As I wastrolling the internet this morning I came across THIS. Since I did not attend BlizzCon nor did I watch it on TV this year, I have truly no idea what people are talking about.

So, from several threads on various forums, I think that anyone who wasn't there knows the score pretty much.

Basically, Samwise of the famous band which plays at Blizzcon (which is not only vocally pro Horde but also almost Germany circa 1937 anti Alliance) played a video in which a celebrity (introduced as an 'unofficial spokesman') went on a rant in which he called Alliance players whiny and emo, called them a number of homophobic slurs and said that they should die IRL - I don't want to repost the exact stuff here...but it was utterly insane.

Yes - you heard me. A senior Blizzard representitive endorsed a video saying that the players of a faction should die.

Sure, as Bashiok said it was framed as a 'joke' (he actually said he found it personally funny). And as Zarhym said, a lot of people are being silly about this.

But...really?

There have been many threads made on these forums and others about the treatment of Alliance players at Blizzcon (and to a lesser extent, in general). We've had individuals booed and jeered at publically, simply for being alliance. There have been reports of people getting insulted, taunted, spat at and even physically assaulted for wearing an Alliance shirt. When does it stop being a joke?

In fact, this year I recall more than one thread basically telling Alliance players to go to Blizzcon at their own risk. I don't think I've ever seen a Horde player subjected to anything like this.

We are encouraged to invest ourselves in our characters - and by extension, in our faction. And it gets hard to enjoy it when faction pride becomes anti-faction hatred, especially when it is expressed/endorsed by a Blizzard employee.

Fact is - when you have this kind of stuff going on, it stops just being a game. Take a look at football (soccer, if you live stateside) and how serious some of the rivalries in a game can get when allowed to get out of control.

So - what do you think? Was Samwise out of line? If so - how can the situation be repaired?

Let's keep this civil if we can.

Then he links to this massive thread on the official World of Warcraft forums.

Opinions? Thoughts? People are getting spat at for being Alliance? Ewwww? Whats is wrong with you people? lol

Soccer hooligans validate that Soccer is an awesomely engaging sport that attracts crazies. So I think it's natural that eventually, some games are going to stratify people in similar manners.

Obviously, Blizzard should do more to remain neutral though. Endorsing either side is just... stupid.

I remember talking to my friends about the horde/alliance thing. Most of them felt that Alliance players were young kids that wanted to be 'pretty' in game, because all the Horde races were ugly looking. And of course, they wanted to be on the winning team. Being younger, they did more ganking and gained ire for their behavior.

Just a perception. Valid? Who knows?

Continuing with the perception was the idea that more mature players were attracted to the Horde, and some of them switched over because they were put off by Alliance behavior, or because they wanted a challenge. They liked being on the losing team and trying to make it.

No matter how you look at it, it's awfully petty and it's based on prejudice. However, another thing that's petty is that any time someone wears 'colors' to represent a team, a country, a religion, a street gang... they get nailed for it. So I have to ask those people, why would someone be so stupid as to go to an event like Blizzcon and wear EITHER hoard OR an alliance clothing? You know the other "side" hates you, so what are you, stupid? Wear something neutral and go enjoy yourself without invoking the ugly side of humanity.

I am the kind of guy that if I went to a sports game, I would not wear my team's colors or paint my face. I know that equates to simply "asking for trouble". There's douche bags a plenty in this world, some of us still don't know how to deal with them so we dress up like douche magnets, and then we're surprised when something bad happens.

This will sound Orwellian, but if the soccer hooligans were forced to come to the game like normal people, it would be a good thing. It would literally save people from DYING every year, and it would prevent hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not millions) in damages. So... we're all idiots.

That's a totally awesome story, Alexandra. I'm sure that one will get people talking. It's amazing how people will behave.

I dunno - I guess I still see a difference between real and virtual worlds and therefor have a hard time comprehending how this can be possible. Treating someone differently because they are affiliated with a different faction in a virtual world seems awfully silly to me. I would also advise that if a person has a hard time making that distinction between real and virtual that they seek professional psychiatric guidance immediately.

In the end after all is said and done you are still playing a game.

In regards to Samwise making that statement...

Hmpf..well - if it was a marketing stunt to keep the rivalry going between factions - he could/should have done better by choosing his words more wisely and maybe directing them (his words) at a fellow Blizzard employee that stands for the Alliance faction rather than at his player-base. # hindsight 20/20

However, I believe his passion may have gotten the best of him and the words slipped out without malice. Insert foot in mouth - I believe we all have done that and we all can understand/relate to that.

Apologies can and should be made if his statements were truly THAT offensive.

Thank you everyone for your feedback regarding the closing night performance at BlizzCon. While we had some other messaging worked up we were going to post, the members of band wanted to instead address it themselves:

Hey guys, we read and heard all the feedback from BlizzCon this year. The Corpsegrinder bit was never intended to be taken seriously. We are sorry that we offended anyone; everything at our shows is just meant in fun. Thank you all for speaking up. We’ll definitely keep this in mind for future shows.

Our humblest apologies,

Level 90 Elite Tauren Chieftain

Source

Video is NSFW

It seems that Samwise wasn't the offending Blizzard Employee. Apologies to him