Video Game Discussion Thread vol. 2

Sonichuman · July 27, 2021

That guy who was saying that the allegations against Acti-Blizz was slander has to be going through a range of emotions with nearly 1000 employees backing the lawsuit. I bet they thought they were gonna find some way out of this before that happened. If I were them I'd be trying to do what I can to settle at this point. GGs.

AriesWarlock · July 27, 2021

Activision Blizzard employees decry 'abhorrent' company response to harassment lawsuit

More than 800 workers want "immediate" corrective action from the publisher.

Employees at Activision Blizzard are calling on the company to issue a new statement in response to the lawsuit it’s facing from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). If you’ve been following the saga since it broke earlier in the month, you may recall the company brushed off allegations that it had fostered a “frat boy” workplace culture, claiming the lawsuit included “distorted, and in many cases false descriptions of Blizzard’s past.”

Now, in a letter obtained by Polygon, a group of more than 800 Activision Blizzard employees say the statement the company issued was “abhorrent and insulting,” and they’re demanding leadership undertake “immediate” corrective action. “Categorizing the claims that have been made as ‘distorted, and in many cases false’ creates a company atmosphere that disbelieves victims,” the letter states. “Our company executives have claimed that actions will be taken to protect us, but in the face of legal action — and the troubling official responses that followed — we no longer trust that our leaders will place employee safety above their own interests.”

The group specifically calls out the message Frances Townsend, executive vice president of corporate affairs at the publisher, sent to employees after the news broke. In the leaked email, Townsend claims the lawsuit DFEH filed presents “a distorted and untrue picture of our company, including factually incorrect, old and out of context stories — some from more than a decade ago.” According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, the response had some workers “fuming.” The group that signed the letter is calling on Townsend to step down as executive sponsor of the ABK Employee Women’s Network.

The timing of the letter comes after Activision Blizzard reportedly held an ‘all-hands’ meeting with 500 employees. The Zoom call was supposed to include the entire studio, but a scheduling error meant not everyone could join the meeting. Activision executive Joshua Taub allegedly told those in attendance he and CEO Bobby Kotick “have never seen this,” adding that “does not mean this behavior does not happen.” Taub then reportedly said, “we don’t publicize all of these claims, we work with the employee and the person who is accused and try to work on a resolution.” The company has a second meeting planned for tomorrow, according to Uppercut.

https://www.polygon.com/22594765/activision-blizzard-open-letter-harassment-lawsuit

Edited July 27, 2021 by AriesWarlock

Hecatom · July 27, 2021

You know, for a moment i was considering installing Valorant to try it out on my laptop, but then i remembered that it basically installs malware with its anti cheat stuff 🤣

Perhaps i should install it on a VM, but is too much trouble for a game i will probably drop after some few plays.

Wellman · July 27, 2021

5 hours ago, Hawkingbird said:

The rumored roster for the NRS Marvel game is trash.

https://www.cbr.com/netherrealms-marvel-fighting-game-leaks

Blob, Mojo, Zola? But why?

Potentially Deacon Frost, of all the cool vampires they choose the motherfucker that most fans would have trouble confirming if he was or was not a movie creation.

Sonichuman · July 27, 2021

Apparently I had completely missed that June's NPD numbers came out a little over a week ago.

https://venturebeat.com/2021/07/16/june-2021-npd-hardware/

https://venturebeat.com/2021/07/16/june-2021-npd-ratchet-clank-and-mario-golf-set-franchise-records/

So apparently for the first time in quite some time...Xbox managed to chart in some fashion. I'm not entirely sure what brought this own...only thing I can take a wild guess on is that maybe they've been able to put more consoles out there than Sony and because people are just buying SeXs instead of PS5's since they're easier to find. Only guesses on that...cause it certainly can't be the games cause there hasn't any exclusives to be released yes to push the sales. Anywho, Xbox SeX was the best selling hardware platform in dollar sales for the month while Switch still led the way in unit sales. This was the best June ever for the xbox brand in terms of console sales. Switch is still the most dominant console for this year and PS5 is still currently the fastest unit-selling console hardware platform in U.S. history for lifetime sales through 8 months on the market not including portables.

Going into Software, Ratchet and Clank, Scarlet Nexus and apparently Mario Golf Super Rush were the stars that month. Ratchet and Clank took over the charts and Mario Golf did well enough that it made it to the 3rd spot with Scarlet Nexus taking the 5th. No telling how long Mario Golf will last with the mostly luke warm reception it received but looks like people really wanted another Mario Golf game.

Top 20 for June: Ratchet & Clank: RA, CoD Blops CW, Mario Golf: SR, MLB The Show 21, Scarlet Nexus, RE8, MK8D, Minecraft, Miles Morales, MK11, AC: AH, CoD MW 2019, Smash Ult, Ass Creed: Valhalla, SM3DW+BF, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2, LoZ: BotW, Pokemon Sw/Sh, Sea of Thieves (side note about this. This game came up from spot 36 to chart top 20 so that Pirates of the Caribbean DLC is doing work)

(other side note...I was curious as to how long Pokemon Snap was going to chart and that shit fuckin vanished this month. I had to recheck last month's NPD numbers to make sure it was there. That title was 3rd last month and POOFED)

Top 10 best selling this year: CoD: Blops: CW, RE8, MLB: The Show 21, SM3DW+BF, Miles Morales, MH:Rise, MK8D, Ass Creed: Valhalla, Outriders, Minecraft

Top 10 for the last 12 months: CoD Blops CW, Dat Madden 21, Ass Creed: Valhalla, Miles Morales, GoTsu (this game is probably gonna get a major resurgence when that DLC/Directors cut hits), SM3DAS, AC: NH, NBA 2K21, Marvel's Avengers, MK8D,

Top 10 Nintendo: Mario Golf:SR, MK8D, AC:NH, Smash Ult, SM3DW+BF, LoZ: BotW, Pokemon Sw/Sh, New Pokemon Snap (oh there you are...looks like you're still selling on Ninty's charts so maybe you're just above 30 overall maybe?), Super Mario Party, Minecraft

Top 10 Playstation: Ratchet & Clank: RC, CoD Blops CW, MLB The Show 21, Miles Morales, RE8, Scarlet Nexus, Minecraft, Ass Creed: Valhalla, GoTsu, FFVII: R (This game was 81 on Playstation's chart last month, didn't chart overall but looks like Intergrade did have some sort of impact)

Top 10 Xbox: CoD Blos CW, CoD MW 2019, RE8, Mass Effect: LE, Ass Creed: Valhalla, Scarlet Nexus, Forza Horizon 4, It Takes Two, MK 11, MLB The Show 21