You are the CEO of a major AAA publisher. Your game(s) offend dictatorships that represent a big market share. Do you apologize?

[fireflame]

You are the CEO of a big publisher releasing a big game worldwide. However some lines in the game offend major powers that are not exactly fans of freedom.

Do you think your company has to censor/edit the game and apologize, or do you ignore threats ad face possible backfire, including being banned from such countries, and losing a market?

Do you think freedom of opinion and standing fr liberty in such case will be important, more important than any economic consequence, do you think you should edit the games if losses might cost jobs? Or do you censor because profits are a priority for a business and it is just a game after all?

 

[Deleted member 249]

No, I will not. In fact I will make more games like that one.
I would be a terrible businessperson.

 

[vestan]

Side-eyeing anyone that picks the third option. If I wanted to run a financially successful video game publishing business, I'd pick the third option without a doubt, but this is a question about morals and I couldn't in good conscience do that.

If I was the CEO of a major AAA publisher, it wouldn't be public so I'm not at the whims of dumbfuck shareholders.

 

[Jedi2016]

Don't like it? Don't buy it.

Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.

Also adding the caveat that, were I CEO of a game company, I'd make sure it was privately held and not answerable to shareholders who don't give a shit about the integrity of the art.

 

[wenis]

is just the game being banned from the country or my entire Publishing catalog?

if I'm a major AAA publisher, I can probably handle a single game being banned.

 

[ItsTheShoes]

I ain't no bitch, if the content offends you buy something else.

 

[Giever]

Won't be the CEO for very long probably if you don't do the third option. Liable to be replaced by someone worse who won't be so otherwise progressive (if that's the goal).

EDIT: Assuming you're public.

 

[Deleted member 8196]

I'll simply make a version dedicated to that region.

That's how a lot of developers and publishers are dealing with the chinese versions of their games, the international version is not censored but they make dedicated version for specific markets like China.

 

[Burt]

You would never get the job in the first place if you aren't an immediate Option 3

 

[Phrozenflame500]

anyone who doesn't pick three is almost certainly not ever going to be a CEO

 

[fireflame]

is just the game being banned from the country or my entire Publishing catalog?

if I'm a major AAA publisher, I can probably handle a single game being banned.

Click to shrink...

Assuming it happens in a country like China, it might well be the whole catalog.

 

[Verelios]

Where is the apologize but keep making similar games option?

 

[DJwest]

Side-eyeing anyone that picks the third option

If I was the CEO of a major AAA publisher, it wouldn't be public so I'm not at the whims of dumbfuck shareholders

Click to shrink...

What if it was public? Let's say, EA?

 

[Noppie]

As CEO of a major AAA publisher, money would probably be my number 1 priority, so I doubt I'd even allow a game like that to ship in one of my biggest (since you said powers, that's multiple nations) markets.

I would definitely apologize/change/never allow this, for sure. As CEO of a AAA publisher, not personally of course. I would ship that shit in seconds.

 

[Deleted member 249]

Won't be the CEO for very long probably if you don't do the third option. Liable to be replaced by someone worse who won't be so otherwise progressive (if that's the goal).

Click to shrink...

Like I said, I'd probably be a terrible businessman.
But I will not sell out on my values.

 

[Spish!]

I'd double down so hard on the content of the game that even the clones will catch a ban. Win/Win.

 

[Deleted member 42105]

Fuck em.

option 4 all day.

 

[TheMoon]

"Hi Dictator Person,

I'm sorry you feel this way.

Sincerely,
CEO person"

 

[Jessie]

Reminds me of when Shin Megami Tensei: Apocalypse offended people in India by portraying their gods as evil, and SEGA was like "you hear summ?"

Not exactly AAA or a dictatorship, but I always found that controversy interesting.

 

[QuantumBro]

Fuck the United States, I wouldn't apologize to those snowflakes.

 

[IvorB]

You would never get the job in the first place if you aren't an immediate Option 3

Click to shrink...

Option 3 is the right answer as much as people don't want to accept it. It's what pretty much every developer/publisher does right now.

 

[SaberVS7]

What if it was public, say, EA?

Click to shrink...

What is Battlefield 4, for $500, Alex?

 

[Deleted member 8196]

Option 3 is the right answer as much as people don't want to accept it. It's what pretty much every developer/publisher does right now.

Click to shrink...

Exactly.

 

[iWannaHat]

"Hi Dictator Person,

I'm sorry you feel this way.

Sincerely,
CEO person"

Click to shrink...

This.

 

[Potterson]

Of course my company do apologize and all of your AAA companies do to because of investors, lol. Come on people. That's why I would never like to be a CEO :D

 

[Trace]

Option 3 is what you do when you're the CEO of a large company. As much as that sucks.

 

[Deleted member 6582]

I will make every one of my employees suffer before bowing to a government...maybe.

 

[RecRoulette]

You would never get the job in the first place if you aren't an immediate Option 3

Click to shrink...

Yep

 

[Alienhated]

Yes, of course. You don't have a choice.

 

[No_Style]

This poll is just assessing who is CEO material isn't?

 

[Mad_Rhetoric]

No, bc i'd make the games I wanna make, regardless of who likes/dislikes them.

 

[henlo_birb]

I would liquidate the company.

 

[Giever]

Like I said, I'd probably be a terrible businessman.
But I will not sell out on my values.

Click to shrink...

Sure, I understand if you're hardline like that, but I don't think it's just a bad business decision. You give up the power to do a lot of good in the world if you opt not to thread that needle of appeasing shareholders just enough to keep making otherwise good progressive moves.

 

[BioDigital Jazzman]

This is a dumb question. If you don't pick 3 your going to lose that CEO job

 

[deadman322]

of course, its business and business' one goal is to make money, by any means necessary.

also the developers need that money to keep the lights on.

 

[javiergame4]

You need to find a balance. You always need to appease shareholders. Either that or go private like Valve.

 

[WestEgg]

If I'm in charge of the business and my product openly offends my primary market, shit yeah I'll change and apologize. I'm not the artist, I run the business and make decisions for the well being of the bottom line. If I don't make those calls, someone who can should replace me. I typically hate censorship and want the artist's vision respected as a consumer, but you have to put personal views aside if it threatens the well being of the people who trust you to lead them.

 

[Alandring]

I'm not sure I would apologise personally, but yeah, I would change the game, at least in this region.

I believe in freedom and this freedom is available everywhere. If a country has a law that forbids showing blood in a game, I would respect that law, or don't release the game in this country if I really think it's impossible to respect this law and the creative intention of the game at the same time.

 

[adj_noun]

I apologiz profusly

 

[Biestmann]

Option 3 is what you do when you're the CEO of a large company. As much as that sucks.

Click to shrink...

Yep. Anyone else would never be CEO in the first place.

 

[Kyrios]

Unfortunately CEOs won't just say "kiss my ass" and will always go with option 3, unless they don't want to keep their job.

 

[Deleted member 8196]

You need to find a balance. You always need to appease shareholders. Either that or go private like Valve.

Click to shrink...

Valve is private but at the same time the Dota 2 version for China has some things censored so yes, there's no escape even if you are a private company

 

[rochellepaws]

I don't have the mindset to be a coldhearted CEO but if I did it'd become a question of balancing the reputation damage from insulting the market compared with the blowback for grovelling to a dictatorship and picking whichever number is more favourable.

 

[Jamie]

Number 3 is obviously the right choice if you want to keep your job, just not the moral one. For me, it really depends on what they wanted us to change? If they said woman aren't seen as equal and want a male protagonist, I would tell them what to do with those views.

 

[DirtRiver]

Of course, I will not cow like those weaklings. Where they have faltered I will prevail. I am made out of the most pure moral material and therefore I, the CEO of a AAA company, will not bow down to those rascals.

 

[GodofWine]

GTAV offends everyone, its doing OK.

Its just free marketing when some important human gets their undies in a bunch over a game.

 

[adj_noun]

Of course, I will not cow like those weaklings. Where they have faltered I will prevail. I am made out of the most pure moral material and therefore I, the CEO of a AAA company, will not bow down to those rascals.

Click to shrink...

 

[Unkindled]

If someone is a CEO of a major AAA publisher they have already sold their soul for profit over everything else to become one, so this questionnaire is rather odd.

 

[t26]

It is not just your job on the line, but you could be affecting the jobs of people in your company.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

You pretty much have to be a horrible person who values money over human lives to be a CEO, so if I somehow wound up that evil I probably would.

But if I somehow wound up exactly as I am but a CEO? Hell no.