xMobilemux, on 20 August 2019 - 01:31 AM, said:
OAG is just as bad sometimes yes, but you can't tell me they aren't right on the money in this case.
Voidpoint and 3D Realms are fucking pathetic, not only censoring the game, but donating $10000 to appease the hateful fucks, that sets a VERY dangerous precedent, never have I felt so much regret and disgust buying direct from their website.
Shit, even Lunick has apparently lost his marbles, stating he hates gamers and is going on a banning and deleting spree over on Steam.
While I'm disappointed at Lunick's reaction, I mostly blame 3D Realms, as I feel this has their fingerprints all over it. As soon as I saw there was some "controversy," and where it was coming from, I felt certain that 3DR would give in. I didn't think they'd offer an unconditional surrender that would make even the French blush.
There were two proper ways to deal with this. First is to just shut up and let it pass, as we've seen these things quickly do when there's no reply. They could have even quietly patched things out of the game without commenting on it. Second option is to actually stand up and release a statement saying that they might not agree with everything the devs said and did, but that ultimately have a right to free speech/expression, and leave it at that. That would have actually resulted in an explosion of sales, but people rarely have the backbone to do that. I guess expecting Europeans to go to bat for freedom of speech is an absurd expectation these days, but I guess that's a different discussion.
Anyway. I feel really bad for the VoidPoint guys who put in so much work on this game, only to have their moment of triumph shit on by the culture war. Ultimately, this is why I've been getting out of video games. It isn't fun anymore. I've been thinking about getting rid of my consoles, and I think all this has made the choice for me. The time and money I used to spend on games mostly goes into motorcycles now. I find I get much more enjoyment out of that, and it's a hobby that tends to reaffirm individuality, rather than browbeating you to join the hivemind.
If Fred sees this, I'd just like you to know that I bought Bombshell twice at full price (Steam and GOG), and twice on sale on Steam, giving away those keys. I would have bought Ion Fury on GOG, and likely on Playstation, as well, but now I will not be. I don't think I'm the only one. Congratulations on shooting yourself in the foot once again.