I'm still confused.. Was this man not merely answering a question about his stance on the protest by the interviewers/broadcasters? Is this not why the broadcasters were fired in the first place? Not that it should make much of a differnce, but I'm curious..
Frankly I'm quite shocked how many here seem to defend Blizzard's actions, even if it is like 20% of the comments. I really feel like this is a cut and dry issue, but maybe it's me?
I mean, they don't have to outright act like that officially endorse the Hong Kong protests after the esports players spoke up (although I would!). But jesus, at the very least - did they have to freaking suspend the guy, over a harmless statement of support?? Isn't that kind of akin to rubbing salt into the wound? Just leave it alone and ignore it! Don't say anything either way!
What exactly were is Blizzard afraid of? That Tencent and other Chinese investors would totally withdraw support over a single dude voicing his support for the protests? Ban Overwatch/Diablo/Hearthstone in China? That would be an utterly psychotic move by the Chinese and merely make them look like asshats. It would also allow Blizzard to keep their good will - which they've now utterly destroyed in the West, which isn't good as it's now compounded from the Diablo mobile fiasco.
If they're really worried about their bottom line, why worry about the Chinese market - which gaming is a relatively new endeavor, rather than the Western market.. You know, the market that gave you your massive success in the first place..? Would Blizzard really be depriving themselves of massive future earnings when they are (or at least were) beloved by countless hundreds of million of of Western/Japanese/South Korean gamers? Like jesus how greedy can a corporation be?
I'm so glad my heroes Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the show runners of South Park basically told China where they can stick it. THAT is the model other corporations should look to follow if you're a company that believes in freedom and not monumentally tarnishing your brand image forever. Blizzard could learn a thing or two.
Last edited by DarthMetalliCube - on 13 October 2019
"We hold these truths to be self-evident - all men and women created by the, go-you know.. you know the thing!" - Joe Biden
