Not tagging this spoiler cause fuck TERFs, don't buy the game, uphold TC69 Thought etc. Have gotten this all from the above article and reviews that support it.
Yep, anti-semitic, slave-owning, Protocols of Zion plagiarising, let's join the anti-goblin pogrom game.
Yes the MacGuffin unambiguously belongs to the Goblins, who have a labour theory of ownership. No you can't join the Goblins. Yes you kill a bunch of them. Yes, there is a fucking quisling that's seen as good actually. Yes, every teacher thinks fighting the goblins is a good thing, despite a few token missions that apparently show how oppressed they are.
No, you never critique that this and every other aspect of the wizard world might be a bad thing.
I am once again calling for the House Elves to rise up, slit every slaver-wizard throat in Hogwarts, and place their heads on pikes outside the entrance as a warning to the others.
Don't. Buy. The TERF. Game.
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I have a thesis on alienation and atomisation where in the anglosphere, especially in America, collective action is no longer conceivable to most people, and suggesting it is makes them confused, panicked that they didn't think of it, and ultimately angry, because their entire conception of morality is that a bad/good individual act is what makes you a good/bad person, rather than engaging in a collectively good program of actions with others. It can be only sublimated by suggesting that collective action is just forcing them to do a thing, which is bad, and that the thing they want to do is good. actually, so asking them to do it is double bad.
That's why you get absurd statements like "Don't bring politics into this election", politics implies they can, and therefore must, act as a group and sacrifice.
Part of it is that nobody wants to be reminded of politics because it tears down the walls of cope they've built up to obfuscate the fact that they have zero political agency.
Which is of course why the bullying must continue.
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That sounds quite depressing. I can say that despite my occasional doomerism, my org work and collective action has made my life better, and politically and materially we have won small battles.
If you're from rural areas in the anglosphere it is harder of course. Theres not the population density or industrial clout to do traditional Maoism, and the cities are materially disconnected, so urban Marxism or even luddism from incoming rural workers seems impossible.
I've spent a lot of time developing a toolset for modern urban revolt...maybe I should look more at the rural side.
I don't think this is the end of it. Don't look at this game in a vacuum by itself but the franchise and brand as a whole on a timeline.
The libs had already decided that they wanted this treat. They were not going to give it up because of a controversy kicked up after they were already hyped. Once the novelty of the game has worn off they will however come round to critiques of the game, and even repeat them. They will carry those critiques into the future of the franchise.
I think serious damage has been done. It will be viewed as "problematic" in future.
So? Many games, celebrities, sports and entertainment pieces are, yet they still top all the charts.
Dave Chappelle just won a Grammy, Top Gun Maverick was the best movie last year despite being funded by literal blood money with regards to the US military, the FIFA world cup in Qatar last year broke viewership records and is going to the USA in 2026.
All we're going do about thinking about stuff like this, is make us sad.
I think you underestimate the effect this will have on a franchise that relies on parents thinking it's a good influence for their children.
In 2018 Rowling was viewed positively by 58% of people. In March last year it was just 35%, by now it is significantly lower and we are combining her reputation with that of the franchise itself, these numbers are absolutely going to affect sales and decisions on whether to continue using the franchise or use something else that isn't covered in baggage.
Also, remember that before the TERFening, Rowling was already becoming a meme and hated by Potter fans because of her bizarre lore tweets and all the new additions to the franchise she was involved with being garbo even by HP standards
I hope so and hope you're right, but I just don't see it. Harry Potter is too big an IP.
We'll see with the sales figures of the new game.
I think the game will do well but that's gonna be because people buy it on thirst alone. They've been thirsting for this forever. Much like something like Cyberpunk. I'm not that interested in how this game does but in the impact on sentiment and attitudes towards buying anything from the franchise in future.
The fanbase skews female too, which is important as mothers tend to be the purchase decision-makers when it comes to children at home.
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The potential value of the franchise is in it being magical Star Wars where it continues to sell to new generations. That potential is severed by JK Rowling's idiocy. Someone else said imagine if Lucas had been a bigoted mouthpiece endlessly, imagine what that have done to Star Wars.
Harry Potter had that potential and it has absolutely been turned into sludge. It's not going to shake her until she's either no longer collecting royalties or until she's dead.
Yeah, it's still a bad look for your wholesome chungus nostalgic all ages wizard franchise.
I must assume Rowling's contracts are iron clad, with this much bad press WB, etc would have publically distanced themselves already
Eventually a level of toxicity will be reached where they simply shelve the franchise until she's gone.
Yeah she maintains a lot more creative control over Harry Potter than pretty much any author ever does when they sell the rights. She has a lot of power over it.
Idk, the fantastic beasts movies bombed, each worse than the last, and I think JKR’s vocal toxicity was a big part of why. Both in that it made people want to stay away on principle and also that she made the movies bad
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