Protect Our Right To Speak Up - The Blizzard Hong Kong Controversy ft. Nahaz & Richard Lewis

Take a breather, refresh, and join us on the Rivalry Cooldown, where we give you the current topics in esports from the experts.

On this episode, we take a deep dive into the insane mess that was Blizzard's handling of the Hong Kong protest being supported by one of their Hearthstone players. We discuss the geopolitical climate around China, economic implications, the impacts Blizzard will be feeling in their stock and future game development, and how we as consumers, fans, and industry members can do something - even in the face of mega corporations and seemingly unilateral decisions.

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2:50 - It IS wrong to hijack a broadcast

8:00 - There is a defeatist attitude about dealing with oppressive regimes around the world

11:00 - 'Every voice matters' but we are going to revoke press access for any journalists who criticize our choices

28:00 - 2GD's A** died for our sins

38:00 - Blizzard's stock is holding fairly firm, for now

40:00 - Blizzard's best approach now is to shut up and go back to making games

46:00 - CoD franchising, 100 thieves/nadeshot not involved

52:00 - Esports is cash starved - so what can we do?

56:00 - What are even the benefits of regionalization in esports?

1:06:00 - Discussing Kuku and putting it in context

1:14:00 - We must protect the rights of everyone to speak up and have an opinion.

Follow our Guests on Twitter:

👉Richard - https://twitter.com/RLewisReports

👉 Nahaz - https://twitter.com/NahazDota

Follow our host on Twitter:

👉Reinessa - https://twitter.com/ReinessaGaming

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