Twitter User Offers Insights Into Shady Chinese (Gaming) Business Practices

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mattstaff
Oct 18, 2019 12:00 AM EDT

Mark Kern, who was the team lead for Vanilla World of Warcraft, the creator of Em-8ER, Firefall, a producer of Diablo 2, Starcraft, Broodwar, and more, has drawn his line in the sand when it comes to China and their nasty, shady gaming business practices. He calls out Blizzard for being spineless when it comes to standing up against China. 

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  • 01
    Text - Mark Kern Follow @Grummz This hurts. But until Blizzard reverses their decision on @blitzchungHS I am giving up playing Classic WoW, which helped make and helped convince Blizzard to relaunch. There will be no Mark of Kern guild after all. Let me explain why I am #BoycottBlizzard 6:00 PM - 8 Oct 2019 4,783 Retweets 12,731 Likes ti 4.8K 301 13K
    via @Grummz
  • 02
    Text - Mark Kern @Grummz 11h I am ethnically Chinese. I was born in Taiwan and I lived in Hong Kong for a time. I have done buisiness with China for many years, with serveral gaming companies there. So I think I have a valid perspective here, having been a Team Lead at Blizzard and having grown up in Asia t 270 17 2.5K Mark Kern@Grummz 11h I have watched China slowly take over as the dominant investing force in gaming and movies over the years. It's a shame US companies never believed as strongl
    via @Grummz
  • 03
    Text - Mark Kern @Grummz 10h Chinese game companies have grown huge not just because of market size, but because the government subsidizes them. They get free land, free offices, and huge infusions of cash. This cash was and is used to do expand and buy up stakes in US gaming companies. t 287 2.1K 8 @Grummz 10h Mark Kern I've seen firsthand the corruption of Chinese gaming companies, and I was removed from a company I founded (after Blizzard) for refusing to take a 2 million dollar kickback brib
    via @Grummz
  • 04
    Text - Mark Kern@Grummz 10h I've also seen how American company reps in China have been offered similar bribes to get licenses for large AAA titles. Not everyone refused like I did. 2 2 t 191 2.0K Mark Kern@Grummz 10h Chinese companies tried to ruin my career with planted press stories. Money is often paid for favorable press in China and some of that money flows here to the US as well. Unfortunately, money talks. China has succeeded in infiltrating all levels of tech, gaming and more. t 280 2.1
    via @Grummz
  • 05
    Text - Mark Kern @Grummz - 10h But now we are in a situation where unlimited Communist money dictates our American values. We censor our games for China, we censor our movies for China. Now, game companies are silencing voices for freedom and democracy. China is dictating that the world be authoritarian. ta 577 2.8K 29 Mark Kern@Grummz 10h Of all the companies in the world, Blizzard is the LAST company I ever expected to give in to China's demands. Blizzard was always about "gamer first" and "do
    via @Grummz
  • 06
    Text - Mark Kern @Grummz 10h I take a huge risk by saying this. China monitors all social media and I know this means that we will probably never get an investment from China for my new MMO, and probably never get a license to operate there. t 273 14 2.4K @Grummz 10h Mark Kern But enough is enough. I stand with Hong Kong, and I oppose Blizzard's obvious and laughably transparent fear of China. It's time for Blizzard to grow the spine it used to have, and to do what's right for gamers once again.
    via @Grummz

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