Gettin' Blizz-y With It

If I were cynical enough, I might choose to see the endless thanking of the community and attention paid to players by Blizzard throughout last weekend’s BlizzCon as a tactical decision used (to great effect) to build and maintain that brand loyalty that has kept the same millions of people buying Blizzard games for decades. But, in the absence of that cynicism, there was an authenticity that echoed throughout the event that never made it feel smarmy or pandering. From Michael Morhaime’s opening statements — and decision to take some of the toxicity in the gaming community head-on from the word "go" — to Chris Metzen’s obvious near-panic-attack before revealing Overwatch, I believed the sentiment genuinely matched the words.

That’s actually kind of rare for me. That cynicism I mentioned is not a hard vein to tap in most of the conversations I see developers and publishers have with their fans. It’s not that I don’t believe that the people who make games don’t care about the people who play games, but it always feels like the actual message coming out in front of the world has been filtered through so many strategic angles that it loses credibility.

It’s naive, of course, to assume that Blizzard was any less diligent in crafting their message, but somehow through the process it doesn’t feel like they lose sight of an ethos that I can get on board with. As BlizzCon ended I walked away feeling good about the countless times I’ve shelled dollars out of the bank account to buy their products.

I liked who I was doing business with, and that’s not a feeling I get regularly from the big-business side of the games industry.

I am a Blizzard fan, and have been for years. I don’t claim unbiased status in the conversation about this particular company. I want to like them, and want equally to like the content they produce. After all, I had shelled out some $40 from my own pocket to get live, HD access to the festivities and panels of this year’s BlizzCon, so I might be what they call a "friendly crowd."

That said, I’ve had no shortage of cases where a business I like has let me down or left me sensing the subversive goals behind the promises of "customer friendliness" and "creating great products." It’s not as though I always end up a shill for every big-budget maker of blockbusters that comes down the pipe. Just — you know — sometimes.

These days, my automatic brand confidence extends pretty much only to a party of two: Blizzard and Valve. Even a couple of years ago, there were some pretty worrisome cracks in that faith as it extends to the Big B. Following some of the questionable early decisions with Diablo 3, I even penned a ... let’s call it "earnest" article about my concern with the direction the company seemed to be taking (you can find that here: http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/1...).

And there will always be an elephant in the room as long as Blizzard and Activision are attached at the hip.

Through the past couple of years, though, it’s felt like a lot of that cultural slide that seemed to be taking place has been turning around. Oh, don’t get me wrong: I know Blizzard wants my money and they have the luxury of cultivating their fan-friendly image only because it seems to keep the money-faucet open. But I don’t begrudge the success of a business that seems to be acting the way I want, and treating people with at least a semblance of respect.

Shawn recently mentioned on Twitter his shock that Blizzard was, after all these years, still charging $40 for an expansion and raking in a $15 monthly fee on top of that for World of Warcraft. But I think the money is relatively irrelevant. I’m happy to spend money on a game where I feel like I’m part of a community that is in the hands of a developer who wants to champion what is best about games and gaming, especially when that developer's desire seems to have a genuine connection to the community they foster.

I’m sure Blizzard is far from unique, and that there are other companies large and small trying desperately to build that bridge and those connections with their customers. I’m certain there are developers who belong on my short list of trust, and I simply either haven’t been exposed enough to them or just haven’t been listening well enough.

But, as I watched hours of BlizzCon footage, what I saw was not a massive corporation trying to reel me into their product line, but people passionate about what sounded to me like the right things in gaming.

To look at that statement cynically, mine may be the remarks of someone fooled by a brilliantly organized marketing campaign. But it also might just be equally possible that after 20 years of being a fan-favorite and the maker of some of the most played, most loved games ever made, maybe (just maybe) there’s more truth there than you might think.

Comments

Great article Sean. I think it reminds us that just because a group is successful at making money, it doesn't mean they don't love what they do. Blizzard is a business. They are in the business of making video games and having us pay them for them.

There is nothing wrong with that.

My grandfather ran a pastry store for 30 years. He was ridiculously successful, made a decent amount of money. My other grandfather became filthy rich as a doctor in the same neighborhood. Both of them came from completely different backgrounds, but shared one common theme. They were both successful and absolutely loved what they do. The fact that one became rich and one did ok financially was irrelevant. Their version of success was jumping out of the bed in the morning excited that they get to do their passion. The fact that they get paid is ancillary.

I get that same vibe from Blizzard. Of course there is marketing and PR to emphasize how much they love making their games. But based on their products and people, I don't put that phrase in quotes. There are other large developers that I get a similar vibe from (Bioware, Valve, Turbine), but Blizzard perhaps more than any of them just seems to be aware of that magic and love to play in the art of making games.

Great write up!

It's nice to occasionally note that sometimes big successful companies become big and successful by creating value.

You keep making products I like, and I'll keep buying them. Win-win.

I don't have the same relationship with Blizzard that you do (but I think most everyone knows which big gaming company I do have that relationship with), but I've always respected that they seem to both value their fans and value their products. I find it admirable that Blizzard still believes that their games are worth full price despite being on the market for years, and they clearly work hard to make games that are good enough to earn that value. They seem to respect and listen to their fans without weaving and bobbing from trend to trend like some other companies do, but they also have a core idea of what is (and isn't) a Blizzard game and what they are and aren't willing to compromise on in their releases.

I am so angry about this title that I can only imagine Sean is honestly trying to troll me.

The rest of it is typical Sean Sands brilliance obvs but. That title.

Always blame the title on the editor.

This one's on you, wordy.

This one's on you, wordy.

NO!

He gets no credit for that title. It's all me.

*stands proudly, for reasons that cannot be explained*

Elysium wrote:
This one's on you, wordy.

NO!

He gets no credit for that title. It's all me.

*stands proudly, for reasons that cannot be explained*

When you reach the Pearly Gates and Saint Peter doesn't so much as look at you, just hands you a burning slip emblazoned with the words "Gettin' Blizz-y With It", remember: you had an out.

I liked the title.

It made me go "na na na na nana!"

doubtingthomas396 wrote:

I liked the title.

It made me go "na na na na nana!"

[size=8]I'm still doing it.

Only, you know, with the right number of 'na's. ;)[/size]

Chumpy_McChump wrote:
doubtingthomas396 wrote:

I liked the title.

It made me go "na na na na nana!"

[size=8]I'm still doing it.

Only, you know, with the right number of 'na's. ;)[/size]

We had an opportunity to say that in response to Cory, but you both blew it. I hope you're as ashamed as Sean should be.

Elysium wrote:

*stands proudly, for reasons that cannot be explained*

No, I got this one!

http://www.dailydot.com/lol/dad-humo...

I'm a fan of Blizzard and their approach to making games. I love that Warcraft is a game that I've been playing for five years and I can still drop it and come back and have fun. Currently playing the first part of the new expansion which from the few hours I've spent with it, seems like another highly polished Blizzard game. A few months before this I levelled all the way to 70 on the PS4 version of Diablo 3.

I really admire the games they make as they have such longevity. I always feel like I'm getting high quality entertainment over the many hours I plough into their games. They are also engaged with their community and are prepared to listen and admit mistakes.

Now we must get Sands to sing the title for the next conference call. It could be the next "I Want To Friend You Up."

Did a double-take at the triple-negative.

muraii wrote:

Did a double-take at the triple-negative.

Pace yourself, friend. You just took in six negatives in quick succession.

I liked the title xD

The title of this article, it hurts

Painful title aside, I'm nodding my head in agreement with Sean's writing. I'm not sure what exactly changed at Blizzard (based on interviews it sounds like they've done a lot of navel gazing over the last 1-2 years as they approached their 20th anniversary) but there's definitely been a noticeable change and this year's BlizzCon felt like the culmination of that. I'm sure shedding Vivendi hasn't hurt either.