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Steam curator warns players if Sweet Baby is involved in a game
RJMacready73
Simps for Amouranth
eh? i just typed this into my google search and it took me directly to the website
darth.shrimp
Member
Yeah it's back now. If you read some previous comments here and on reddit, this seemed to be due to the website limiting search engine crawlers (causing to to be delisted), not Google censoring it or anything.
laynelane
Member
Someone actually said it - customers are the number one priority. Of course, it's something we've all been saying for a while now but this is on a different scale. He's right about the futility of putting the responsibility of social change on the backs of businesses too. He also said the pendulum is swinging back and I hope that is the case too.
Moriarty1889
Member
There may just yet be hope for this world.
Doczu
Member
I'm very happy to hear that, but guys, don't forget that it's "Tractor Cupply Co".
Now i'm no expert at supplying farming machines, but (correct me if i'm wrong), theythems aren't known to be farmers and tractor mechanics.
Wake me up when an entertainment company comes to stage and openly states their they/them programs are officially was/were from now on.
Doczu
Member
Going mainstream is the worst that happened. SBI is a symptom, not a cause.
Remember the most powerfull curse of them all: "may your hobby become mainstream!"
Jesb
Member
Yeah this may be it right here. It comes with pros and cons but a lot of cons come with it. You can associate a lot of the bad stuff like micro transactions, gaas, sweet baby, and who knows what else from going mainstream. It’s truly the cancer.
Goss Harag
Member
Ffs
Black nazis?
laynelane
Member
One of the things mentioned in the video was DEI hires. I don't know if that means firing the existing ones or just not hiring any more, though.
Von Hugh
Member
Ffs
Many Nordic game companies are embracing Sweet Baby and DEI things at the moment. I don't know why. I guess thinking with your own brain is too over-rated.
GrayChild
Member
ngl, seeing Remedy going full-on DEI in their latest report broke my heart a bit.
Great point, look what happened to Star Wars going mainstream.
GymWolf
Member
Luipadre
Member
Well said. This is the shit thats destroying current gaming too. Companies hiring diversity instead of talents
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Bernardougf
Member
Every company no matter what they do suffers from DEI, because the moment your HR start hiring and doing policies based on DEI is the moment you start loosing money, every job is important and every hire should be based on skill and merits alone, workplace conditions and interactions also change with DEI/WOKE policies, this is like a cancer that enters your business and just grow inside making everything about itself and not about what matters, making fucking money.
I can guarantee you that aside from terrible storytelling and some weird looking characters, games are taking longer and coming out in worst and worst shape because of this, you definitely dont have 100% of the most qualified development team in a lot of companies. I would not be shocked in discovering that lets say 50% of the work force in some studio are not the most qualified people for their job and just got hired because some stupid DEI reason.
PeteBull
Member
Tech companies in western/northern europe are super woke, hell it even came here to eastern europe too, im not saying every employe is woke, just heads/ppl in charge, or at least, they pretend to be, expect tons more western games pandering to alphabet comunity, tansformers and feminism.
Portugeezer
Member
I always felt like eastern Europe companies had more of a "live and let live" attitude.
That could have changed because Europe loves to import US culture war nonsense.
Doczu
Member
The political/social brainrot came to us as a byproduct of globalisation and heavy corporate expansion in (for example) Poland. Alle thr big companies with their fancy mindfulness trainings, universities subverted by activists: we have it too and in some cases we are going overboard just to keep up with the west
Angry_Megalodon
Member
Given the layoffs by "redundancies" happening, it's safe to say that figure may be accurate. We already know there's a bunch of useless people doing nothing productive at work, but what we see is always the tip of the iceberg. Useless idiots tend to hang around with more useless idiots, so if you put one of those in a managerial position, it's pretty obvious which profiles they will hire.
RJMacready73
Simps for Amouranth
Lol I remember our HR tried to bring in all that Mindfulness nonsense into our workplace, was utterly embarrassing, half of us sat their on our phones working and when I was asked by HR in the room did I see anything worthwhile implementing into my team I told her flat out, fuck no and that it was a waste of time, she just stared at me like a deer in headlights, later that afternoon my Director called me in saying I wasn't taking this shit seriously and I said where the fuck where you, you where on the invite and he lol says back nah waste of my time and load of bollocks (I've known my director for over 25yrs and we have a no holds barred relationship) needless to say everyone deleted the presentation and we never got any more of that American corporate shite introducedThe political/social brainrot came to us as a byproduct of globalisation and heavy corporate expansion in (for example) Poland. Alle thr big companies with their fancy mindfulness trainings, universities subverted by activists: we have it too and in some cases we are going overboard just to keep up with the west
Humdinger
Gold Member
One of the lessons of that Tractor Supply story is that boycotts work. The management was responsive to complaints because they had seen how costly embracing DEI had been for other companies - Budweiser, etc. They knew their customer base. They realized, "Uh oh. We fucked up. We had better fix this, or we will pay."
I hope SBI and other anti-woke efforts will eventually have a similar impact on gaming companies. I'm not optimistic, though. SBI is on a much smaller scale than the nationwide (worldwide) boycott of Bud Light. And we don't have definitive proof that any boycott significantly impacts sales - a lot of woke games seem to sell just fine. We certainly don't have anything near the massive loss in market cap Budweiser suffered, right after their campaign. And we are seeing most developers ignore criticism and write it off as racism, sexism, etc.
Well, at least SBI helps individual gamers avoid woke games.
I hope SBI and other anti-woke efforts will eventually have a similar impact on gaming companies. I'm not optimistic, though. SBI is on a much smaller scale than the nationwide (worldwide) boycott of Bud Light. And we don't have definitive proof that any boycott significantly impacts sales - a lot of woke games seem to sell just fine. We certainly don't have anything near the massive loss in market cap Budweiser suffered, right after their campaign. And we are seeing most developers ignore criticism and write it off as racism, sexism, etc.
Well, at least SBI helps individual gamers avoid woke games.
Angry_Megalodon
Member
The massive layoffs we are witnessing in Western gaming companies are mostly due to DEI. So, there's quite a bit of evidence. It's not only about sales decrease but reducing profitability.
kruis
Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
hemo memo
You can't die before your death
I’ve never seen a woman mechanic ever in my life. I use Uber to work every day and only once the driver was female. Her first comment to me was “Why did you put the seatbelt immediately after you got in. You think i’m a bad driver?” I was so confused.
Bernardougf
Member
Here in my town we have a "lady uber" is a very nice service that offers security for transportation of women and children using only woman drivers ... this kind of thing can be very good and any type of inclusion when well thought and done with purpose can work 100%.
Eiknarf
Banned
I’d pay to see some blue haired sewage cleaners and miners
Hudo
Member
Lmao. The very same thing happened to me with a female Uber driver as well.
Angry_Megalodon
Member
darth.shrimp
Member
There are many. Your patriarchy level clouds your eyes.
laynelane
Member
I don't have a problem with woke games in and of themselves. People can make what they want to make and if it resonates, they'll find an audience. My issue is pushing that ideology into existing franchises. I think you're right in that those sell just fine, but only if the DEI is not excessive. A good example is Spider-man 2 and Saints Row. Spider-man 2 sold on past successes and IP recognition. It was only after purchase that people noticed things were a little off. Saints Row made it clear, from the first reveal and cover art, that you were getting a heavily DEI-influenced product and it failed to sell.
For me, a lot of this DEI stuff has been selling well only because it's often packaged in strong and recognizable IPs. Thing is, people are getting tired of it and tools are being developed to identify it (like DEI detected, for example). One thing about the Budweiser boycott was that people could easily buy another kind of beer, but it's not the same with games - especially with regards to IPs. The "boycott" equivalent with the gaming community will take longer to take effect, I think, for all the above reasons.
Edit: I miss-clicked and initially put the wrong emote on your post. Thought I should clarify it was a mistake - migraines and computer stuff are not necessarily compatible.
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Doczu
Member
I've seen two and they ain't your vidya beauty queens, but both times my car was repaired for a fair price and i was scolded like a child for doing a shitty job at taking care of my wheels.
That's how fetishes are born lads, now i want my wife to whisper in my ear it's time to change the oil
Humdinger
Gold Member
Well, I don't know. The statement that "massive layoffs are mostly due to DEI" is your/our inference. But is that the companies' inference? Because that's what matters. Not our beliefs, but the companies' beliefs. As you know, massive layoffs can be attributed to a wide range of factors (e.g., general economic issues, costs of development, poor sales due to a variety of other factors, etc.), not just to DEI initiatives. Unless the companies themselves are drawing a straight line between depressed sales and DEI initiatives, it isn't evidence in the same sense as I was alluding to.
I mean, Budweiser saw their sales tank by 25% immediately following their Dylan Mulvaney commercials. That is a very clear cause and effect. If you are a Budweiser executive, you cannot attribute those sales losses (now estimated to be 1.4 billion dollars) to anything else but those "woke" commercials. It's different with the layoffs. Those can (and are) attributed to a wide range of factors, not just to DEI.
I'm not saying there isn't some evidence that DEI hurts sales. I'm saying that it isn't anywhere near the clear and convincing case you've got with Budweiser and other firms. If we did have that level of evidence, you would see immediate backpeddling by game developers in response to consumer complaints (similar to what you saw with Tractor Supply). Instead, we get no response at all, or insults.
Maybe that will change. I hope so.
Same here. If people want to make woke games, that's fine with me. Developers should develop what they want.
However, what they create is usually mediocre. As you say, they ruin existing franchises. I think it also stifles creativity in new games as well. You can sense the sameness in these games - not in terms of gameplay, but in terms of characters and dialog.
I think you're right in that those sell just fine, but only if the DEI is not excessive. A good example is Spider-man 2 and Saints Row. Spider-man 2 sold on past successes and IP recognition. It was only after purchase that people noticed things were a little off. Saints Row made it clear, from the first reveal and cover art, that you were getting a heavily DEI-influenced product and it failed to sell.
For me, a lot of this DEI stuff has been selling well only because it's often packaged in strong and recognizable IPs. Thing is, people are getting tired of it and tools are being developed to identify it (like DEI detected, for example). One thing about the Budweiser boycott was that people could easily buy another kind of beer, but it's not the same with games - especially with regards to IPs. The "boycott" equivalent with the gaming community will take longer to take effect, I think, for all the above reasons.
Edit: I miss-clicked and initially put the wrong emote on your post. Thought I should clarify it was a mistake - migraines and computer stuff are not necessarily compatible.
No problem, I appreciate the correction.
Hope your headache subsides. You're right about the differences. People often don't realize the game is "woke" until after they've bought it (e.g., Spider-Man 2). SBI Detected will help with that. I will also check with certain Youtube channels now which do a good if hypersensitive job of highlighting these issues in new games.
And yeah, the customer has a bigger hurdle, too. If you have been looking forward to playing a game, you will have to let that go. You can pick up a different game, but it'll be a different experience. It's not as simple as just buying a different light beer.
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Dr. Claus
Banned
There is a difference in time scales that needs to be accounted for. It is much faster and easier to see changes in revenue for a short term DEI change, relatively speaking, than one that has 5+ years of development time behind it. Especially when the previous release had little to no DEI pushed in the product.
For example, Spider-Man 1 released in 2018, been in development since 2014. DEI didn’t really start getting pushed hard until around 2018-2019 which is around when Spider-Man 2 started development. That released in 2023. We won’t see the detrimental effects of DEI on a grander scale until Spider-Man 3 and Wolverine, and even then it may take another sequel before it becomes too much of an issue for investors and companies to start making large sweeping changes to its workforce.
Meanwhile Budweiser has not changed the actual product, just its marketing. Easier to see a suddenly decline of the product and pushback and make quick changes to the marketing team.
RagnarokIV
Battlebus imprisoning me \m/ >.< \m/
On PC Gamer if you use Sweet Baby in a comment it will get flagged and go into a moderation queue lol
OmegaSupreme
advanced basic bitch
They've been cunts forever.
ConkerTheSquirrel.
Member
We need a strangle emoji.
Humdinger
Gold Member
That's right. Time scale is another reason why it will be much harder to get a "Tractor Supply" response in gaming. Budweiser took notice because it got immediate, powerful, and punishing feedback. Long-delayed consequences don't have that effect.
The Mad Draklor
Member
Archived tweets: https://archive.ph/MHRdn , https://archive.ph/mx40o
And the clown show doesn't end here. Ubisoft tried to pass off Roronoa Zoro's (One Piece) katana as "Yasuke's" katana.
Doczu
Member
Please dumbify it for me. Is it a 5D chess plot of planting a seed of Yasuke for the future instalment of AC or?...
Hypereides
Member
I just read about this. Crazy.
I wonder how good ol' Yves from Ubisoft will respond. Probably by name calling the gaming community again to deflect.
nemiroff
Gold Member
Your company version of mindfulness might very well be bullshit, it wouldn't surprise me. But keep in mind that normally "mindfulness" is not some pretentious worthless soft shit. Typically, mindfulness is just straightforward and highly efficient techniques for reducing stress hormone production. I'm a no bs manly man, and mindfulness has been my favorite go-to tool to deal with stress on the spot for decades. Just saying...
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butane bob
Member
There it is! A male mechanic would have treated you with respect.
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Eiknarf
Banned
It’s funny that when a game like The Callisto Protocol by Striking Distance has a woman character voiced and modeled by a real life actress, they make the character look exactly like the pretty actress (Karen Fukuhara)
But when Insomniac makes a game with a female character, they somehow can’t make the character look like the actress.
Odd
But when Insomniac makes a game with a female character, they somehow can’t make the character look like the actress.
Odd
Solarstrike
Member
Flintlock. They did the writing and character design
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