The alt right part of that audience certainly knew of THQ through their purchase of Warhorse.
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How can THQ Nordic be held accountable for the 8chan AMA? (READ OP)
- Thread starter Hecht
- Start date
Associating with people that want to fuck kids is the worst possible type of PR.
Because seemingly all that matters is whether or not they host the actual content themselves, which people still do, but they also post links to places on the dark web where people can get that shit. They were blacklisted from Google because of it, but now a fuckload more people are aware of it because THQ Nordic directly linked to it on their official Twitter account for nearly a day.
Basically, to say that "no one was hurt" is the most incorrect thing you can take from this.
Normalizing the magnitude of this nightmare, and THQ bringing more people over to 8chan, does in fact harm people
Yeah if you put it that way, they surely advertised the forum this way through twitter and all the media buzz that came after it was inevitable, the consequences are likely much larger than they appeared to me at first glance. I am still a bit baffled how this 8chan forum can even be allowed to exist but I guess it's not that easy to shut this stuff down...
That's crazy, I thought the site owners are responsible for any content linked to another site by their users or something like that, maybe that's just a thing over here in Europe though.
They take the content down at some point, but that doesn't stop the actual boards used for that explicit purpose from existing.
Well keep in mind. What coverage was there we feel that most of it was inadequate. What we mean by inadequate is that a lot of the coverage is so weak they come across as either THQ genuinely apologized and/or the decisions made was isolated to one guy in PR (without emphasizing he is the boss of that department which at the very least would clue people into the fact more than one person was involved).
Companies fuck up. It happens (typically not at this monumental level). How you handle that fuckup is key. Had they started the AMA then immediately noped out once they realized what they were getting themselves into could be chalked up to ignorance and lack of due diligence. This isn't what happened. They knew what they were getting into and pushed ahead. Not even going into their "response" to the outrage. At this point I don't even know what they could do to get me to buy another game from them. Push that guy off the board, fire anyone who went along with it, and a sizable donation from the board member (matched by the company) to a charity that works with exploited children would be a good start.
It's really simple to me.
If there's no real apologies, no public firings, no charitable donations then I will not purchase any games under the THQ banner or from anyone that associates with THQ (for ex. Microsoft who reportedly are working with them to distribute their games on Switch). There are hundreds of new games to play every year and I can happily skip out on THQ's output.
I ain't hiding behind "but the developers" either.
If it's a choice of support the devs by giving my money to a company that promotes websites that host child porn or a few studios getting shut down then it's the latter. Every single time. No question. Promoting websites that host CP trumps the devs losing their jobs. What happens to those children is unforgivable, it's life changing and cannot be undone. Game devs can find work somewhere else.
If there's no real apologies, no public firings, no charitable donations then I will not purchase any games under the THQ banner or from anyone that associates with THQ (for ex. Microsoft who reportedly are working with them to distribute their games on Switch). There are hundreds of new games to play every year and I can happily skip out on THQ's output.
I ain't hiding behind "but the developers" either.
If it's a choice of support the devs by giving my money to a company that promotes websites that host child porn or a few studios getting shut down then it's the latter. Every single time. No question. Promoting websites that host CP trumps the devs losing their jobs. What happens to those children is unforgivable, it's life changing and cannot be undone. Game devs can find work somewhere else.
sounds like the worst place on the internet. And wow, just looked into the reactions of that PR guy, I have the feeling he knew quite well what was going to happen there and what the forum was about -and how the hell is THQ standing behind him instead of firing him straight away, they have enough reason to...They take the content down at some point, but that doesn't stop the actual boards used for that explicit purpose from existing.
Surely not buying anything from THQ ever again(not that I bought much from them before).
I think they f'ed up by just advertising this site through their twitter already, participating in the AMA was just the icing on the cake.
While normally I respect others choices, I cannot support a company that emboldens bigots that would see me non-existent if they could.
These aren't just some basement dwelling trolls, these are people who go out of their way to harrass and hurt, to spread pain and suffering to anyone who disagrees with their toxic ideology.
Personally, there is no middle ground here, and that's before you even touch the subject of fucking child pornography being all over the site. I will never purchase a game this company has even so much has laid a finger on, because the consequences of their actions are far more reaching and toxic than any boycott of their games will ever be.
These aren't just some basement dwelling trolls, these are people who go out of their way to harrass and hurt, to spread pain and suffering to anyone who disagrees with their toxic ideology.
Personally, there is no middle ground here, and that's before you even touch the subject of fucking child pornography being all over the site. I will never purchase a game this company has even so much has laid a finger on, because the consequences of their actions are far more reaching and toxic than any boycott of their games will ever be.
What some people do not understand is that THQNordic pretty much did advertisement for a board that promoted child pornography.
Child Pornography People.
and after looking at that poll, people were still willing to support that company because "mah gamez! lolololol! Cause I iz gamer!"
If you say your against CP but still support a company like that then your words are hollow and fake as you are. Though I would like to state I'm not including those who buy games used or through the humble bundle using the option to not give thq any money.
Child Pornography People.
and after looking at that poll, people were still willing to support that company because "mah gamez! lolololol! Cause I iz gamer!"
If you say your against CP but still support a company like that then your words are hollow and fake as you are. Though I would like to state I'm not including those who buy games used or through the humble bundle using the option to not give thq any money.
Oh goodness. Amazing courage to speak out like this. Thanks for reposting in this thread. It highlights how this is a far from trivial situation, and will hopefully encourage pause for thought for those downplaying this.Just going to post this from the last thread to help with perspective of people effected by what 8chan allows and what THQ-Nordic has enabled.
This was the reaction to the previous thread on this topic by the above individual.
That's basically my stance as well.
In Germany, many neo nazi groups formed under the banner of fighting against child pornography. The reasoning was that nobody could possibly be against this cause, therefore luring many people into nazi circles.
Well, as it turns out, plenty of gamers are willing to excuse what was considered inexcusable by even the biggest scum on earth, as long as they get their sacred games.
Lmao what the fuck point are you trying to make with this?
This is some real "bUt MuH vIdYa GaMeZ" shit.
At least with the devs who have distribution agreements with THQ Nordic I could see the path of the mental gymnastics some people are taking, but the devs of Biomutant are wholly owned by THQ Nordic.
That people easily throw their morals and responsibilities out of the window if you give them something they want
Just know that many of us applaud your courage and extend our deepest sympathies. For my part, I refuse to engage with any THQ products for review and will attempt to convince my co-workers to do the same.
My goodness, the blatant apologism in those comments.
Pretty sure people here bought dragon quest 11 even though the music composer is a racist fuck.
Which is why I've never bought a Dragon Quest game new, because I don't want to financially support that shit.
I also don't want to financially support a company that openly associates with a board that is host to discussions on sexually abusing children, which is why I won't be purchasing any THQ Nordic published games new either, Deep Silver and other subsidiaries included, until the people involved are fired and a public apology is made.
I don't care if it doesn't do anything, I am not comfortable giving my money to a company that aligns itself with pedophiles and does absolutely nothing to the people involved.
Good idea! Welcome to the list of greyed out games, THQ Nordic. Say hi to Stardock there.
With as many great, good, or even mildly interesting games out these days, it rarely is a problem to find games I want to play, so the issue more becomes to rule out games that have issues that make me not want to buy them. Being published by THQ Nordic is now one of the things that counts against a game, with quite a bit of finality, too.
The problem in Europe is Koch Media. If you want to boycott them, it's more or less as easy as boycotting Nestle. They're everywhere. If you buy a physical copy of a game and it's not by Nintendo, there's a pretty good chance that Koch Media are distributing it. I checked to see if there's a master list of games distributed by them, and it's really hard to find. I came up empty. It's not impossible to avoid, of course, you can buy digital, but if that's not an option for whatever reason, you'll be looking at boycotting well over half of everything on the shelf in your local game store.
Just as an example, Kingdom Hearts III is distributed by Koch Media. So are NieR: Automata, Fallout 4, Goat Simulator, and Sonic Mania. They have a lot of distribution partners.
So in Europe, you buy Nintendo, or you buy digital. EA and Activision are likely safe enough, too, at least on this point. But everyone else? Read the back of the box carefully or buy digital. Because they're that common here.
Indeed, some people are comfortable with giving money to a genocide denier, homophobic asshole. Some chose not to.
Does it mean you should, individually, be comfortable with giving money to child-pornography sympathizers? The choice is yours.
My personal stance is that I'm boycotting all games published by THQ Nordic and Deep Silver at least until the people involved in the AMA are no longer working at the company. I would hope for a proper apology from the company as well, but if that doesn't happen in the next few weeks, it's probably never happening.
I'm also tentatively boycotting certain Microsoft-published games (such as Zoo Tycoon and ReCore) on Steam because pretty much every article I can find on these games is saying that THQ Nordic was involved in bringing these games to Steam. There is no such indication on the Steam pages nor, as far as I can tell, in the games themselves, but I'm gonna err on the side of caution for now.
I'm also tentatively boycotting certain Microsoft-published games (such as Zoo Tycoon and ReCore) on Steam because pretty much every article I can find on these games is saying that THQ Nordic was involved in bringing these games to Steam. There is no such indication on the Steam pages nor, as far as I can tell, in the games themselves, but I'm gonna err on the side of caution for now.
Regarding boycotting their games, which channels will people go through to make sure that THQ knows the reason for not buying their games?
You dont have to be ok with that part of what THQ did to buy the games though. But i really hope that PR marketing guy at THQ gets fired for this. Its a crazy situation if theres no consequence for doing what he did.
From what I've observed there are more forums pointing and laughing at us than talking about the actual controversy.
Also this thread has way less activity than the one that was going last night. Not sure how much juice this conversation has left. Even around here.
If THQN is a public company, campaign the board of directors to clean house in the e-staff.
Campaigning distributors like Steam and Apple could be effective for delisting their games.
When partners like Nickelodeon announce new games, ask them about how why they are using a publisher that advertises child porn and supports child trafficking.
Campaigning distributors like Steam and Apple could be effective for delisting their games.
When partners like Nickelodeon announce new games, ask them about how why they are using a publisher that advertises child porn and supports child trafficking.
Did anything happen with the CD Project Red/GOG social media people who posted the gamergate and transphobia? I'm still waiting for an apology and firing of that person.
Good idea
It's a good question. Even if nobody else cares, I can still refuse to purchase games published by THQ Nordic and make sure that any thread created here about them or their games contains discussion about how they embraced homophobia, racism, and child pornography by engaging a community centered around those things and then refused to acknowledge any problem with their conduct (beyond the fakest of apologies).
That's exactly what I plan to do.
I emailed Gunfire back when it happened to let them know why I wouldn't be able to purchase Darksiders III after all, but I did that because I have nothing but respect for David and the team (it's not their fault they lost a sale).
Nordic's actions ensured that I don't really have any respect for them anymore, so I elected not to communicate with them. If they cared, they would try to redress the damage they caused.
That's exactly what I plan to do.
That's definitely a good idea.
I emailed Gunfire back when it happened to let them know why I wouldn't be able to purchase Darksiders III after all, but I did that because I have nothing but respect for David and the team (it's not their fault they lost a sale).
Nordic's actions ensured that I don't really have any respect for them anymore, so I elected not to communicate with them. If they cared, they would try to redress the damage they caused.
Doubtful the board has much influence. It's basically a holding company for an ultra-wealthy Swedish guy to spend his money on stuff.
Koch Media doesn't seem to actually appear on the covers of any of these games, presumably because these are just distribution agreements, not publishing.
Looking at storefronts like this it seems that if a company is listed as a distribution partner, Koch Media likely handles physical distribution of all their games in Europe.
As you say, digital would be the way to go here.
I believe the board has the power to fire CEOs. But maybe that's not true in Austria?
Yeah Koch Media are massive in Europe now, they've made so many deals with so many game publishers to distribute their games especially the Japanese games released in Europe, so the vast majority of your Square-Enix and SEGA games are done by them and who knows what else. All we can really do is boycott the THQ Nordic games with their logo on it, Koch Media is a whole 'nother kettle of fish.
I think boycotting is fun to say on the Internet, but rarely is it done on a meaningful scale and far too often it's used as a PR cudgel rather than a warranted means of consumer rebuking of a company. I don't know every person who should be fired, but at least the person in charge of the fiasco should for more than one reason. Beyond that, I would like to see real communication from the community and THQ Nordic that is constructive and that would lead to awareness on the issue 8chan is notorious for (but not giving them a spotlight, just the issues), and some positive gesture to try to help those causes. I don't know how that conversation would happen or how the charity would be coaxed or who would receive the benefits, but in general where possible I'd like positive solutions versus just constantly tearing everything down because of outrage.
I admit that's idealistic and naive, but that's what I wish would happen.
I admit that's idealistic and naive, but that's what I wish would happen.
IIRC they did fire the social media representative and issued an apology (which a lot found to be lacking, YMMV I guess), at least. THQ's behaviour has been far worse IMO, and their response has been pitiful. I can't believe they haven't fired anyone yet, it's insane.
I hope this fucking company gets boycotted. I know most people won't cause they think their games are more important than anything else and it's pathetic.
There is member of this forum that posts Canadian games deals on Twitter and he still posted affiliate links for THQN games after this. I unfollowed him cause I refuse to give any money to anyone that's promoting THNQ and giving them sales.
There is member of this forum that posts Canadian games deals on Twitter and he still posted affiliate links for THQN games after this. I unfollowed him cause I refuse to give any money to anyone that's promoting THNQ and giving them sales.
Yeah they're fired. I'm still boycotting GOG/CDPR though for doing zilch in terms of distancing themselves from Gamergate after providing them a platform on the forum for years, later followed by those tweets. That's just a personal stance though, not expecting other people to follow suit. Unlike with THQ Nordic linking to fucking child pornography jfc
Firing the people responsible is (maybe) in THQ Nordic's power, not in ours. Saying "the people responsible should be fired" is all well and good, but it doesn't push us a fraction of an inch closer to that actually happening. It's a goal to be achieved. THQ Nordic doesn't appear to be interested in doing this and if we want them to, we have to find a way to nudge them into doing it.
Whether you agree with it or not, where you think it's an effective method or not, boycotting is an action we can take if we want to try to make that goal happen. If you say something like "I don't believe in boycotts, but the people responsible should be fired"; well, yes, but how is that going to happen? The suggestion of a goal doesn't function as a replacement of an action.
And there's the thing; if this is something you believe is important and you want something to be done, you should do something - it doesn't even need to be big, just anything - to see that something is done.
As for the actual solution, I don't think there's a singular one. I think there are several things we can do, and if put together, they can create an effort.
First off. THQ Nordic wants to lay low and ride this out. Don't let them. Whenever THQ Nordic is the topic of conversation, insert this. Be informative to those who are unaware and strong against those who want to shut the conversation down. If you don't think THQ Nordic has properly addressed this, don't let them or their consumers forget that they haven't.
Second. Choose not to support their games. I don't think this is necessarily all of nothing - we're all fallible human beings here, and I know some of these games are one that you may have been waiting on for years. But if this is something you actually care about, there's no more direct way to put your money where you mouth is than allowing it to affect your purchasing habits. If you're strong enough to avoid their games completely, do it. Buy used if you're going to. If there's the slightest doubt in your mouth about a game, let that THQ Nordic logo finalize your decision.
Third. Speaking out to the company and its partners. Tell them directly how upsetting the handling of this incident is and that you'd like to see change.
It's all well and good to say "someone should do something", especially if you know that you're not that someone. But if you actually want something to be accomplished, you've got a lot of options. Pick the one or ones that you're most comfortable with.
And for journalists, I think continuing to speak to developers about this is important if THQ Nordic won't speak for themselves. How they feel about it, what they wish would be done, why they think it happens, how they'd like the industry to change in the future.
Lots of people in these threads have claimed that the well-being of the developers is their first interest. Let's see what the developers actually want from fans.
Whether you agree with it or not, where you think it's an effective method or not, boycotting is an action we can take if we want to try to make that goal happen. If you say something like "I don't believe in boycotts, but the people responsible should be fired"; well, yes, but how is that going to happen? The suggestion of a goal doesn't function as a replacement of an action.
And there's the thing; if this is something you believe is important and you want something to be done, you should do something - it doesn't even need to be big, just anything - to see that something is done.
As for the actual solution, I don't think there's a singular one. I think there are several things we can do, and if put together, they can create an effort.
First off. THQ Nordic wants to lay low and ride this out. Don't let them. Whenever THQ Nordic is the topic of conversation, insert this. Be informative to those who are unaware and strong against those who want to shut the conversation down. If you don't think THQ Nordic has properly addressed this, don't let them or their consumers forget that they haven't.
Second. Choose not to support their games. I don't think this is necessarily all of nothing - we're all fallible human beings here, and I know some of these games are one that you may have been waiting on for years. But if this is something you actually care about, there's no more direct way to put your money where you mouth is than allowing it to affect your purchasing habits. If you're strong enough to avoid their games completely, do it. Buy used if you're going to. If there's the slightest doubt in your mouth about a game, let that THQ Nordic logo finalize your decision.
Third. Speaking out to the company and its partners. Tell them directly how upsetting the handling of this incident is and that you'd like to see change.
It's all well and good to say "someone should do something", especially if you know that you're not that someone. But if you actually want something to be accomplished, you've got a lot of options. Pick the one or ones that you're most comfortable with.
And for journalists, I think continuing to speak to developers about this is important if THQ Nordic won't speak for themselves. How they feel about it, what they wish would be done, why they think it happens, how they'd like the industry to change in the future.
Lots of people in these threads have claimed that the well-being of the developers is their first interest. Let's see what the developers actually want from fans.
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I'm not buying their games for at least a couple of years and maybe not ever if they don't seriously own up, repent, and fire the people responsible.
But also I haven't been interested in any of their games in like over a decade anyways so I don't know how much this means.
But also I haven't been interested in any of their games in like over a decade anyways so I don't know how much this means.
Innocent employees might be out of a job if you don't spend your money elsewhere too. This type of argument is kinda pointless. Like, you could say that if you don't buy Fallout 76 and Anthem some innocent employees are gonna get fire. Are you going to buy them to support the innocent employees? And the reasoning for not buying those games is lesser.
At this point there should be a monthly recommended boycot list for games that you might want to skip.
I will be boycotting THQ Nordic myself, not because I think it will make any difference (I expect what they did to be quickly forgotten or treated as a mere PR gaffe rather than the clearest indication possible of their messed up corporate culture) but rather because I can't have any support of this company on my conscience and frankly I have written off others for a hell of a lot less than promotion of a message board that hosts child abuse images. If the parent/holding company (THQ Nordic AB) fails to take action then I will consider extending that to Koch Media too.
I sent an email.
Hopefully others do as well so they see that the situation hasn't blown over at all.
If they continue to ignore it and stay silent though I wouldn't mind some sort of demonstration like review bombing, or whatever we think is effective.
