‘I am sorry,’ Blizzard exec says
BlizzCon opens with apology over handling of gamer’s comments.
The opening ceremony at BlizzCon, an annual convention that draws tens of thousands of fans of Blizzard Entertainment’s video games to Anaheim for a weekend of sneak peeks and communal geekery, typically features a splashy announcement of a new title or installment in a popular game series.
This year, it kicked off with an apology. Blizzard President J. Allen Brack took to the stage at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday to address the roiling controversy around the company’s early October punishment of a player who spoke out in support of the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
“Blizzard had the opportunity to bring the world together,” Brack said. “We did not. We moved too quickly in our decision making, and then, to make matters worse, we were too slow to talk with all of you.”
The player, known as Blitzchung, had won a tournament of Blizzard’s popular card battle game “Hearthstone.” After he spoke out in a postgame interview, saying “liberate Hong Kong” in Mandarin on a live broadcast, the company moved to strip him of his $10,000 winnings and ban him from future competitions for a year.
Fans and some employees protested the decision, claiming that it went counter to Blizzard’s stated principles of “Every voice matters” and “Think globally.” In response, the company walked back most of its punishment, returning the winnings to the player and shortening his ban to six months. But in a statement, the company said it would continue to enforce limits on nongaming speech in official company broadcasts.
“When I think about what I’m most unhappy about, there’s really two things,” Brack continued from the stage Friday. “The first one is, we didn’t live up to the high standards that we really set for ourselves, and the second is, we failed in our purpose, and for that, I am sorry and I accept accountability.”
The crowd inside cheered at that point in Brack’s speech. Some conventiongoers told The Times they were satisfied as well.
This year was the first that Bill Jones, 28, has attended BlizzCon. He and his wife, Janee Jones, 27, dressed up as Ana and Otaku Roadhog from “Overwatch.” Both believed the company had earnestly addressed what it had done wrong.“But I don’t keep up with politics much, and I would keep playing ‘Overwatch’ whether or not they had made a statement,” Janee Jones said after watching Brack’s speech.
Other attendees were not placated. “He was correct to admit that the company acted too harshly too fast to punish Blitzchung and were too slow to respond to criticism,” said Michael Wilson, 19. “But it was more a PR move than anything.”
Wilson attends BlizzCon nearly every year with his brother and parents; his mother used to work for Blizzard, so he grew up playing the games. His father, David Wilson, designed and printed “I stand with Hong Kong” stickers ahead of the event for the family to pass out.
The elder Wilson said it was a complex situation but that he is concerned that American companies are not standing up for core values such as free speech. “We have to stand up for freedom,” he said. “We should be standing up for the people in Hong Kong.”
Outside the venue, a small crowd condemned the company’s actions.
A man in a Winnie the Pooh costume carrying a yellow can labeled “HUNNY” filled with fake money and a photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping taped to his face marched around the protest area handing out the fake bills. Giving only his first name, Doug, the man said he took the day off from work so he and his wife could join the protest. He was one of several protesters dressed as Pooh, a character censored in China because of his supposed resemblance to China’s president.
“We don’t need these empty platitudes after the fact,” he said of Brack’s apology. “They shouldn’t be doing whatever the Chinese market wants them to do.”