President J. Allen Brack Of Blizzard Entertainment Apologizes For The Rash Decision Towards Hong-Kong’s Controversy

President J. Allen Brack Of Blizzard Entertainment Apologizes For The Rash Decision Towards Hong-Kong’s Controversy
Credit: GameSpot News via YouTube

Today at BlizzCon open keynote, Blizzard president J. Allen Brack stated the events that lead to the Honk Kong controversy; that recently involved Hearthstone pro player Ng Wai’ blitzchung’ Chung.

Well, for those lost on what transpired, here’s your recap: the Hearthstone pro player blitzchung, wore a gas mask, and protested a pro-Hong-Kong statement following a competition on October 6, instigating a harsh response from the publisher who vetoed on the player and revoked his prized money.

Then came a ton of protest from the community before Blizzard decided to reduce the duration of his enjoinment and to reissue the prize money, yet blitzchung and caster were still not completely vindicated. So, what happened today at BlizzCon wasn’t expected; the president, J. Allen Brack, unapologetically pleaded and accepted accountability for Blizzard’s rash decision on the pro player. That’s bold!

He also vowed to ‘do better going forward’ and promised that the company’s commitment to everyone’s right would not be further jeopardized. Anyone can express themselves in all kinds of ways, and all kinds of places’. Okay, with that out of the way, the president did announce further changes forthcoming.

Here’s what he said:
‘Blizzard had the opportunity to unite the world together in a tough Hearthstone eSports moment a month ago, and we did fail you. We moved too quickly in our decision making, and it resulted in dire situations. We didn’t keep up with our communication with you all.’

He then continued: ‘when I think about what I’m most unhappy about, there are always two things that come to mind. The first one being, we didn’t live up to the high standards we set for ourselves. The second, we failed in our purpose, and for that, I am sorry, and I duly accept accountability.’

Here’s what he said the purpose was: ‘Blizzard is demonstrating even as we speak. We aspire to bring the world together in epic entertainment, and I truly believe in the positive power video game brings to this generation.’

Well, it’ obvious others didn’t fall for the soothing words President J. Allen Brack said. Some folks at twitter rushed to make a mockery for what they called an ’empty words’ or a ‘barest minimum bones’ apology.

One user wrote: ‘this is not an apology. It’s just a vague beg-pardon, there are not even mentioning blitzchung, and yet they’re apologizing, who are they apologizing to?’

Another user went on to write: ‘what’s it with his long flowing locks, what does this even mean? Will, they still bowing to the Chinese government? My magic 8-ball says otherwise.’

From all tweets and other facts combined, many saw Blizzard’s response to the Hong Kong player as a power play. It’s similar to an American company not wanting to compromise the Chinese government as statistically, they hold stakes in the giant game company. For instance, Chinese technology giant Tencent had a 4.9% in the parent company, Activision Blizzard as of November 2016.

While some players were complaining about the Blizzard’s clever act, others were protesting in the convention this weekend, by wearing ‘Winnie the Pooh’ costumes. The famous cartoon bear had been recently banned in china after internet users unashamedly likened the character to Chinese president Xi Jinping. Aww, why? This could only occur as a result of tweets from other users.

Well, we can hope for the best, as Allen ended his statement saying: ‘we will do better going forward, but our actions are what counts.’

MORE ABOUT