Can’t say I know either. It’s definitely tongue-in-cheek and I don’t believe ActiBlizzard has managed to make their game fun on purpose for a second. That said, patching out the fun would imply they know what they’re doing when I’m unconvinced they’re good enough at game to purposely make a game tedious.
I had the original Xbox all the way through the last series and sold it to get the last 100€. I hadn’t bought a game on the Xbox since No Man’s Sky and just didn’t see anything appealing about it anymore, it was just a steaming box until it was gone (and is at a friend’s, who is using it as a streaming box, lol)
Did they ever apologise properly for what they did to that player that said free Hong Kong and allow him to play again or have we all just forgotten that?
That was when Blitzchung, in his post-tournament win interview, uttered a brief sentence in support of Hong Kong (and implicitly in support of human rights). Blizzard responded by revoking his prize money, banning him from tournaments, and terminating the interviewers who happened to be on camera with him at the time.
This action took place late at night (well outside of US business hours) and was accompanied by a letter that some analysts pointed out had peculiar phrasing patterns that one might expect from native-Chinese speakers writing in English. The excuse given was a tournament rule prohibiting any act that “brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image.”
To answer your question: No.
At the subsequent BlizzCon, Blizzard president Allen Brack gave a speech in which he “apologized” for the vague act of failing to live up to the high standards they set for themselves. He didn’t mention Blitzchung at all. This was a typical, predictable, corporate non-apology, allowing them to say “I’m sorry” for something other than the harm they inflicted or the position they took. Neither Brack nor Blizzard apologized for the actions taken against Blitzchung and the interview hosts. The punishments were not reversed. (I think Blizzard eventually responded to massive public pressure by somewhat reducing the duration of Blitzchung’s ban, but never lifted it entirely, awarded his prize money, or restored the interview hosts’ contracts.)
A few years later, Activision Blizzard was bought by Microsoft. Bobby Kotick, the CEO at the time of the Blitzchung decision, is no longer there. We don’t know who else participated, so we don’t know if they are are still making decisions at Blizzard.
This is the incident that made me cancel my WoW sub, and close my Battle.net account. Never again trusting them, even under Microsoft (or rather, especially now under MS).
I’ve been playing Tech Test 2 on Xbox and I think it’s fantastic. Huge fan of The Finals so this has been on my radar for the past year or so. The game looks great and I love the art style. It’s like stepping into 70s sci-fi, like the Atari Missile Command cover art, in the best way possible. Fun gameplay, interesting mechanics and a lovely mix of ideas that work well together. Definitely looking forward to the release.
You used to get lootboxes just for playing, progressing hero, having good endorsement, none of that came back. Or the grindy 10 levels past battlepass that only give you useless name tag, not a single lootbox and it’s more grindy than entire battlepass.
Live service, sure, since that’s the entire point of live service, but we’re spoiled for choice of fantastic games across different scopes and scales that don’t have any microtransactions at all.
I think you’re having trouble finding the good stuff in the first place then. We’re flooded with more great games than ever. And microtransactions are one thing, but something like a DLC expansion isn’t pressuring you to buy it if you like the base game. Even still, if you had a problem with the existence of any DLC for a game whatsoever, there’s still tons to play.
Oh, if you’re going to ignore the problem that is DLC then we’re just going to have to agree to disagree.
I wait until games are finished before pirating them. There are plenty of good games these days now, but almost all of them have microtransactions and/or DLC.
I’m not particularly interested in most indie titles, which is where a lot of the disconnect comes between me and the average PC gamer.
Is DLC a problem if a game had been “finished” for years and then they go back and make one for an old game? It’s been known to happen. I don’t see it as a problem, because it’s arbitrary. In many ways, a DLC can be reactionary for what a game needs after they’ve had time to observe the completed thing. It also depends on your definition of indie, since there’s as wide of a range in production value among games called “indie” as there is among “AAA”. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II probably cost one tenth what the next Grand Theft Auto cost to make, and a game like Indika or Clair Obscur could fool plenty of people into thinking they were made by enormous teams.
But like I said, even if I filtered for games without any sort of DLC, there’s still tons to play.
That depends on what you’re looking for. From this year alone, there’s Split Fiction, Avowed, and Knights in Tight Spaces, and I haven’t finished Blue Prince yet, but it’s pretty cool so far. What is it about indie titles, however you define that term, that doesn’t interest you? Because at this point, it’s most video games (AAA games take a long, long time to make these days), and that would go a long way toward explaining how you feel most good games have microtransactions, if you’re willing to ignore most good games.
I don’t like the trend of having to accept cheaper entertainment just so that the businesses behind it can make more money with less effort.
Games like God of War, Crash Bandicoot, Metal Gear Solid, those all take monumentally more effort to make than indie games and it shows in the final results. I could get all philosophical on ‘what makes good art,’ but I don’t think that’s the discussion you’re trying to have.
You’re not accepting more expensive entertainment either. You’re pirating it. None of these games were made with less effort; they’re typically just made by fewer people. Adding more people to the project doesn’t make the game any better, or else Ubisoft games would be the greatest games ever made. I think I see why you’ve got this perspective that’s completely divorced from reality. Yes, most games have microtransactions if you completely disregard most games. I’d encourage you to give some of those games you’re ignoring a try.
You’re not accepting more expensive entertainment either. You’re pirating it.
Buying it is unrelated to accepting it.
None of these games were made with less effort; they’re typically just made by fewer people.
I respectfully disagree.
I think I see why you’ve got this perspective that’s completely divorced from reality.
Lol, what? I think you’re just getting upset at me because I don’t like the low-effort games you enjoy.
Yes, most games have microtransactions if you completely disregard most games.
Right, and most of the games that interest you don’t interest me.
I’d encourage you to give some of those games you’re ignoring a try.
I’m good. You’re using me to try and justify your own enjoyment of what you spent your money on. It’s fine if you like things that I don’t like and vice-versa.
It’s fine if you’re completely ignorant of the great games that have come out lately, but I wouldn’t consider it admirable to be proud of being this ignorant about great games or how they’re made.
Lol. You think ‘blue prince’ took as much effort to make as Crash Fucking Bandicoot or Metal Gear Solid and I’m the one who is ignorant about great games and how they’re made?
I’m guessing you never even played those games so you have no point of reference. You should try emulating them, then you can experience what it’s like to play great games completely free of charge. Heck, you might even raise your standards as a result going forward.
The Metal Gear Solid games are some of my favorites, and I’ve played all of them. If you’re referring to the PS1 Crash Bandicoot games, those were made with similar team sizes and “levels of effort” as most games that would be called “indie” are today, for very similar economic reasons. Blue Prince was made over the course of 8 years largely by one person, and I guarantee you he wasn’t trying to find a way to make bank by doing little effort; a famous development talk pointed out that people getting into game development to make big bucks with little effort would have been better off opening a Subway franchise instead. Balatro was also made largely by one person, and it was a nominee for Game of the Year last year. Split Fiction was made with a team size and project scope reminiscent of MGS2 or 3, and it too will be a Game of the Year contender.
The Metal Gear Solid games are some of my favorites, and I’ve played all of them.
Then you should be able to recognize the monumental difference on both an individual and group level that goes into making a game like Metal Gear Solid vs. the games you mentioned. You should also be able to recognize the difference in quality between a game like Metal Gear Solid and all of the games you mentioned.
If you’re referring to the PS1 Crash Bandicoot games, those were made with similar team sizes and “levels of effort” as most games that would be called “indie” are today
You haven’t even played the games I mentioned. How on earth would you know? Also, take a look at the credits of Crash Bandicoot, and learn something about how games are made. 84 people, including the publisher and marketing. Naughty Dog itself was only 9 people. Here’s Indika, a cinematic puzzle/story game, not a far cry from 2018’s God of War without the combat, an indie game from last year; the development studio dwarfs Naughty Dog from the 90s. UFO 50 is an indie game from last year that has 50 full, new, original games contained in it, designed to portray a fictional game development studio’s catalog from the 80s. It was made by 6 people over the course of 7 years. And I’m clueless, huh?
Yes, very. So clueless in fact anybody who has any idea of the actual effort that went into the development of Crash Bandicoot, not just ‘team numbers,’ would laugh at you.
I’m glad you’re so committed. Your commitment keeps giving me more reasons why you shouldn’t be taken seriously. It’s really just funny to me at this point.
These companies are told by analysts that it’s always better to have the players make the content for them.
That’s why PVP games are always free-to-play and co-op games “require” each player to buy their own copy (so now you have to do the companies’ dirty work for them by convincing your friends to spend money.) It’s all fucked, and it’s all about following the money.
I feel like a lot of these studios are just paid to put out mediocre garbage in the hopes that it will sucker an audience that doesn’t know any better.
It really is throwing shit at the wall to see what will stick at this point.
lol, it’s Jared Petty… I’ve not seen a single positive preview or review from him since he started doing IGN articles. No hate to the guy, I liked when he did Kindafunny content back in the day, seems like a genuinely nice dude… but… this doesn’t seem like a game he’d like (he’s more of a retro games and RPG kind of guy). Also IGN has plummeted in my expectations with a lot of the drama as of late (people quitting and corporate ownership). I played a few rounds this morning, loving it so far, but I’ve also been pumped for this game for a long time! So I’m definitely biased and I’ve also not played enough to say it’s AMAZING! But I have watched multiple people play (JackFrags and OperatorDrewski were both great) and I’d suggest you watch those instead of taking an IGN article from this dude as your final opinion.
I’d encourage folks to watch some gameplay videos on this instead of just reading this article. Every one I’ve watched showed gameplay that looked like lot of fun and the folks playing had a much different opinion than this. Looks a lot more interesting than Marathon at the very least.
ign.com
Aktywne