I don’t normally do gaming pieces on this blog, but full disclosure I have been gaming since the very early 1980’s. It is a hobby, I enjoy it and It’s something that over the decades has grown to an immense industry on par with Hollywood. Over the last few years there has been several revelations as to the culture at some of the biggest gaming companies in the world. The latest one to blow up is Activision/Blizzard, they make one of the most popular games in the world World of Warcraft.
Here is an article that does a decent job of summarizing what is going on there.
So what we have here is a rampant corporate culture of sexism, harassment, assault and generally horrible behavior. It has gotten to the point where the State of California is suing this company, it’s that bad. Lost in this are the victims of what appears to be a decade + of horrible behavior. So as a gamer I see this and I am saddened. I believe that consenting adults can do whatever they want, the first time there is a “No” or any expression of discomfort it has to end there. Touching, slapping or grabbing is an assault unless consented too. On and on.
So as a gamer I see this and I have few tools at my disposal to affect a better outcome for the victims and to punish those who have committed these horrible offenses. I can use my platform here, which I am and I can use my consumption. In the end, these companies rely on people like me to consume their product. Let me be clear, some of the games Activison and Blizzard make are spectacular. Loads of fun and highly entertaining.
I won’t be playing them anymore. I have uninstalled them from my gaming PC and cancelled my subscription I had to play one. I know that seems a small trifle given the scope of the crimes here and the size of the company involved. However, I am one of thousands, if not TENS of thousands of people who are doing the very same thing. You want to hold companies accountable for crap like this? Hit them in the wallet. This company will never get a dime from me again, even if they completely reform etc. the fact that they covered it up for years and allowed it to go on is horrible, I will never reward that.
I don’t expect perfection; god knows I’m not perfect. When a woman says no, it ends there. When a woman tells you, you make her uncomfortable, stop. It’s okay to ask, but that’s it. Once the relationship boundary is set you have to respect it and creating the illusion of women being ambiguous is ridiculous. You know if a woman is uncomfortable, you shouldn’t be dropping comments about her breasts, or her ass unless you are actually in a relationship. Of course there are instances where things are embellished, people lie and innocent men get harmed. I get that, but what we have here is a lengthy dossier of abuse over years, its criminal on so many levels that the people in charge, senior management should be prosecuted.
The Activision/Blizzard story is far worse than the vanilla examples I have given. If you are a gamer and you are reading this, send them a clear message that you are unhappy and this is unacceptable, hit them in the wallet.
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