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Ubisoft apologize for Watchdogs AD that was be seen as supporting Hong Kong protesters. (Possibly after backslash from mainland China)
- Thread starter vinnykappa
- Start date
Yes. Very coward of them (especially as Canadians) to have the government of China/Hong Kong focus on them.
Bunch of cunts.
Right?! Bunch of soulless and devoid of integrity. Such trickery is not acceptable. How dare they care about the livelihood of their employees.
Bunch of cunts.
Is Watchdogs or ubi big in China? Is this what the future is for all companies? To suck the teat of pro government China aholes or lose business?
What the fuck? My understanding is that game is about rebelling against authoritarian/dystopian government... so they're apologizing to an authoritarian/dystopian government about an ad that has parallels to a similar situation in the real world? What a bunch of cowards.
People expecting a corporation to adopt a political stance in their official communications for anything other than profits are being naive to begin with.
Tbh this is part of the reason why I don't mind the trade war with China (through it could be run better) push back needs to happen, and it's not going to happen along corporate or even by most nations except the most powerful.
The game itself is not about anything but making money. The suits at Ubisoft believe that WatchDogs is a mainstream franchise. After a disappointing second entry, from a sales perspective, they are trying to tap into whatever counterculture and political zeitgeist exists today. That said, they have zero interest in making a political statement that could impact their finances or particularly cause trouble for Tencent one of their major investors that helped them fend off Vivendi.
Bowing to Beijing and apologizing to the Chinese Communist Party... pathetic.
All of this.
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So then what's the point of making a game where you rise to resist a cruel leadership if you shy away when real life authoritarians get mad at you?
How can you make a game with a political saying and then quickly say that there's no political side you're taking?
How can you make a game with a political saying and then quickly say that there's no political side you're taking?
What I find very disappointing (perhaps, repugnant) is how these companies continue to actively sabotage and thereby perpetuate the notion that setting a game in any politically charged place and time and then to have the player actively participate and/or deconstruct all aspects of it for gameplay purposes does not contribute to "politics" in games.
No, it is not reprehensible because it is a lie, which it is, but because it also perpetuates relegation of "politics" to "gender and racial" inclusivity in the gaming medium. Waypoint recently covered how "toxic" the phrase "politics in games" (whilst covering WD Legion) because of the player base, but in reality, it was the developers and publishers who have, for decades, pushed the narratives that there is no politics in games despite being blatantly otherwise to sell copies and altering perception of the said word resulting in how it is received today.
And while this issue definitely transcends gaming, unlike the other two (comics and movies/tv) gaming publishers actively try to push the pernicious narrative of what does not comprise "politics".
No, it is not reprehensible because it is a lie, which it is, but because it also perpetuates relegation of "politics" to "gender and racial" inclusivity in the gaming medium. Waypoint recently covered how "toxic" the phrase "politics in games" (whilst covering WD Legion) because of the player base, but in reality, it was the developers and publishers who have, for decades, pushed the narratives that there is no politics in games despite being blatantly otherwise to sell copies and altering perception of the said word resulting in how it is received today.
And while this issue definitely transcends gaming, unlike the other two (comics and movies/tv) gaming publishers actively try to push the pernicious narrative of what does not comprise "politics".
Ubisoft loves to put political imagery and themes in its videogames until they're forced to actually confront them.
LOL @ co-opting political movements to sell your fuckass video games then running off tail between your legs when there's pushback from an actual oppressor.
Thing is at least their game invokes anti-totalitarian imagery. At least someone from Ubisoft marketing sniped at PRC.
Shit, look at all the Western governments and their refusal to recognize Taiwan. And you all are angry at a Corp, one that has Chinese investment at that.
Shit, look at all the Western governments and their refusal to recognize Taiwan. And you all are angry at a Corp, one that has Chinese investment at that.
User banned (1 week): inflammatory generalization and harmful stereotypes + multiple prior bans for trolling and inflammatory rhetoric
Ubisoft can really run those lips when it comes to American politics but backs down and apologizes to China lol
typical french backbone.
typical french backbone.
Ubisoft is always so full of shit. Ever single time there is some sort of positive political message they backpedal right the fuck back.
Shitty paint by the numbers games with zero heart. Cowards.
Shitty paint by the numbers games with zero heart. Cowards.
They backed off several other issues in the past, most recent is Far Cry 5 having a white supremacist/alt-right white southern villain and they got all
"sowy uwu"
When the alt-right started to make a stink and I believe claimed to not have politics in their games or some dumb shit. This is coming from the same "women are hard to make" company.
I don't think it was accidental, but China is not going to fuck around with these things, and all of this just shows how powerful China is: they can threat companies whenever they like and companies have to bow out otherwise they're out from the mainland market which is the biggest.
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Of course they'd suffer for it. Ethics aren't what you do when it's convenient and of no cost to you. It's precisely when you'd pay a cost for taking a stance that your ethics matter.
I read the entire title and OP wondering what AD stood for.
:(
I think I need to go back to bed
:(
I think I need to go back to bed
Most brands on Facebook redirect you to their page based on your country by default. You can change the Page's region by clicking on the dots and click "Switch Region".
I was actually half interested in this after the E3 demo but they can get nicked now. China is the perfect representation of the society their game is railing against yet the moral message is never worth the cost in sales. Ubisoft have form in this too. They bent over backwards to censor R6: Siege all because of China, and subsequently did the same to the game worldwide for a time.
Corporations like Ubisoft should all be apologising to us for being contemptible cowards. Grow a fucking spine.
So is it possible to cause a huge stink about this and have them apologize for their apology? I really want Ubisoft to have to come out every week and keep apologizing about everything they do. It's a dream of mine.
I think representation is incredibly important by I'm wary of brands leveraging "wokeness" to sell more shit, especially when they still do a lot of unethical things.
Obviously this is a different issue from that. It's disappointing when corporations don't take the side of the people but never surprising.
OP
OP
The ad and apology are both posted on their official FB page.
Mainland China is extremely influential, petty, and petulant. That makes them very scary. I bet they have more than one way to hurt Ubisoft. So yes, Ubisoft took the coward's way out, because they didn't want to spend the next year picking the knives out of their back.
I wish those protesters all the best. I really hope they are able to fight for their freedom. However, they have a mainland China shill who is going to push through bullshit legislation which will be used to infringe on their freedoms. That is going to happen. I think things are going to get far worse for Hong Kong before they get better.
*edit*
Holy shit... Lam shelved the bill? My god... well, I will happily wear egg this time around. I am glad my cynicism turned out to be unfounded.
I wish those protesters all the best. I really hope they are able to fight for their freedom. However, they have a mainland China shill who is going to push through bullshit legislation which will be used to infringe on their freedoms. That is going to happen. I think things are going to get far worse for Hong Kong before they get better.
*edit*
Holy shit... Lam shelved the bill? My god... well, I will happily wear egg this time around. I am glad my cynicism turned out to be unfounded.
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