Topic: #StopGamerGate, #GamerGate (and more...)

[kat]

It isn't without a dash of irony/hypocrisy that #StopGamerGate2014 (now "#StopGamerGate2015") is being used by those opposed to #GameGate, including the games press, and now main-stream media, to completely shut down (bully into submission) any discussion about the merits, concerns or ideas raised by the broader discussion.

And since when does some anonymous troll adding a particular hashtag to their vomitus spew equate to proof of anything? When did posting nonsence purporting to that become journalism?

This stuff is getting out of hand and has now made any discussion of deeper aspects of games impossible (especially where opposing views are expressed). Thanks #GamerGate, #StopGamerGate2014, #GamesPress and #MainStreamMedia et-al. Thanks a lot. For nothing.

[kat]

Much a-do about nothing. Pertinent part of BlizzCon opening speech by Mike Morhaime (president/co-founder of Blizzard) which is being 'spun' in the press as a statement against #gamergate. It's not. It's, quite rightly, a statement against all bullying and harassment, something that's been going on for a long, long time, that recent events have only served to highlight.

"Before I go on, I'd like to take a moment, to talk about something serious. Over the past couple of months, there's been a small group of people, who have been doing really awful things. They have been making some peoples live miserable, and they are tarnishing our reputation as gamers. It's not right [applause].

BlizzCon is an great example of how positive and uplifting gaming can be. Lets carry the good vibes from this weekend out into the world all year round. There is another person on the other end of the chat screen, they're our friends, our brothers and sisters, our sons and daughters. Lets take a stand to reject hate and harassment. And lets redouble our efforts... [applause].

Lets redouble our efforts to be kind and respectful to one another. And lets remind the world what the game community... what the gaming community is really all about [applause]. Thank you."

http://youtu.be/H8PlemnS9SE?t=5m50s

[kat]

Another COE's comments on bully and harassment being ever so slightly spun, again. This time it's Sony Computer Entertainment America. To answer GamesBeat's initial question in the below... The reason few developers have said anything salient is because they fear reprisals from ALL sides. It's not helped by the leading verbiage used by the gaming press, which universally seems to be pushing the industry into a corner by demanding an answer that fits what they want to hear rather than allowing developers to speak their minds freely without reprisals or repercussion. They are quite clear when they do.

GamesBeat: Part of this last year has seen a lot of craziness happening. Gamergate has been going nuts. The industry has been kind of quiet about it. I wonder why, and whether or not there’s much to say about it.

Layden: I think the industry has spoken with one voice on this one, through the ESA. All of us are members of that trade body, including me and Phil Spencer and Reggie and all the big publishers.

GamesBeat: They issued a statement, but they didn’t really say much about it. It seems coordinated, but there hasn’t been as much speaking out as I might have expected. People could still individually have something to say. Mike Morhaime did at BlizzCon. The message hasn’t been repeated as much. It just seems uncharacteristically quiet to me.

Layden: I did see your piece about your favorite women characters in games. Ellie was an excellent choice. I don’t think there is one statement or one position on it, or one answer to whatever this very broadly-defined #GamerGate really means. A lot of things are getting swept into that. I’ll be very clear about my view of harassment or bullying. It’s completely unacceptable. Completely unacceptable. I will not be vague or equivocate about that.

The question about women in the gaming industry, that’s something we all take on board as individual corporations. We are best in class — or close to it, certainly – in this industry. In the development group we have Shannon Studstill, who runs our whole Santa Monica operation. She’s going to bring the next big franchise out from there. We have Connie Booth, the studio head up here in San Mateo. Women executives up and down the [organization chart], and in the production teams. We make our statement just by executing to that plan.