THQ Nordic holding an AMA on... 8chan (UP: website linked to multiple mass shootings) READ THREADMARKS

[Tiggleton]

Or he does and then, you know...yikes.

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I can see why he'd still want to continue promoting their products. THQ Nordic indirectly promoted 8chan yes but they didn't do anything worse than that. Some of the staff responded to the shitty posts made by shitty people without directly validating them.
It's definitely worth criticizing and some people on this site see it as enough to never do business with them.

Honestly a lot of the outrage over this has been extreme, burn it to the ground type mentality. It's your right to choose to not buy THQ stuff but shitting on other people for not feeling the same way is pretty shitty.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

I can see why he'd still want to continue promoting their products. THQ Nordic indirectly promoted 8chan yes but they didn't do anything worse than that. Some of the staff responded to the shitty posts made by shitty people without directly validating them.
It's definitely worth criticizing and some people on this site see it as enough to never do business with them.

Honestly a lot of the outrage over this has been extreme, burn it to the ground type mentality. It's your right to choose to not buy THQ stuff but shitting on other people for not feeling the same way is pretty shitty.

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well said. what they did was terrible, but i just can't get behind some people's response towards anything THQ nordic has done since then, or people shitting on anyone who doesn't have the exact same response that they think is appropriate.

 

[mael]

well said. what they did was terrible, but i just can't get behind some people's response towards anything THQ nordic has done since then, or people shitting on anyone who doesn't have the exact same response that they think is appropriate.

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Hey if you're ok with a company willingly promoting a pedo nazi terrorist den be my guest but don't be surprised when normal society do not share your forgiving attitude.
The person responsible for this PR move was part of the board of directors and the company is perfectly happy keeping someone either careless enough or vile enough to use company resources to promote a pedo nazi terrorist board.
If you don't think that's serious I guess that says more about you than about anyone else.

 

[SturokBGD]

Hey if you're ok with a company willingly promoting a pedo nazi terrorist den be my guest but don't be surprised when normal society do not share your forgiving attitude.
The person responsible for this PR move was part of the board of directors and the company is perfectly happy keeping someone either careless enough or vile enough to use company resources to promote a pedo nazi terrorist board.
If you don't think that's serious I guess that says more about you than about anyone else.

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You're diluting your own message. Might be more effective if you dial it down a bit. Nobody here is happy with what THQ did.

 

[mael]

You're diluting your own message. Might be more effective if you dial it down a bit. Nobody here is happy with what THQ did.

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8chan is a board made to share and host CP that pandered to nazis and where terrorists communicate, plan and share their propaganda.
It is effectively a pedo nazi terrorist board, THQN promoted that board and directed their customers to interact on that site to get the latest on their products.
It's either gross incompetence on their part or they knew what 8chan was and willing thought that directing their customers to this place was a good idea.
I don't see any hyperbole in stating simple facts.

 

[Shortt Sirket]

8chan is a board made to share and host CP that pandered to nazis and where terrorists communicate, plan and share their propaganda.
It is effectively a pedo nazi terrorist board, THQN promoted that board and directed their customers to interact on that site to get the latest on their products.
It's either gross incompetence on their part or they knew what 8chan was and willing thought that directing their customers to this place was a good idea.
I don't see any hyperbole in stating simple facts.

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No lies detected. I still can't believe none of the "legit games journalists" have brought this topic back up and really held THQs feet to the fire. It's fuckin pathetic.

 

[L Thammy]

I'm not sure I'd shame someone for buying a THQ Nordic game, but saying that they're "not directly validating" them is a bit of a lie, I think. When people are doing things like posting comparisons between apes and black people - as in, a photo of a guy holding a magazine with an ape on the cover up to a black person's face - and you just carry on as normal, I think you're validating that behaviour. When they're posting an image of a Nazi with huge iron cross labeled something like "Johnny Jewhunter" and you carry on as normal, then you're validating that behaviour.

If the content of the AMA was that bad, simply pretending that it's not when you know that it is is validating it. Especially as a corporate entity, where you have some degree of authority that assures these people that they aren't just lonely freaks, the real world wants to interact with them.

Oh, and they did assure an 8chan member that there would be big tiddie lolis in their games, and responded to an image of a Knights Templar shouting homophobic slurs by saying that they were in the game, so that's a little more direct too.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

Hey if you're ok with a company willingly promoting a pedo nazi terrorist den be my guest but don't be surprised when normal society do not share your forgiving attitude.

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this is exactly what i was talking about.
no, i am not ok with that at all.
and no, i don't see the AMA as a reason to forever cancel anything THQN does. that's it, and that's an opinion i only hold for myself. unlike other people i won't jump at the opportunity to say "oh so you're ok with xyz" only cuz they are or are not boycotting a company. i am capable of accepting that not everyone has to make the exact same decisions that i do.
i won't be bullied into accepting i'm ok with pedo or nazi content or that i'm directly supporting it just cuz i'm not boycotting them.
and speaking of normal society, normal society doesn't give two shits about this ordeal one way or other. it's only here where we're still seeing people talk about it. which is completely fine, since what THQ did was terrible and it's good that people are reminding others, but let's not act like this boycott is widespread everywhere.

 

[Odesu]

They won't. that would just hurt their meal ticket. Note: I'm refering to game journalists.

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In a world where the biggest Outlets like Kotaku, Game Informer, Vice, Eurogamer etc. Etc. constantly call out and talk to publishers about Unions, working conditions and politics in Video games this is a stupidly ignorant take.

 

[mael]

this is exactly what i was talking about.
no, i am not ok with that at all.
and no, i don't see the AMA as a reason to forever cancel anything THQN does. that's it, and that's an opinion i only hold for myself. unlike other people i won't jump at the opportunity to say "oh so you're ok with xyz" only cuz they are or are not boycotting a company. i am capable of accepting that not everyone has to make the exact same decisions that i do.
i won't be bullied into accepting i'm ok with pedo or nazi content or that i'm directly supporting it just cuz i'm not boycotting them.
and speaking of normal society, normal society doesn't give two shits about this ordeal one way or other. it's only here where we're still seeing people talk about it. which is completely fine, since what THQ did was terrible and it's good that people are reminding others, but let's not act like this boycott is widespread everywhere.

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Are you willing to withdraw support of a company that signal boosted pedo nazi terrorists?
If you are not then you are ok with said company signal boosting pedo nazi terrorists.
At best you just don't care, don't come here saying that you are no ok with that while justifying your support.

 

[Tiggleton]

Hey if you're ok with a company willingly promoting a pedo nazi terrorist den be my guest but don't be surprised when normal society do not share your forgiving attitude.
The person responsible for this PR move was part of the board of directors and the company is perfectly happy keeping someone either careless enough or vile enough to use company resources to promote a pedo nazi terrorist board.
If you don't think that's serious I guess that says more about you than about anyone else.

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I'm NOT OKAY WITH THQ PROMOTING 8CHAN. I just don't see what they've done as enough to not warrant boycotting the company and everything they're related to. On a similar note I hate the piece of shit who composes music for Dragon Quest because he's a racist homophobic asshole. But I still like Dragon Quest and it's not exclusively his product. So I still feel comfortable buying the game even though it supports him.

I don't see how hard it is understand that. Not everyone who continues to buy THQ games is endorsing THQ Nordic's actions or supporting them. (their actions. not the company)

I REPEAT, FUCK 8CHAN, I'M GLAD IT'S DOWN. I HOPE IT NEVER GOES BACK UP.

Sorry for the caps but I feel like it's important message to send.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

Are you willing to withdraw support of a company that signal boosted pedo nazi terrorists?
If you are not then you are ok with said company signal boosting pedo nazi terrorists.

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you don't get to say what i'm ok with or not ok with based on that, i'm sorry.
you're just trying to paint with a wide brush anyone who doesn't want to boycott them as someone who's ok with what 8chan stands for, and that's just not right.

 

[Dylan]

Are you willing to withdraw support of a company that signal boosted pedo nazi terrorists?
If you are not then you are ok with said company signal boosting pedo nazi terrorists.
At best you just don't care, don't come here saying that you are no ok with that while justifying your support.

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You probably buy products and services that, somewhere in the chain of command, gives money to very bad people. If somebody wants to buy a game from THQNorth, they likely aren't doing the planet any more of a disservice than somebody who buys factory-farmed meat or sweat-shopped shoes. So maybe dial back the accusatory tone bud.

 

[SturokBGD]

8chan is a board made to share and host CP that pandered to nazis and where terrorists communicate, plan and share their propaganda.
It is effectively a pedo nazi terrorist board, THQN promoted that board and directed their customers to interact on that site to get the latest on their products.
It's either gross incompetence on their part or they knew what 8chan was and willing thought that directing their customers to this place was a good idea.
I don't see any hyperbole in stating simple facts.

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Literally nobody is disputing the facts. Everyone knows what THQ did and everyone knows it was wrong. But you're attacking people directly, putting words in their mouths and turning them against you, not just "stating simple facts". The more you do it, the weaker the message.

 

[Deleted member 873]

Are you willing to withdraw support of a company that signal boosted pedo nazi terrorists?
If you are not then you are ok with said company signal boosting pedo nazi terrorists.
At best you just don't care, don't come here saying that you are no ok with that while justifying your support.

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You're making this into a very simple matter to shame others and make yourself morally superior.

This isn't simple. Ethics under capitalism are absurdly complicated. Stop trying to either pat yourself on the back or get people banned.

 

[MrBadger]

They signal boosted pedophiles then swept it under the rug with a half baked apology. Enjoy your Spongebob game /shrug

 

[L Thammy]

I'd like to additionally clarify that when they're surrounded by celebration of Nazis and anti-black racism, a Knights Templar isn't a member of a historic military, religious, and mercantile organization. They're simply being used as another glorification of white supremacy - a warrior of the earliest form of united white European identity who went out to the Middle East and killed brown people.

So when Reinhard tells us "this could be from one of our upcoming games"...

 

[Mesoian]

You probably buy products and services that, somewhere in the chain of command, gives money to very bad people. If somebody wants to buy a game from THQNorth, they likely aren't doing the planet any more of a disservice than somebody who buys factory-farmed meat or sweat-shopped shoes. So maybe dial back the accusatory tone bud.

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This is some, "there's no ethical consumption under capitalism" garbage.

God this last page has been a whole lot of, "I really don't care as long as I get to play the video game".

Remember, THQn did NOTHING to reprimand the people responsible for that AMA. Not a suspension, not a firing, not a paycut, literally nothing. And their apology was paramount to "sorry you got offended that we gleefully danced around racist and homophobic jokes for an hour."

Mind you, if you wanna play their games fine. But don't, for a second, think that people should shut up about this or stop talking about it or insist that it should g away because you want to play video games guilt free.

Everytime THQn comes up, this should come up. This should be a stain on them until they act. A stain that gets larger and more potent every time 8chan is in the news. They should not get a pass at this because they remade the spongebob game.

 

[mael]

I'm NOT OKAY WITH THQ PROMOTING 8CHAN. I just don't see what they've done as enough to not warrant boycotting the company and everything they're related to. On a similar note I hate the piece of shit who composes music for Dragon Quest because he's a racist homophobic asshole. But I still like Dragon Quest and it's not exclusively his product. So I still feel comfortable buying the game even though it supports him.

I don't see how hard it is understand that. Not everyone who continues to buy THQ games is endorsing THQ Nordic's actions or supporting them. (their actions. not the company)

I REPEAT, FUCK 8CHAN, I'M GLAD IT'S DOWN. I HOPE IT NEVER GOES BACK UP.

Sorry for the caps but I feel like it's important message to send.

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I'm not saying that you endorse THQN, I'm saying that either don't care or support it.

you don't get to say what i'm ok with or not ok with based on that, i'm sorry.

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I don't do that, your actions however do.

You probably buy products and services that, somewhere in the chain of command, gives money to very bad people. If somebody wants to buy a game from THQNorth, they likely aren't doing the planet any more of a disservice than somebody who buys factory-farmed meat or sweat-shopped shoes. So maybe dial back the accusatory tone bud.

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The fact that I'm not living in a country without proper infrastructure (barely though) means that I'm giving money to some of the worst people by default.
I don't pat myself on the back claiming that I'm virtuous in my spending habit or anything.
You do what you gotta do but at least don't delude yourself in thinking there's no consequence for any action.
At the end of the day there is always a choice, I could upend my life and go live in the woods to limit the damage done by simply living in that society.

Literally nobody is disputing the facts. Everyone knows what THQ did and everyone knows it was wrong. But you're attacking people directly, putting words in their mouths and turning them against you, not just "stating simple facts". The more you do it, the weaker the message.

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mazi, claimed that he didn't understand why people were cancelling THQN, I reiterated the reason why people thought that was a much bigger deal for them than for him.

You're making this into a very simple matter to shame others and make yourself morally superior.

This isn't simple. Ethics under capitalism are absurdly complicated. Stop trying to either pay yourself on the back or get people banned.

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It is that simple, there is no such a thing as ethics in a capitalism system.
I never claimed any moral superiority over anyone based on how they spend their cash.
They reconcile their actions with their morals,
I take offense when someone try to sell me bs and claim it's chocolate however.
You can not care that THQN signal boosted pedo nazi terrorists but don't go minimizing the issue while claiming that you care.

 

[L Thammy]

It's also worth noting that video games are purely a luxury good. There are products that you have to consume to survive physiologically, or that you need to have in order to be self-sufficient in the modern world (computing and internet).

Video games, especially video games from a particular publisher, are pretty easily substituted with any other form of entertainment.

 

[Tiggleton]

I'm not saying that you endorse THQN, I'm saying that either don't care or support it.



I don't do that, your actions however do.

The fact that I'm not living in a country without proper infrastructure (barely though) means that I'm giving money to some of the worst people by default.
I don't pat myself on the back claiming that I'm virtuous in my spending habit or anything.
You do what you gotta do but at least don't delude yourself in thinking there's no consequence for any action.
At the end of the day there is always a choice, I could upend my life and go live in the woods to limit the damage done by simply living in that society.

mazi, claimed that he didn't understand why people were cancelling THQN, I reiterated the reason why people thought that was a much bigger deal for them than for him.


It is that simple, there is no such a thing as ethics in a capitalism system.
I never claimed any moral superiority over anyone based on how they spend their cash.
They reconcile their actions with their morals,
I take offense when someone try to sell me bs and claim it's chocolate however.
You can not care that THQN signal boosted pedo nazi terrorists but don't go minimizing the issue while claiming that you care.

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It's possible to continue buying THQN games and continue to criticizing their actions over this.
Do you think buying a game that was made via crunch means you really don't care about crunch, because I think a ton of people on ERA would disagree on this.
I know that's whataboutism but I'm saying it because I do believe you can buy a product and still care about what the people producing it does.

 

[mael]

It's also worth noting that video games are purely a luxury good. There are products that you have to consume to survive physiologically, or that you need to have in order to be self-sufficient in the modern world (computing and internet).

Video games, especially video games from a particular publisher, are pretty easily substituted with any other form of entertainment.

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I'd argue that marketing is doing a bang up job of creating needs, I wouldn't fault someone who is unwilling to go without.
I mean we're not robots, it's certainly lower on the scale of needs and wants.

 

[Dylan]

This is some, "there's no ethical consumption under capitalism" garbage.

God this last page has been a whole lot of, "I really don't care as long as I get to play the video game".

Remember, THQn did NOTHING to reprimand the people responsible for that AMA. Not a suspension, not a firing, not a paycut, literally nothing. And their apology was paramount to "sorry you got offended that we gleefully danced around racist and homophobic jokes for an hour."

Mind you, if you wanna play their games fine. But don't, for a second, think that people should shut up about this or stop talking about it or insist that it should g away because you want to play video games guilt free.

Everytime THQn comes up, this should come up. This should be a stain on them until they act. A stain that gets larger and more potent every time 8chan is in the news. They should not get a pass at this because they remade the spongebob game.

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I never said I want to play their games nor will I buy them; but I don't think it's healthy or even effective to shout at or guilt people who choose to spend their money on one companies game vs. another companies games. What's worse? This terrible THQN AMA, or Capcom execs bullying female employees to the point of suicide? How about the parent company of Occulus and their track record? Which companies' games is it OK for someone to purchase? Should we lash out at each individual consumer, one by one?

I also never said anyone should shut up about this or stop talking about it, that's just straw-manning. I think it's delusional to think that because bad people at the company made bad decisions, and their apology wasn't good enough, we can just paint every person involved with these games as supporting racist pedophiles, including the people who buy them. That's insane.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

@mazi, claimed that he didn't understand why people were cancelling THQN

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did i? show me where. i said i can't get behind it, which is not the same as not understanding why others may want to boycott them. what i don't understand and don't support and find insulting is you (or others) equating not boycotting them with being supportive of 8chan and the content that gets posted there. i have seen many messages that are "reminder that you're directly supporting terrorism or child pornography if you buy this game", that shit is absurd, not true, and very insulting. that's not how it works at all.

 

[L Thammy]

It's possible to continue buying THQN games and continue to criticizing their actions over this.
Do you think buying a game that was made via crunch means you really don't care about crunch, because I think a ton of people on ERA would disagree on this.
I know that's whataboutism but I'm saying it because I do believe you can buy a product and still care about what the people producing it does.

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Sure, it's entirely possible to be a hypocrite. Sometimes your intentions don't match up with your actions. I can't tell you how many people proclaim loudly that they hate racism and then hum and haw over dealing with any instance of racism that's less obvious than the KKK. But that intent doesn't undo your actions; the actions still exist.

I'd argue that marketing is doing a bang up job of creating needs, I wouldn't fault someone who is unwilling to go without.
I mean we're not robots, it's certainly lower on the scale of needs and wants.

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That's pretty much where I'm at. People are fallable. You can't be expected to do the right thing 100% of the time. But, at the very least, know what you're doing. It's not something to be proud of, and especially don't go chestbeating about how actually you're the only one with ethics because you care about the poor developers when we all know that you've chosen not to buy other games because you're not into their story, their graphics, their gameplay, or all sorts of other non-ethical reasons.

 

[Shortt Sirket]

I dunno if this is allowed but mael getting banned is some bullshit. I honestly don't see anything wrong with what he was saying, at least anything that is bannable. And the staff post doesn't seem to help either. His "point of comparison" was not inflammatory in any real way. Unless you are saying he shouldn't be upset that people are supporting a company that signal boosted a known shit board? Which strikes me as odd.

Would one of the mods please explain?

 

[Hey Please]

A bit off topic but recently I downloaded a long anticipated game from GamePass, Battle Chasers: Nightwar. Only afterwards I realized it was published by THQN. Felt like a dirty fuck afterwards.

I so, SO wanted to try the game and suddenly it became clear that boycotting stuff is so much harder than when you did not want the product or experience in the first place.

Suffice it to say, I deleted it immediately afterwards but MS would have already pinged me as a +1 for their tallying purposes for each game featured on GP.

 

[SturokBGD]

EDIT: ah, can't get the quote to format properly. I'll just leave this comment.

One of the worst things the alt-right have done is convince people into thinking they should make enemies of everyone. It's really frightening.

 

[Imran]

Seems like the person responsible didn't realize what they were doing and apologized. I'm not sure they should be cancelled forever for making a mistake. What I don't get is how people haven't just hacked 8chan into oblivion. What happened to the days when the internet would band together to defeat these grotesque monsters?

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I ended up speaking to the Mark in "shoutouts to Mark" fairly recently

The idea that the people involved didn't know what they were doing isn't...accurate. At all. There was also correspondence with the people who arranged it with THQ afterward, long after they would have know better.

 

[Dylan]

I ended up speaking to the Mark in "shoutouts to Mark" fairly recently

The idea that the people involved didn't know what they were doing isn't...accurate. At all. There was also correspondence with the people who arranged it with THQ afterward, long after they would have know better.

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Yeah, somebody else had replied earlier and pointed that out. Seems like the people who made the decisions don't have that excuse.

Though I'm also operating under the assumption that the people who actually make THQN's games are completely separate from any of the business decisions that led to this gong-show. I feel bad for those people.

 

[Mesoian]

A bit off topic but recently I downloaded a long anticipated game from GamePass, Battle Chasers: Nightwar. Only afterwards I realized it was published by THQN. Felt like a dirty fuck afterwards.

I so, SO wanted to try the game and suddenly it became clear that boycotting stuff is so much harder than when you did not want the product or experience in the first place.

Suffice it to say, I deleted it immediately afterwards but MS would have already pinged me as a +1 for their tallying purposes for each game featured on GP.

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To be fair, if the capcom earnings call is anything to go by, THQn already got their money for that one. Only thing to do in that case is be vocal towards microsoft about the companies they choose to host.

I never said I want to play their games nor will I buy them; but I don't think it's healthy or even effective to shout at or guilt people who choose to spend their money on one companies game vs. another companies games. What's worse? This terrible THQN AMA, or Capcom execs bullying female employees to the point of suicide? How about the parent company of Occulus and their track record? Which companies' games is it OK for someone to purchase? Should we lash out at each individual consumer, one by one?

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We should hold their feet to the fire every time it happens yes. Too bad we all shrink away because we'd rather play the video game than even consider working conditions of those behind them. It's not about guilting the individuals, it's about holding the companies accountable, and yes, I will absolutely criticize someone who's attitude is, "well I should call them out, but I like their product, NOTHING TO BE DONE!"

I also never said anyone should shut up about this or stop talking about it, that's just straw-manning. I think it's delusional to think that because bad people at the company made bad decisions, and their apology wasn't good enough, we can just paint every person involved with these games as supporting racist pedophiles, including the people who buy them. That's insane.

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You didn't. Others have. Though I quoted you, I'm referencing the last page or two, and honestly, more than half of the 131 pages in this thread, mostly consisting of people wishing this would go away rather than talking about it, especially after the scale of 8chan's content ramped up after 4 shootings leaving dozens dead.

It's not all about you, if you didn't do the thing I'm calling out, you're probably fine.

 

[Hero of Legend]

Found it. I think I've identified the game that Reinhard was referring to the homophobic Knights Templar being in one of their games:

Through the Darkest of Times

Through the Darkest of Times is the second game from Berlin, Germany. And this one takes place in Berlin during the darkest of times, when Adolf Hitler was chancellor of the Third Reich. The player takes command of a small resistance group and tries to guide them safely through the years of the Nazi reign in Germany, all while trying to gather support and inform the population, as well as sabotaging and delivering blows against the regime.

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https://gonintendo.com/stories/331761-thq-nordic-announces-line-up-for-pax-east-2019

Would fit the bill perfectly.

Now, I've been thinking about this whole thing. I've wondered if we can just and see if THQ Nordic actually learns their lesson and just don't do this shit ever again. We can absolutely hate their actions, which I 1000% do, but I think there might be room to just at least see if they can improve as a company, even the people who partook in this shit can still be regretful of their actions and can improve themselves in the future. Plus there's the long discussed possibility of EU/Austrian law that possibly prohibits their termination anyway.

If my finding above is the case, then I don't think (maybe) Reinhard meant what he said to be in a homophobic-supportive way, but rather he was being literal in that the game is, well, literally Nazi-themed (I mean, wouldn't Wolfenstein be the same?). As for the big-titty loli bit, I remember the exchange being "give us the big-titty lolis!" and Reinhard (or Philip) said "you already have them!". He never said they'd be in their games.

That's my 2 cents. I want things to get better. They fucked up royally, but it's possible that their lack of repeating their fuck-up in the future will be a sure sign they have learned from this whole thing. Hell I remember it being reported that when Reinhard was contacted via Skype when it happened, he was a nervous wreck. Tells me he was aware he royally fucked up and maybe wasn't actually standing by that shit. Just a theory.

Finally, I mean ABSOLUTELY no ill will towards victims of the horrible crimes committed by people who thrive on that board. Like Ms.Galaxy, and i wish you the best of luck, and good mental and physical health, especially as this was a VERY horrible thing for you to endure because of your god awful experience in the past. Don't take my words as in anyway shape or form "forgiving" those awful people at that board. Not in a million years. I just wonder if we can just give THQ Nordic "another chance" and see if they just, well, not do this shit ever again. I mean as for forgiving THQ Nordic, they need to earn that if they do improve as a company, but not now.

What do you all think?

 

[Tiggleton]

Sure, it's entirely possible to be a hypocrite. Sometimes your intentions don't match up with your actions. I can't tell you how many people proclaim loudly that they hate racism and then hum and haw over dealing with any instance of racism that's less obvious than the KKK. But that intent doesn't undo your actions; the actions still exist.

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This feels kind of inflammatory to be honest.

I don't think it's hypocritical to continue buying a product from someone and still having issues with them. It's not hypocritical because the response to "business do bad thing" is not objectively "not buy thing from business anymore". You might see that as the only right decision but I don't.

You're right about intent not undoing actions but like my actions are buying Biomutant. If that money is going to funding alt-right activities please provide evidence and I will absolutely cease doing business with them. Otherwise what we're currently aware of is not enough to sway my choice to buy the game.

It's also worth noting that video games are purely a luxury good. There are products that you have to consume to survive physiologically, or that you need to have in order to be self-sufficient in the modern world (computing and internet).

Video games, especially video games from a particular publisher, are pretty easily substituted with any other form of entertainment.

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Sure you could substitute oranges for apples but I want an apple so... yeah.

 

[unknownspectator]

In a world where the biggest Outlets like Kotaku, Game Informer, Vice, Eurogamer etc. Etc. constantly call out and talk to publishers about Unions, working conditions and politics in Video games this is a stupidly ignorant take.

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Alright, let me know when they do. Prove me wrong. let me know when nickoloden and viacom get grilled about this, let me know when the gaming press continue to pursue THQ about this. Thing is, i bet they already forgot.

 

[L Thammy]

This feels kind of inflammatory to be honest.

I don't think it's hypocritical to continue buying a product from someone and still having issues with them. It's not hypocritical because the response to "business do bad thing" is not objectively "not buy thing from business anymore". You might see that as the only right decision but I don't.

You're right about intent not undoing actions but like my actions are buying Biomutant. If that money is going to funding alt-right activities please provide evidence and I will absolutely cease doing business with them. Otherwise what we're currently aware of is not enough to sway my choice to buy the game.

Sure you could substitute oranges for apples but I want an apple so... yeah.

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"Sure you could substitute oranges for apples but I want an apple so... yeah."

That's exactly it. You don't have to purchase the game, but you want to, so you justify the purchase on that alone. I'm not saying you're irredeemably evil or anything, I'm saying that you should appreciate what you did.

I'll tell you right now, I don't support ResetEra at all.

...Do you buy that claim? No, because it's very clearly not true in practice. It's mindlessly easy to say that you don't support something. You can, in fact, freely continue to support what you say you're not supporting as you do it. In ResetEra's case, regardless of what I claim, I suport them by posting content that might generate some amount of revenue through clicks. In THQ Nordic's case, being a video game company, the way you support them is by buying their games.

Maybe you don't like the things they do, but you do support them in practice by your actions. You give them the money that they need to do things like this. No matter how you try to frame it, that's what you did. Words don't erase actions.

Again, I'm not saying that it's unforgivable. But when I say humans are fallible, I don't want the implication to be "you don't have to care about doing anything right." I want to to be "try your best to do right, even if you know full well that you won't always be successful at it."

If you looked at THQ Nordic normalizing Nazism and pedophilia through their actions and decide, well, I want their products so I'l buy them anyway. ...and then you feel bad, is that someone injuring you? Or is that how it's supposed to be? You recognize the harm that was caused and recognize that you supported it in a practical way. Isn't feeling bad just the natural result of these, a signal that you're cognizant of the situation and that you have a functioning conscience?

Again, I'm not saying you're irredeemable or anything. But if I hope that you make an effort to make responsible decisions in the future, then from that perspective, it's a good thing for you to feel bad. You can potentially use that as a motivation to act more responsibly in similar situations and therefore prevent yourself from having that same feeling in the future.

 

[lowhighkang_LHK]

Found it. I think I've identified the game that Reinhard was referring to the homophobic Knights Templar being in one of their games:

https://gonintendo.com/stories/331761-thq-nordic-announces-line-up-for-pax-east-2019

Would fit the bill perfectly.

Now, I've been thinking about this whole thing. I've wondered if we can just and see if THQ Nordic actually learns their lesson and just don't do this shit ever again. We can absolutely hate their actions, which I 1000% do, but I think there might be room to just at least see if they can improve as a company, even the people who partook in this shit can still be regretful of their actions and can improve themselves in the future. Plus there's the long discussed possibility of EU/Austrian law that possibly prohibits their termination anyway.

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Well, I mean 8chan doesn't exist anymore so that litmus test isn't possible to begin with.

 

[L Thammy]

Found it. I think I've identified the game that Reinhard was referring to the homophobic Knights Templar being in one of their games:

https://gonintendo.com/stories/331761-thq-nordic-announces-line-up-for-pax-east-2019

Would fit the bill perfectly.

Now, I've been thinking about this whole thing. I've wondered if we can just and see if THQ Nordic actually learns their lesson and just don't do this shit ever again. We can absolutely hate their actions, which I 1000% do, but I think there might be room to just at least see if they can improve as a company, even the people who partook in this shit can still be regretful of their actions and can improve themselves in the future. Plus there's the long discussed possibility of EU/Austrian law that possibly prohibits their termination anyway.

If my finding above is the case, then I don't think (maybe) Reinhard meant what he said to be in a homophobic-supportive way, but rather he was being literal in that the game is, well, literally Nazi-themed (I mean, wouldn't Wolfenstein be the same?). As for the big-titty loli bit, I remember the exchange being "give us the big-titty lolis!" and Reinhard (or Philip) said "you already have them!". He never said they'd be in their games.

That's my 2 cents. I want things to get better. They fucked up royally, but it's possible that their lack of repeating their fuck-up in the future will be a sure sign they have learned from this whole thing. Hell I remember it being reported that when Reinhard was contacted via Skype when it happened, he was a nervous wreck. Tells me he was aware he royally fucked up and maybe wasn't actually standing by that shit. Just a theory.

Finally, I mean ABSOLUTELY no ill will towards victims of the horrible crimes committed by people who thrive on that board. Like Ms.Galaxy, and i wish you the best of luck, and good mental and physical health, especially as this was a VERY horrible thing for you to endure because of your god awful experience in the past. Don't take my words as in anyway shape or form "forgiving" those awful people at that board. Not in a million years. I just wonder if we can just give THQ Nordic "another chance" and see if they just, well, not do this shit ever again. I mean as for forgiving THQ Nordic, they need to earn that if they do improve as a company, but not now.

What do you all think?

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Just something other points to consider:

I think what you're describing is plausible deniability.

 

[Morrigan]

I dunno if this is allowed but mael getting banned is some bullshit. I honestly don't see anything wrong with what he was saying, at least anything that is bannable. And the staff post doesn't seem to help either. His "point of comparison" was not inflammatory in any real way. Unless you are saying he shouldn't be upset that people are supporting a company that signal boosted a known shit board? Which strikes me as odd.

Would one of the mods please explain?

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The old mod-post clear said, "do not throw around highly inflammatory accusations or insults at your fellow members".

You are allowed to voice your opposition to the company and your boycott of the games, but you are not allowed to attack or shame other members who decide to make different choices. The member accused someone of "being ok with a company willingly promoting a pedo nazi terrorist" for simply making the personal choice to not boycott, which is crossing the line.

If you have further questions, please contact a staff member directly.

 

[Hero of Legend]

Just something other points to consider:

I think what you're describing is plausible deniability.

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Oh right, forgot about those bits.

The chat there COULD be defended/explained as them only addressing/meaning the censorship bit, not exactly towards the SJW bit.

Philipp who IIRC runs the twitter account liking the tweet is harder to defend/explain though.

MAYBE in agreeing that the guy "saw" what the "intention" was in that it was obviously supposed to be an easy-going AMA? Still, after what happened, that's very bad. It at least then showed Philipp not seeing the real fuck-up there. I assume his apology on the account came after that, but still, it's very insensitive.

 

[Captain of Outer Space]

Oh right, forgot about those bits.

The chat there COULD be defended/explained as them only addressing/meaning the censorship bit, not exactly towards the SJW bit.

Philipp who IIRC runs the twitter account liking the tweet is harder to defend/explain though.

MAYBE in agreeing that the guy "saw" what the "intention" was in that it was obviously supposed to be an easy-going AMA? Still, after what happened, that's very bad. It at least then showed Philipp not seeing the real fuck-up there. I assume his apology on the account came after that, but still, it's very insensitive.

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While I don't agree with your points on the whole thing, your retrospection posts here are more than THQ Nordic has ever done about those events in a public-facing manner. I think that's what rubs some people here the wrong way since they were clearly just hoping to sweep the whole thing under the rug and know that most people will move on when the news moved out of the cycle. They didn't do much of anything in good faith to show people that they had learned from it (firing people, sincere apologies from the people involved, maybe some charity support for anti-child sex trafficking charities, etc.) instead of just being secretive about the whole thing to suggest they don't care or don't think they really did anything wrong. It's the worst way to react to the backlash and is a big reason for why I'm not buying any of their games for the foreseeable future.

 

[Hero of Legend]

While I don't agree with your points on the whole thing, your retrospection posts here are more than THQ Nordic has ever done about those events in a public-facing manner. I think that's what rubs some people here the wrong way since they were clearly just hoping to sweep the whole thing under the rug and know that most people will move on when the news moved out of the cycle. They didn't do much of anything in good faith to show people that they had learned from it (firing people, sincere apologies from the people involved, maybe some charity support for anti-child sex trafficking charities, etc.) instead of just being secretive about the whole thing to suggest they don't care or don't think they really did anything wrong. It's the worst way to react to the backlash and is a big reason for why I'm not buying any of their games for the foreseeable future.

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Agreed. They REALLY should've done the bare minimum. I don't see how they couldn't have donated a fat chunk of money to the appropriate charities and the like, or done SOMETHING public to show "here's proof we don't share 8chan's views in the slightest".

It's weird since Lars made the big apology letter and mentioned working with certain groups or something, but absolutely zero came of that that we know of.

 

[bytesized]

While I don't agree with your points on the whole thing, your retrospection posts here are more than THQ Nordic has ever done about those events in a public-facing manner. I think that's what rubs some people here the wrong way since they were clearly just hoping to sweep the whole thing under the rug and know that most people will move on when the news moved out of the cycle. They didn't do much of anything in good faith to show people that they had learned from it (firing people, sincere apologies from the people involved, maybe some charity support for anti-child sex trafficking charities, etc.) instead of just being secretive about the whole thing to suggest they don't care or don't think they really did anything wrong. It's the worst way to react to the backlash and is a big reason for why I'm not buying any of their games for the foreseeable future.

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Exactly this.

 

[Man God]

Yep. No donations/suspensions/sensitivity training. They didn't do the bare minimum.

 

[Tizoc]

Pardon the bump but thqn have announced various interesting titles this gamescom but their disappointing inaction to the 8chan stuff is putting me off from getting them :s

Edit- while i am at it, the recent update on ion fury/maiden's incident is commendable.

 

[DOATag]

Pardon the bump but thqn have announced various interesting titles this gamescom but their disappointing inaction to the 8chan stuff is putting me off from getting them :s

Edit- while i am at it, the recent update on ion fury/maiden's incident is commendable.

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What more do you want from them? They are moving past it, it's done, wether they have a satisfactory response to it or not. These are other game studios, other people who had nothing to do with the 8chan stuff, when are they allowed to put a game out without being dragged back into it?

 

[RingoGaSuki]

None of their stuff interests me, but even if it did, their despicable character as a company would prevent me from touching any of them. They supported nazis, pedophiles and terrorists, the fact that they still exist astounds me. They can change their name all they like (Embracer? Really? Embracer of Pedophiles, Terrorists, etc. the lines write themselves), but the fact remains that they're a disgusting example of what not to do.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

None of their stuff interests me, but even if it did, their despicable character as a company would prevent me from touching any of them. They supported nazis, pedophiles and terrorists, the fact that they still exist astounds me. They can change their name all they like (Embracer? Really? Embracer of Pedophiles, Terrorists, etc. the lines write themselves), but the fact remains that they're a disgusting example of what not to do.

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they didn't change their name because of this.

 

[Hella]

What more do you want from them? They are moving past it, it's done, wether they have a satisfactory response to it or not. These are other game studios, other people who had nothing to do with the 8chan stuff, when are they allowed to put a game out without being dragged back into it?

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I mean, never. The THQ Nordic brand is forever tainted thanks to their collective inaction; that's who they are now.

 

[TheYanger]

What more do you want from them? They are moving past it, it's done, wether they have a satisfactory response to it or not. These are other game studios, other people who had nothing to do with the 8chan stuff, when are they allowed to put a game out without being dragged back into it?

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I think it's obvious what people want from them - to actually do something about it. You're right, they're not going to at this point. Why do you seem so upset that it's being reminded? We just had a, similar but probably less bad situation happen, and actually get handled. It's night and day.

THQN or whatever they want to rename themselves as won't get a cent from me or others.

 

[Deleted member 9317]

they didn't change their name because of this.

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You sure about it? Seems to me it's clearly done so THQ Nordic AB can differentiate itself from THQ Nordic GmbH.

Renaming the holding company so they don't get associated with Nazis is pretty understandable.