzard and the man who claimed to be sorry about how they acted) was asked in an interview if this apology meant they were going to be rescinding their punishment of the player.

“No we are not” was his response.

They SAID they were sorry, but that player is still banned for saying 6 words on a podcast in support of the Hong Kong movement.

Philippe
Philippe
4 years ago
Reply to  Ben

The ban is warranted. It was in the contract. They reduced it from the first one already. Everything around it was bad though. Make the rules clearer.

Urazz
Urazz
4 years ago
Reply to  Philippe

Oh, don’t get me wrong Blitzchung does deserve to be punished but he was punished way too severely and even the new punishment is still too harsh. Blizzard has given a lot less severe punishments for things people that have done something a lot worse than Blitzchung.

Gwydion_Wolf
Gwydion_Wolf
4 years ago
Reply to  Ben

Here’s the thing. Was Blizzard in the wrong for punishing a player for violating a rule? No. Was the ‘initial’ punishment well and above the level of the crime/infraction? Yes. I have nothing against Blizzard for upholding their rules. And continuing to uphold them. Its the ‘level’ of the Initial punishment that has landed them in hot-water with most people. 1 year ban + stripping of prize-money is something you’d expect to see done to someone caught cheating, not saying something best left said off-the-stage. Everyone has the mistaken though that Blizzard was impeding his ‘right to free speech’, but… Read more »

Jim
Jim
4 years ago
Reply to  Gwydion_Wolf

Found the Chinese sponsored author.

MRD
MRD
4 years ago
Reply to  Gwydion_Wolf

Did they violate a rule? The specific rule is so broad that nearly anything could be considered a violation. BM your opponent? You’ve violated the rule. It’s a rule that was designed specifically to make sure Blizzard could simply stop players from doing literally anything that might offend anyone. I’m not saying, nor have I ever said, that Blizzard is violating his free speech rights. Free speech rights (at least in the US) only pertain to the government punishing you for saying something. Private property owners are allowed to set whatever rules they see fit for speech while you’re on… Read more »

Ashi
Ashi
4 years ago
Reply to  MRD

If you don’t write it broadly, then every time you’ll have someone saying “But the rule didn’t say I can’t do THIS specific thing!”

Gwydion_Wolf
Gwydion_Wolf
4 years ago
Reply to  MRD

They have to keep it somewhat broad, so that they can then evaluate each incident on a case-by-case value. If they make it to strict, then things can easily slip through the cracks as a “but you didnt say this specific thing wasnt allowed”. Granted, clarifying it ‘some’ is a step in the right direction, but they still have to keep it somewhat broad so they dont get ‘to restrictive’, while also leaving them a stepping stone for when someone ‘does’ do something that would cause problems. As i said, the ‘level’ of the initial punishment is what likely made… Read more »

Mirra
Mirra
3 years ago
Reply to  Hans

Yeah, people didn’t like the apology just because it was made by Blizzard. Blizzard could have said anything and people would still dismiss it. Because people didn’t want an apology, they just wanted a reason to be mad at Blizzard, like always…

For example CDPR didn’t even apologise for abusing and borderline slaving their employees. And for Cyberpunk they made an apology 100x worse than that of Blizzard… and yet people are still angry at Blizzard and not CDPR. Gamers and their double standards, man…

leduk
leduk
4 years ago
Reply to  MRD

well you wont be giving money to any company at all then

ArdentSlacker
ArdentSlacker
4 years ago
Reply to  MRD

I have it easy. I never liked Diablo games, and I haaaaaaate the loot systems. They’re showering the player in obscene riches that have no value, or possibly very very slight upgrades. Ugh. Random chance for when you get an actual reward is… gambling my time on a random number generator. I can *write* those. And I watch people play a Diablo, and I can’t tell what they’re doing… and they’re not even looking at the screen as they spam roving death all over… so the player isn’t making interesting choices, and they’re just hoping maybe the boss drops something… Read more »

Karnasis
Karnasis
4 years ago
Reply to  ArdentSlacker

I mean, which version of diablo are you talking about? Diablo 1 you did have to pay attention or die, or even you are paying attention… you can still die (Butcher anyone?). I mean as player skill increased sure, the game got easier, but I remember dying a lot in D1 initially. D2 came around and early on it’s life you didn’t relly need to worry too much until you got to late Nightmare or Hell difficulty (before people really figured out the game). Hell difficulty in that game if played the “intended way”, killing all mobs, exploring the map… Read more »

Christian D. Storgaard
Christian D. Storgaard
4 years ago

Well… they didn’t actually apologise yet though. What we got was more an “I’m sorry you got upset with me” non-apology.

Mirra
Mirra
3 years ago

It was an apology. You may not like it (for some reason) but it was an apology.

Phil
Phil
4 years ago

I’m trying to justify my craving in any way I possibly can. Look, Shadowlands looks like it might be the best WoW expansion since, well, ever, and Diablo IV looks friggin’ amazing. At least they reinstated that dude’s winnings, but yeah dammit Blizzard you are not having a good few weeks can you maybe fucking fix your company culture so I can enjoy your amazing god damn games and also sleep at night?

ReaverRogue
ReaverRogue
4 years ago
Reply to  Phil

Could I ask what it was about Shadowlands that drew you in? I mean I loved the trailer, it’s hard not to with their production values, but the gameplay stuff looks bland and very same-y as the last two expansions.

Sanquin
Sanquin
4 years ago
Reply to  ReaverRogue

We also don’t know a lot of details yet. Like what are they going to do with their artifact/endgame gear upgrade system? Will we actually have some fun things to do at endgame? Will classes actually start to feel fun again? Will there be any challenge apart from endgame mythics/raids? I’m also not a fan of the huge level squish. You can already blaze through 1~119 pretty quickly, and with the new system you’re basically going to be skipping all expansion content except 1 per character. Shadowlands/Endgame better be fucking good or people are going to get bored again really… Read more »

Phil
Phil
4 years ago
Reply to  Sanquin

See I’m the opposite, I’m a huge fan of the level squish. Getting to pick on to focus on sounds a lot better than getting to see each one for a day while I go through levels that have absolutely no meaning because I’m getting one every fifteen minutes, abandoning half the quests I pick up because they’re already obsolete before I can do them. I’ve also done several of those expansions half a dozen times, while others I’ve never finished. Never finished Pandaria, so I’ve never seen how the story works out, but right now if I stick around… Read more »

TuffMelon
TuffMelon
4 years ago
Reply to  Phil

I’m a fairly big fan of the squish, too. The main issue with the way the levelling is in the game now is a unfortunate side effect of the endgame being the only thing worth a damn. Forcing players to go through some zones/expacs they don’t find fun just because its the most efficient way to get back to the part of the game blizzard wants you in doesn’t seem ideal.

Phil
Phil
4 years ago
Reply to  ReaverRogue

Torghast and the Maw sound fun. Endless Dungeon and a zone that gets harder the longer you stay in it that also scales to your group? Count me in. This system is also guaranteed to be a lot more accessible than current end-game PvE, the way Mythics are structured right now frankly sucks and this seems to make end-game more accessible while not reducing the challenge at the same time, win-win. Getting to end-game content on alts faster once you’ve done it before reducing the grind and making it possible to dedicate your time to more than one character. It… Read more »

Urazz
Urazz
4 years ago
Reply to  Phil

Yeah, I’m not letting myself get hyped up because I see a few things I like. I’ll need to see some details before I even think of going back to WoW and even then I might not if FF14 is not in a content drought then.

Burning batsu
Burning batsu
4 years ago
Reply to  Urazz

Ff14 just had their x.1 patch, releasing the first 24m raid of shadowbringers, plus a lot of other stuff.

Matt
Matt
4 years ago

I am a little torn, on the one hand Blizz (or any company for that matter) won’t change, unless the consumers change their practices. They did a nice apology at Blizzcon, but at the end of the day, it shouldn’t have happened in the first place, and will likely happen again in some format. I hate the idea of pre ordering or pre purchasing, even for the nice cosmetics. That said, I like the look of D4 so far, having not really played any of the others bar D3 when it came free with a WoW expec. Shadowlands looks ace,… Read more »

ReaverRogue
ReaverRogue
4 years ago

Diablo looks delicious AF and it’s tempting, so provided they change their ways for the better I’ll be on board. But, we’ll see.

Zaldrak
Zaldrak
4 years ago
Reply to  ReaverRogue

They didn’t reverse the bans or took any action, so you can get off board right now.

Phil
Phil
4 years ago
Reply to  Zaldrak

They gave the guy his winnings back (which was like in excess of $10k) and reduced his ban to six months, so they did take some action. It was a bit half-assed, but it is in fact an action.

Urazz
Urazz
4 years ago
Reply to  Phil

They gave shorter bans for a lot more serious offenses in the past so Blitzchung should not get such a long ban. Blizzard is still trying to appease China, which they shouldn’t be doing.

Helldemon
Helldemon
4 years ago
Reply to  Phil

They also recently made an employee take down his tweet in support of bliztchung just a few days ago, so that whole social media freedom they are supposed to have is bs.

Scortch
Scortch
4 years ago

Diablo 4 looks amazing. As you said, it’ll be a long time before it’s out, hopefully they can clean up their act so that I don’t have to struggle to justify supporting them.

Zaldrak
Zaldrak
4 years ago

At this point, especially after the Blizzcon “apology”, the girl being all battered and bruised and the guy being all “I promise sweetie, this time I’ll change, I’ll do better!” would have been a more accurate joke.

Oh, and he should say that while wearing a rainbow pin.

Chaos Marine
Chaos Marine
4 years ago
Reply to  Zaldrak

True. If Blizzard had a policy of being apolitical and stamping out on all politics equally, I would actually be more on Blizzard’s side but they’ve had a habit of latching onto whatever’s popular in order to garner positive press so while I agree that modern politics should kept out of games or at least be done so subtly that it doesn’t look like they’re trying to beat you over the head with a sledgehammer with their beliefs, they brought this on themselves. Also what makes this even more blatantly hypocritical is that in China, all of the OW characters… Read more »

TertiusGaudenus
TertiusGaudenus
4 years ago
Reply to  Chaos Marine

Soldier, Tracer and who is the third?

Chaos Marine
Chaos Marine
4 years ago

Reaper, they’re going to do a Soldier 76/Reaper romance thing. Unless that’s been dropped?

Sanquin
Sanquin
4 years ago

The “apology” they gave wasn’t an apology at all. Just some vague, non-committal statements sounding like it could be an apology.

Overwatch 2 doesn’t look worth it to me. A full priced game for what’s basically only upgraded graphics and 2 pve modes, no thanks.

Diablo 4 looks like just…more diablo 3 with some class changes and a new but same-ish story.

WoW Shadowlands is still way too vague to give judgement on.

I’m not going to forgive blizz for what they did because of this. They fucked up way too badly, several times, for that.

GamerLEN
GamerLEN
4 years ago

I’m interested in Diablo IV (and Shadowlands just to see how batshit its getting. I mean spectacle can be just as entertaining,) but I’m keeping an eye on them for now. If I even hear a whisper of ‘microtransactions’ or ‘live services’ I’m right the fuck back out again. As for the Hong Kong fiasco… um… yeah… I’m kinda wondering how long this one is going to stay an issue people really give a shit about anyways. I mean the only reason the media attention over that has been so crazy is that China and America aren’t exactly getting along… Read more »

no thanks nintendo
no thanks nintendo
4 years ago
Reply to  GamerLEN

Bethesda has been fucking up this entire time (Fallout First, anyone?) and we haven’t forgotten about Blizzard’s far more egregious bullshit. It’s almost like we can remember and be mad about more than one thing at a time!

Urazz
Urazz
4 years ago
Reply to  GamerLEN

You mean people forgot that Blizzard fired a bunch of their people at the beginning of the year even though they made a ton of profit? Did they forget last years Blizzcon where they announced Diablo: Immortal? Did you forget the most recent thing they did before Blizzcon where they pretty much took out the money they promised for a Hearthstone tournament price because the toys they were selling to help elevate amount of money for that tournament ended up higher than they expected?

no thanks nintendo
no thanks nintendo
4 years ago

Nah. I continue boycotting Blizzard until one of two things happen:
1. They stop putting profits in China over human rights.
2. They go out of business.

Matthias
Matthias
4 years ago

So some nice screenshot and fuck Hongkong, right?

James Rye
James Rye
4 years ago

Is it just me or does this sound like a bad relationship?

Glacoras
Glacoras
4 years ago
Reply to  James Rye

It is a bad relationship, and a joke the author has used before for other game companies in various forms. Starting to think that, whatever any of these companies do, the author will excuse them once a game they like the look of comes out.

Personally, I ignore who makes a game and just buy what I like the look of. In that respect, I find no moral issue with buying a game for my enjoyment because someone has made a decision I disagree with.

Urazz
Urazz
4 years ago

Yeah, I’m not buying D4 or even Overwatch 2 on launch day. I jus don’t know enough to warrant buying them yet. Hell even WoW Shadowlands looks a bit promising but I might not even get that one since I’m playing FF14 right now. I’ll see how these games do for a week or two at launch before I even think about buying either game.

Also, Blizzard’s behavior will also be under scrutiny for me. Anymore sleazy fuck ups is likely to get me to avoid getting D4 or Overwatch 2.

Chaos Marine
Chaos Marine
4 years ago

I won’t lie, that CGI teaser was absolutely ridiculously good. That it’s entirely CGI shows that there are people in Blizzard with monstrous amounts of talent. I’ll give credit where it’s due, it was amazing. With that said, I still will never buy a Blizzard game.

faaresemo
faaresemo
4 years ago

I mean, I don’t exactly expect gamers as a whole to manifest enough backbone to truly shut Blizzard out of the collective, but in the end you’re right. It’s a matter of priorities. Do people value a good game more than they value the freedom of a nation heading swiftly towards complete lockdown? It’s on the other side of the world after all, why should anyone in NA give a shit?

Ashi
Ashi
4 years ago
Reply to  faaresemo

I still don’t get what exactly people want Blizzard to do that will “free Hong Kong.” If you were to reinstate Blitz right now, would Hong Kong no longer be “heading swiftly towards complete lockdown?” Of course it would, which tells me that this has nothing to do with “a free Hong Kong.”

Kaitensatsuma
Kaitensatsuma
4 years ago

Naw, after the Hong Kong thing I’ve been spending so much time explaining the basic concept of how “Bitch Slapping a player with a Lifetime Ban, Yanking their hard earned cash, and Gagging them” is the opposite of “Being Neutral” and how “Rescinding the Ban to a Probation after massive outcry from the community” isn’t an “Apology” that it has tainted both my view of Blizzard and their supporters.

Because honestly the more you dig at their actions and excuses the worse it gets.

You were so close to being free of them, but now they’re PULLING YOU BACK IN.

Helldemon
Helldemon
4 years ago
Reply to  Kaitensatsuma

Not that I want to defend shizzard but I’m pretty sure the ban was only a year when they first took action and reduced to 6 months?

Kaitensatsuma
Kaitensatsuma
4 years ago
Reply to  Helldemon

In that case I had misheard.
It’s still a bad look considering that’s how he makes his livelihood.

FantasiaWHT
FantasiaWHT
4 years ago

Nope. Not happening with me or any of the people I know well. Way too many different games to choose from, none of us are going to be hurting by not playing Blizzard games.

Hellscreamgold
Hellscreamgold
4 years ago

“We” are all not mad at Blizzard. I’m one of the ones that thought Blizzard didn’t do anything wrong with their initial punishment of the gamer who decided to bring politics to a gaming event.

Hong Kong belongs to China. If people don’t like it, that’s fine. But doesn’t change that fact.

The dude broke the rules, willingly, knowingly, that he agreed to ahead of time….I’m more upset that Blizzard backed off the punishment.

MacLeod
MacLeod
4 years ago
Reply to  Hellscreamgold

China is one of the worst violators of human and animal rights and shows no regard for who they kill or destroy to keep control.

The Chinese government is utter dog shit and deserves all the scorn, mocking, and failure it gets. It stands by while north korea also is one of the worst violators of human rights, and Blizzard deserves all the resentment they get for sucking up to communist cocks for a bit of extra money.

Some guy
Some guy
4 years ago
Reply to  MacLeod

Yet the US govt is silent on saudi arabias shit.

This is for geopolitical reasons not any moral reasons. Hell Trump threw the Kurds under the bus and let Turkey help in Syria

Horatio
Horatio
4 years ago
Reply to  Some guy

The PKK are designated a terrorist group by the US state dept. I am not a fan of foreign interventions at all, however it is somewhat a masterstroke to fund one terrorist group to fight another terrorist group without having to waste US lives abroad. If Trump has proven anything, its that boycotts/ trade tariffs work. China is bending to trade pressures just as predicted. Similar tactics will work with Blizzard. The consumer base who restricts their trade with Blizzard will create a situation where Blizzards operation becomes unsustainable. They need sales and subscriptions to survive, especially having grown to… Read more »

Mattikus
Mattikus
4 years ago

Screw that. Candy is not worth selling out a country that needs our support. Yeah, It might seem like nothing because they’re “just games,” but Blizzard is part owned by Tencent. A company involved with the roll out of China’s dubious social credit system.

Any money that goes to Blizz is doing two things: saying what they did was ok and giving money to their friend who is abusing that friend’s family.

A hard stop delete-their-number-from-your-phone break up is necessary. For both the respect of self and those that deserve the freedom for which they are desperately fighting.

Ashi
Ashi
4 years ago
Reply to  Mattikus

And yet people seem to be giving Riot and Apple a free pass.

Brian
Brian
4 years ago

Time and time again I see a AAA publisher lambasted publicly for overtly reprehensible behavior and time and time again people make statements of boycotting them that are just as hollow as Blizzard’s recent apology. I’m sure whatever outrages happen between now and D4’s release will ensure people forget all about this and buy the game they publicly swore they wouldn’t.

Leon
Leon
4 years ago

WoW, Overwatch,or Diablo. Blizzatrd’s kinda one-note………three-note

Rex Vivat
Rex Vivat
4 years ago

Moral values are so cheap these days, if a corporation can just buy them with the promise of a good game. Me, if I ever play D4 it’s because I dusted off the ol’ eyepatch, I’m not giving them a cent. Fuck Blizzard.

Jim
Jim
4 years ago

As long as they’re going to keep kissing China’s ass I’m not buying it.

Alcor
Alcor
4 years ago

The angry people are the loud ones and also the minority. Let’s not be fooled into thinking Blizzard is really under that much pressure.

Croi
Croi
4 years ago

Gonna be honest, I still haven’t forgiven Blizzard and they haven’t actually apologized. That aside, none of the three classes they showed on Diablo 4 has me remotely interested in playing it. The whole “open world” and “non-linear story” means there will be no focus on the plot nor story. It looks like open world PvP will be a thing and you probably won’t be able to do anything about it because there will be PvP zones much like The Division. Customizable heads means massive amounts of focus on microtransactions since this now a “game as a service”…which by definition… Read more »

Merendel
Merendel
4 years ago

Meh they’ll have to try harder IMO. I’ve never been on the diablo hype train anyway. ended up in the beta to 3 via dumb luck and haveing a WoW account at the time. was ok but I didnt buy it till years later and that on my switch when it had a sale. 1 and 2 I ended up playing a couple hours on a bootleg copy my dorm mate had in collage but never got into it enough to get a real copy to play. Not overly happy with their corporate policy and using diablo as a way… Read more »

Doomsday31415
Doomsday31415
4 years ago

This is awful. Why are you actively encouraging people to forgive Blizzard for siding with communists? Literally, communists. That’s what China is. Communists.

It’s one thing to believe that players will buy Diablo whatever because they don’t have a hint of self control. It’s another to make a comic glorifying it!

You did not include what Blizzard did wrong and instead gave an awful reason Blizzard should be forgiven.

Shame on you.

Doomsday31415
Doomsday31415
4 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Let’s be clear here. This comic shows a gamer semi-accepting Blizzard’s “apology” and agreeing to keep buying and playing Blizzard games as if the incident never happened. The “doghouse” is meaningless if you still have the game at launch. There’s no punchline, and the only message is that what Blizzard has done isn’t that bad. And that message is something you’ve repeated in the comments. Blizzard made it very clear, both in the aftermath of the incident and at BlizzCon, that they care more about making money in China than any moral or ethical concerns. They did not apologize. They… Read more »

Tores
Tores
4 years ago
Reply to  Doomsday31415

I think what the comic depicts is what is to be expected from a good part of the “outraged” potential customer base in general, not Tim in the specific. That’s IMHO what the punchline is about: “A lot of people bitching and hating, and they will probably still buy the game at launch”; and not if this is a good or bad thing.

bisha
bisha
4 years ago

Ofc gamers will still buy the game, if people would care that much about principles basically all the AAA publishers would have gone under long ago. However I REALLY don’t see how that is anything to be celebrated in any way. Obviously a big company does not operate based on ethical standards…They might do at times or *pretend* to do, as long as it is useful to them, but in the end what matters is the money that can be made. But precisely for that reason I feel it is especially important to take at least a bit individual responsibility.… Read more »

Some guy
Some guy
4 years ago

I wonder if all those people here ib favor of the hongkong protest know really what is it about. The moment the protests becomes an independence movement its no different from what is happening with every seperatist movement around the world. Getting squished by the enemy. I laugh at all your morals when the US government itself is in the businsss of toppling govts not favorable to them and actively supporting a much worse dictatorship right now (Saudi Arabia). I live in a country where the US government actively supported a dictatorship to support its interest. So yall can shove… Read more »

bisha
bisha
4 years ago
Reply to  Some guy

First off, not from the US, and there def is a LOT of shady shit going on in the US gov..and here in the EU too. That being said, that is the dumbest shit I have read in a while. Is like one criminal complaining about getting arrested for murder while another one managed to get away. No shit, bad stuff happens out there. That is hardly a reason not to try and adress at least some of it. Besides, even though you seem to be unable to comprehend that, I can very well dislike more than one thing at… Read more »

KitsuneDragoon
KitsuneDragoon
4 years ago
Reply to  Some guy

The protests started with disputes over China trying to exert more control over Hong Kong by way of deporting people from there to the mainland if they are found to be “problematic” by those in charge. It’s a terrible thing to live in fear of your government ripping you out of your home because you might have said something against the current regime. There’s also the fact that Hong Kong is largely westernized and has been living under a different constitution for decades now since the changeover from being under British control, so the ideals are different from the Communist… Read more »

InsanitySkullZ
InsanitySkullZ
4 years ago

yeah fam I ain’t buying anything blizzard. ever. I can’t stand by a company that’ll make a mistake like that and then try to FORCE people to stay in their subscriptions instead of apologising and making things right, that is just not how you deal with a situation like that

Gwydion_Wolf
Gwydion_Wolf
4 years ago

When i first heard about the Diablo 4 hints (this was before the video’s dropped). I joked with a friend “Yea.. Diablo 4! New table-top game! Because we all have tables….. right?”

Glad to see i was wrong 😀

The rAt
The rAt
4 years ago

How DARE you, sir. I’ll have you know that I will not be swayed – I fully intend to *continue* to not purchase the games that I already wasn’t purchasing and had no intention of purchasing prior to this or any particular controversy.

The nerve!

…Sorry, couldn’t resist 🙂

Erica Heathrow
Erica Heathrow
4 years ago

Holding onto your principles until it’s a little bit inconvenient or uncomfortable for you, and then caving? Sounds like something a certain company currently has a lot of people purportedly very upset at them about. Only, I guess they’re not actually that upset, in some people’s cases. Not really; not for anything other than show and visibility… So… just like blizzard.

Kyle
Kyle
4 years ago

Speak for yourself, I’m not mad at Blizzard. The only thing they do that I find annoying is extremely expensive skins for crap.

Helldemon
Helldemon
4 years ago
Reply to  Kyle

Ya, who cares that shizzard is suppressing peoples freedom of speech at china’s behest.

Helldemon
Helldemon
4 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Fine, free speech, is that better? Not that you seem to care since you delete comments with informative factual videos that describe just how predatory and manipulative monetization is.

Ashi
Ashi
4 years ago
Reply to  Helldemon

But it’s totally fine if they make it easier to arrest protesters, right?

Solokov
Solokov
4 years ago

I’ll be honest, compared to last years blizzcon… I’m liking a lot of what I’m hearing.

That said, I ain’t trusting them to not screw things up.

Admiral Casual
Admiral Casual
4 years ago

I won’t be giving Bliz anymore money for the same reason I don’t spill Captain Crunch under the Fridge. I don’t like what it attracts.

JACOB FIELD
JACOB FIELD
4 years ago

. . . Aaaaannnnnd that’s why we don’t make social progress. YAY CAPITALISM!!

Willie Taylor
Willie Taylor
4 years ago

Broke up with Blizzard the day I found out Diablo 3 was online only forever (and this after having been a WoW subscriber for quite a while), and haven’t regretted it once since.

A nonny mouse
A nonny mouse
4 years ago

D4 looks really bland to me. The D2 classes make it clear that Blizzard was working on D2R, but scrapped it and salvaged its assets. The Scottish and Norse voices are indications of reused assets from D3’s cancelled second expansion.

Then there’s the freaking moose antlers on the Druid. It’s hard to take anyone wearing moose antlers seriously.

D4 just feels like old assets cobbled together to make one mess of a game. Nothing I’m looking forward to.

Edric Leonson
Edric Leonson
4 years ago

Quit the Chinese market. Refuse to re-enter it until/unless they give human rights and freedom to their people. The same goes for Hollywood and other game companies. Boycott the people that literally harvest organs from prisoners.

Admiral Casual
Admiral Casual
4 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Rather than the zinger I imagine it started out as, I think you just did an excellent job of proving Edric’s point, Tim. China has proven EXTREMELY adept and willing to engage in economic infiltration. There’s precious few enterprises that they aren’t involved in, and a lot of those same companies would be loathe to offend their foreign shareholders, even at the expense of their national customer base. THAT is what I take offense to with Blizzard’s actions, and why I refuse to give them another dime. I mean…what else are they going to compromise on to avoid Bejing’s ire?… Read more »

Edric Leonson
Edric Leonson
4 years ago
Reply to  Admiral Casual

I’ll also add that the last time I checked the manufacturer of my TV and Dishwasher weren’t involved in creating culture and that separates them from Hollywood and the Game Industry. My dishwasher doesn’t have a map that includes China’s illegal claim to other countries and international water. My TV doesn’t suppress free speech and protest.

Acher4
Acher4
4 years ago

I do have to say, that reading the first 2 panels, I initially thought that the woman was Blizzard and the man the gamers.

I guess that says more about me and my thoughts on the Diablo mobile outrage etc…
(one thing though: I did not think of the chinagate till I read the comments – ups)

Cyrad
Cyrad
4 years ago

More accurate if she had bruises on her face.

Blizzard isn’t sorry. Brack confirmed Blitzchung and the casters are still banned. He justified it with blatant lies. Blizzard is still punishing employees who post support for Hong Kong despite Brack saying employees are free to post their views on social media.

Cyrad
Cyrad
4 years ago
Reply to  Tim

I could concede I overstepped with the domestic abuse analogy, but Blizzard *is* trampling human rights and freedom of speech for financial gain while simultaneously pretending to be our best friend and standing for lofty ideals. They hurt people and tried to bury it with lies, hollow apologies, and promises of games.

Unagiman
Unagiman
4 years ago

I have a feeling that by the time Diablo IV actually comes out most gamers will have completely forgotten this incident and will just line up to buy it. I’m not really judging, I will be buying it as well.

Nate
Nate
4 years ago

I get what you’re saying here but I’m sticking to my principles. When Blizzard pulled that Chinese censorship stunt, they lost 100% of my trust and 100% of my business.

There’s bad business… and there’s deplorable behavior that moves beyond the realm of gaming. I’m an American first and a gamer second. Don’t know what else to say.

Nagaznar
Nagaznar
4 years ago

I really Re…illy want to like Diablo 4 but Blizzard doesn’t really have a pristine record of late & they did officially announced that there will be “some” microtransactions. Remember; the nest thing about Blizzard is CDPR. Remember when Blizzard was a bastion of honest gaming until they got big enough to be bought by Activision. Now it’s CDPR ‘s turn. They will probably retain a strong backbone until they get an offer no one can refuse.

Ashi
Ashi
4 years ago

I hope everyone here who is SO OUTRAGED AT BLIZZARD has also uninstalled any game from a developer that is either wholly owned by China or does business in China, has gotten rid of any device in their home sold by a company that does business in China, and has told consumers of those goods or services that THEY are complicit. After all, I would hate for you to be inconsistent or apply some sort of double standard.

Arthiem
Arthiem
4 years ago

wait until she opens up that loot box and its full of crap RNG chocolates.

leduk
leduk
4 years ago

never been hyped by a diablo anyway… but a bc/lk ‘classic’, maybe.