EA joins Sony in call for inclusivity

[Rozalia1]

https://www.ign.com/articles/ea-tells-employees-wont-speak-out-abortion-trans-rights

https://kotaku.com/ea-roe-v-wade-abortion-trans-rights-fifa-apex-legends-1848977494

https://www.gamedeveloper.com/culture/ea-tells-staff-that-a-statement-decrying-abortion-bans-would-not-be-inclusive-

 

I must point out that IGN and Kotaku in a show of brazen dishonesty have added on top of the story that EA is against Trans rights, something that they themselves contradict in the body of their pieces by noting that EA has in fact yes, spoken out against anti-Trans efforts (not that not speaking out against it means you are against them, though it does to a certain crowd). For those unaware of the trick, it is known that a lot of people merely read headlines and don't bother with the body of the article so you can lie with a headline while covering yourself by telling the truth in the body. 

 

This has stirred up the usual suspects though less so as the desired reaction was not received last time it seems. "Healing Circles" are currently under attack as useless things it seems which... isn't that a thing among the crowd attacking them? So they never worked? Well I can't say I have ever had the experience of being in a healing circle but if it is simply something like doing poetry in a group for example then the gain from such a exercise is calming yourself and interacting with others which has its benefits for those who suffer from issues in those departments.

 

Before you post in this thread please remember that we owe it to each other and to PlayStation's millions of users to respect differences of opinion among everyone in our internal and external communities.

[dieselmanchild]

All I have to say about this is that I have come to absolutely despise this political climate we live in now where everybody and their mother (particularly celebrities, corporations, and others with big public platforms) are now expected to engage in activism for every worthy cause that comes along, making public statements and political declarations on issues like these otherwise risk being bullied and vilified by the media and the faceless Twitter mob who interpret silence as opposition. Why are we even thrusting this kind of moral responsibility on gaming companies? They should have no obligation to get involved with issues like this if they don’t want to.

[Shadiochao]

44 minutes ago, Rozalia1 said:

This has stirred up the usual suspects though less so as the desired reaction was not received last time it seems.

 

Who are the usual suspects?

 

 

[Elvick_]

Even if I agree with a political message pushed by a billion dollar corporation... I still don't want them to take a side. Just sell me your stupid products and shut up. They love to cry about whatever rights but then you make money in countries that completely contradict that claim they "care" about x issue.

 

Like pride since that's coming up. I'm gay so obviously I support gay rights, but I can't stand these corporations doing the pride shit. Every single one I see that shit from I look up their parent company and whether they work in countries where it's illegal to be gay and they all do. I call them out then block them forever. Even going as far as if it's some fund raising to look up what the charities do and 9/10 times they are for western countries where it's already normalize to be gay. And the 1/10 it isn't it's just Japan which for Asia is progressive on gay rights, but still has a way to go. Disney was the last one I checked up on last year for that. How are you helping anyone who really needs it? You aren't, and you're making money from Russia (pre-Ukraine mess), Middle East, China... 

 

Just sell your cookies, your ice cream, games, whatever and stfu. I don't care what the politics are or if they align with mine. Just go away. 

[Infected Elite]

I dont care about the political crap in all this. So long as i still get games i can enjoy, it doesnt matter. People wanna be all inclusive, they should be. Let everyone just be themselves. 

45 minutes ago, Elvick_ said:

Even if I agree with a political message pushed by a billion dollar corporation... I still don't want them to take a side. Just sell me your stupid products and shut up. They love to cry about whatever rights but then you make money in countries that completely contradict that claim they "care" about x issue.

 and this 100%. ^

 Don't try and play good guy bad guy by picking a side, just give us the games and do what you want.

[Jeanolt]

"Politics" nowadays is just a bunch of old people deciding what is better for people they know nothing about, with problems they don't have and also know nothing about. Tired of having the LGBT flag in games and people thinking I'm into politics. LGBT and abortion rights have nothing to do with politics, they are basic rights every human should have and accept, like we accept that the sun is going to show up in the morning.

[Riiszk]

Corporations will say and do many things to earn more money. They play the field in the most manipulative way. If you're truly for or against something, then don't half ass it. Stick to your morals, but at the same time know what your lane is. Own your lane and try be the best at it whatever it may be.

I don't play certain games just because many of the devs/workers align with my views. I buy their products, but I really don't care, nor do I want to hear what they have to say outside of what I'm paying them for even if I agree with the message they're putting across. 

 

Just remember, 99% of them don't actually care. They just want your money.

 

Edited May 26, 2022 by Riiszk

[Super-Fly Spider-Guy]

19 minutes ago, Jeanoltt said:

"Politics" nowadays is just a bunch of old people deciding what is better for people they know nothing about, with problems they don't have and also know nothing about. Tired of having the LGBT flag in games and people thinking I'm into politics. LGBT and abortion rights have nothing to do with politics, they are basic rights every human should have and accept, like we accept that the sun is going to show up in the morning.

lmao holy goddamn shit, I'm so glad I didn't have to come in here and say more or less the same as every person above me. Thank fuck y'all are level headed.

 

Fuck your politics, I couldn't care less, but I can't put it any better than you did, LGBT and abortion rights have nothing to do with politics, they are basic rights every human should have and accept

[Darling Baphomet]

I know PSNP isn't exactly a bastion of intelligent discussion, but jesus fucking christ. Y'all are outdoing yourselves today. If you're going to post a news thread, at least pretend to care about the goddamn articles you're linking instead of immediately degenerating into whatever the fuck this whining mess of an OP is.

[EDGES]

an entertainment company refusing to get involved in this kind of things as mush as possible is the best way to go about it

Edited May 26, 2022 by The Investigator

[dev2610]

Just saying that there is a world outside of the United States of America, there are many countries that are very accepting of an individual's choices and their basic human rights.

[AJ_Radio]

As somebody who was being seen as different due to his autism and not being 100% White (I was bullied at elementary school back in the 90s), this current paradigm we're living in makes me absolutely sick.

 

I try my very damn hardest to avoid the current political climate, regardless if it's general politics covered on CNN, Fox News or MSNBC.... or the politics that is now surrounding once niche activities like gaming, western comic books and tabletop D&D (Dungeons & Dragons). But I can't just let this one slip by, because it has gone absolutely out of fucking control.

 

These people are pathetic. I'm sorry, but that's the cold hard truth. I'm sick of seeing Aaron Rodgers, Lebron James and our generation of sport superstars make their political statements every time something happens in the real world. Looking at them and their braindead fanbase, they are equally as guilty.

 

I used to think Blizzard/Activision employees made a valid argument about sexual harassment and being mistreated. But seeing this extremist behavior towards anything that is the slightest bit offensive (I don't think half of this shit is offensive at all really), I'm not so sure if all their complaints are really good.

 

Take a look at some of the gaming corporations now. For a number of them, at least 50 percent or more of their entire company are women. I love my share of women as much as anybody else, but isn't it strange how you didn't see this nearly as much around 10 or 15 years ago? I personally think most of these women who were hired in were put there because of diversity.

 

To anybody who watched last year's E3 event, Ubisoft was pushing hard the idea of diversity. Sounds good on paper and all, but what I think is really happening is forced diversity. We need more people of different backgrounds to work for our company. This is probably why Assassin's Creed has gone down the crapper. We don't need a team of developers who can make a great story and can help push the gameplay forward. We need a team of different races and creeds because they represent diversity hires. It's a massive problem in western society. HR departments (human resources) that hire people go by a giant tickbox that you have to fulfill in order to even be considered for the job.

 

Even McDonalds and Pizza Hut have to make a political statement on the current paradigm. Sony not too long ago made a statement on #BlackLivesMatters. The old Sony, the ones who brought the PS1 and PS2 consoles to the forefront, would of never done that.

 

I'm tired of this activism. This isn't why I play video games, and looking at everyone else here, we don't play for that reason either. I used to play because I wanted to have fun and enjoy myself. Nowadays I play almost entirely because of escapism.

 

Keep your politics out of video games, unless you're going to craft a good story out of politics, such as Metal Gear Solid, Mass Effect and Bioshock.

[Infected Elite]

27 minutes ago, Darling Baphomet said:

I know PSNP isn't exactly a bastion of intelligent discussion, but jesus fucking christ. Y'all are outdoing yourselves today. If you're going to post a news thread, at least pretend to care about the goddamn articles you're linking instead of immediately degenerating into whatever the fuck this whining mess of an OP is.

OP is always like this. 

[Raidou Kuzunoha XIV]

4 minutes ago, Infected Elite said:

OP is always like this. 

 

Have only interacted with OP a few times, but they come across as a bit of a sealion imho. This thread OP has some clear bias if nothing else, that's for certain.

 

My thoughts on this have pretty much already been spoken by others here, so I don't really have much to add other than that I wish companies that did make a stance on their politics and values actually stood firm on them, instead of caring more about profits and self censoring themselves for territories where certain values and political stances are not exactly in the overton window. 

[BrandedBerserk]

Someone tell em keep making games and shut the fuck up already with all this nonsense, respectfully. 

 

It's 2022 we've came a long way on a lot of these issues especially in first world countries, most people are decent human beings with basic education and understanding of human values so at this point they're just bullying folks to conform with their ideals. 

Edited May 26, 2022 by BrandedBerserk

[thefourfoldroot]

Without discussion any specific issues, I think it shouldn’t even be allowed for employers to make statements on political topics. Inevitably they are going to have employees with all different opinions, and the hostile environment that can be produced when some people feel protected and supported in voicing their opinions within a company, but other do not…well, it should be against workers rights to be put in that position by an employer. Not to mention people who are fired or sidelined for not having the same opinion on things.

Edited May 26, 2022 by thefourfoldroot

[El Duderino]

Nothing but virtue signaling from companies having a history of misconduct, discrimination, exploitation, and harassment. Get fucked.

Edited May 26, 2022 by R4M Razr

[steel6burgh]

Corporations should stay out of politics period. Corporations aren't people they don't have an opinion and when a leader or select few leaders of an organization presume to speak about the beliefs of the organization as a whole they fail to represent everyones opinions.  I was taught at a young age to never discuss politics.  I never knew anybody in my family's political beliefs besides my mother.  I grew up in a place where political opinions went both ways so it was best to keep it to yourself.  Social media has changed that in this world we live in today and everyone is at everyone's throats.   Real easy to sit behind a computer and mouth off about your beliefs and put others down.  If this new way of the world doesn't end it will be our end for sure.  

[Ekir]

NEVER forget that private companies are greedy bastards that only want your cash. They will only support your "cause" if they feel that's going to be supported by most of the population in order to get the big numbers. They are not your friends.

 

I'm sure Aperture Science is with me in this regard!

[Rozalia1]

4 hours ago, Shadiochao said:

Who are the usual suspects?

 

Lets say those who are very passionate on the matter of neutrality/inclusivity/silence == agreement with perceived bad thing/person/whatever.

 

4 hours ago, dieselmanchild said:

All I have to say about this is that I have come to absolutely despise this political climate we live in now where everybody and their mother (particularly celebrities, corporations, and others with big public platforms) are now expected to engage in activism for every worthy cause that comes along, making public statements and political declarations on issues like these otherwise risk being bullied and vilified by the media and the faceless Twitter mob who interpret silence as opposition. Why are we even thrusting this kind of moral responsibility on gaming companies? They should have no obligation to get involved with issues like this if they don’t want to.

 

It is quite the climate yes. Come out in support of something and one side will attack you with "what about X/Y/Z? You said/did nothing then". However, if from that point you don't come out on every issue then the other side in this will attack you with "What about A/B/C? You said/did something then".

 

It might be dying down in the near future though. It looks like certain events have given the other side more social power so corporations are finding what would look like easy PR as possibly risky stuff. 

 

2 hours ago, Riiszk said:

Corporations will say and do many things to earn more money. They play the field in the most manipulative way. If you're truly for or against something, then don't half ass it. Stick to your morals, but at the same time know what your lane is. Own your lane and try be the best at it whatever it may be.

I don't play certain games just because many of the devs/workers align with my views. I buy their products, but I really don't care, nor do I want to hear what they have to say outside of what I'm paying them for even if I agree with the message they're putting across. 

 

Just remember, 99% of them don't actually care. They just want your money.

 

 

Of course you are correct that businesses will do and say all manner of things to make money. It is perhaps a little unfair to write them off as "not caring" however. The reality of this matter, and some people are having a hard time processing this as they've always had the shoe on their foot, but the other side now has more social power and can threaten businesses more effectively as a result. Disney, one of the biggest companies out there recently got a slap, and if it can happen to them then what can be done to you. If companies, which are overwhelmingly taking Sony/EA's position are doing it out of cowardice/greed/or whatever else, that doesn't however mean they don't care. Just not enough to risk themselves which goes for the majority of people.

 

2 hours ago, Jeanoltt said:

"Politics" nowadays is just a bunch of old people deciding what is better for people they know nothing about, with problems they don't have and also know nothing about. Tired of having the LGBT flag in games and people thinking I'm into politics. LGBT and abortion rights have nothing to do with politics, they are basic rights every human should have and accept, like we accept that the sun is going to show up in the morning.

 

I don't think there is anyone who would disagree with that sort of view itself. However, rights are a murky business and full of disagreements so there are going to be plenty of people who'd agree with your "basic human rights" shouldn't be argued about, simply accepted, who'd argue with you on the specifics.

 

2 hours ago, Darling Baphomet said:

I know PSNP isn't exactly a bastion of intelligent discussion, but jesus fucking christ. Y'all are outdoing yourselves today. If you're going to post a news thread, at least pretend to care about the goddamn articles you're linking instead of immediately degenerating into whatever the fuck this whining mess of an OP is.

 

*Taps OP*

 

Before you post in this thread please remember that we owe it to each other and to PlayStation's millions of users to respect differences of opinion among everyone in our internal and external communities.

 

As for my OP. I always strive to maintain some level of neutrality outside my own comment if I make one and even then I usually try to minimise it, but I do not feel it correct to post these articles and not alert folks to brazen dishonesty like what I pointed out. I made no attack on their article's subject of attacking EA on siding against Abortion rights/stopping support for them in the company, but the anti-Trans thing which they themselves in their article contradict had to be pointed out so no one was tricked into believing the headline and beginning a tangent off it.

 

1 hour ago, AJ_Radio said:

As somebody who was being seen as different due to his autism and not being 100% White (I was bullied at elementary school back in the 90s), this current paradigm we're living in makes me absolutely sick.

 

I try my very damn hardest to avoid the current political climate, regardless if it's general politics covered on CNN, Fox News or MSNBC.... or the politics that is now surrounding once niche activities like gaming, western comic books and tabletop D&D (Dungeons & Dragons). But I can't just let this one slip by, because it has gone absolutely out of fucking control.

 

These people are pathetic. I'm sorry, but that's the cold hard truth. I'm sick of seeing Aaron Rodgers, Lebron James and our generation of sport superstars make their political statements every time something happens in the real world. Looking at them and their braindead fanbase, they are equally as guilty.

 

I used to think Blizzard/Activision employees made a valid argument about sexual harassment and being mistreated. But seeing this extremist behavior towards anything that is the slightest bit offensive (I don't think half of this shit is offensive at all really), I'm not so sure if all their complaints are really good.

 

Take a look at some of the gaming corporations now. For a number of them, at least 50 percent or more of their entire company are women. I love my share of women as much as anybody else, but isn't it strange how you didn't see this nearly as much around 10 or 15 years ago? I personally think most of these women who were hired in were put there because of diversity.

 

To anybody who watched last year's E3 event, Ubisoft was pushing hard the idea of diversity. Sounds good on paper and all, but what I think is really happening is forced diversity. We need more people of different backgrounds to work for our company. This is probably why Assassin's Creed has gone down the crapper. We don't need a team of developers who can make a great story and can help push the gameplay forward. We need a team of different races and creeds because they represent diversity hires. It's a massive problem in western society. HR departments (human resources) that hire people go by a giant tickbox that you have to fulfill in order to even be considered for the job.

 

Even McDonalds and Pizza Hut have to make a political statement on the current paradigm. Sony not too long ago made a statement on #BlackLivesMatters. The old Sony, the ones who brought the PS1 and PS2 consoles to the forefront, would of never done that.

 

I'm tired of this activism. This isn't why I play video games, and looking at everyone else here, we don't play for that reason either. I used to play because I wanted to have fun and enjoy myself. Nowadays I play almost entirely because of escapism.

 

Keep your politics out of video games, unless you're going to craft a good story out of politics, such as Metal Gear Solid, Mass Effect and Bioshock.

 

Diversity is certainly a good thing in a creative field as people are made up of their experiences and even in our enlightened times people do go through life differently be it for all manner of reasons. Race is heavily focused on of course but even within a racial group your class, where you grow up, so forth makes for drastically different experiences. It is why companies often hire consultants as they feel they wouldn't be able to capture the essence of creating whatever they're going for otherwise.

 

Hard to say which companies are 50% women but usually even if they are it means women making up the lower positions with some smatterings nearer to the top. There are valid concerns in even that not being exactly great. As for forced diversity/diversity hires. It is something that certain people will have over their head yes, I imagine largely unfairly as the truth is most jobs these days have X amount of equally qualified people. 

 

However I can understand your view of the matter. Diversity's positives, which you appear to recognise, are hampered by the overzealous dogmatic type of support certain people have for it.

 

1 hour ago, MercilessWaffle said:

Have only interacted with OP a few times, but they come across as a bit of a sealion imho. This thread OP has some clear bias if nothing else, that's for certain.

 

My thoughts on this have pretty much already been spoken by others here, so I don't really have much to add other than that I wish companies that did make a stance on their politics and values actually stood firm on them, instead of caring more about profits and self censoring themselves for territories where certain values and political stances are not exactly in the overton window. 

 

I apologise that I am not so quick to anger as you'd it seems prefer me to be. I think you are misunderstanding my conduct for something else. As for bias, I addressed it in my response to Darling Baphomet in this post.

 

I agree with your comment that it would be best if companies stood firm, were consistent, and the like. The thing is, we're dealing with businesses in the game of making money. The only way they will be firm and consistent will be if they always take the stance of staying out of it. Is that acceptable to you?

 

11 minutes ago, thefourfoldroot said:

Without discussion any specific issues, I think it shouldn’t even be allowed for employers to make statements on political topics. Inevitably they are going to have employees will all different opinions, and the hostile environment this can produce where some people feel protected in voicing their opinions within a company, but other do not…we’ll, it should be against workers rights to be put in that position by an employer. Not to mention people who are fired or sidelined for not having the same opinion on things.

 

What is a political subject can be quite vast, but yes, having political firefights happening constantly is not good for the workplace, the mental health of everyone involved, and can cause as you noted some ugly partisan revenge.

 

40 minutes ago, enaysoft said:

Why hasn't this thread been locked yet?

 

Why would it get locked? It has been civil outside some comments sent my way by certain individuals I've dealt with before which I'm not fussed about.

[Xugoshi]

Can someone PLEASE explain to me how politics is profitable in video-games!? I'm sorry but I refuse to believe that these companies are so out of touch with reality that they don't realize that pandering to the 2% doesn't rake in the big cash! 

[Rozalia1]

2 minutes ago, Xugoshi said:

Can someone PLEASE explain to me how politics is profitable in video-games!? I'm sorry but I refuse to believe that these companies are so out of touch with reality that they don't realize that pandering to the 2% doesn't rake in the big cash! 

 

Associating your brand with socially accepted as good things strengthens it, while doing so with socially rejected as bad things weakens it. If your brand is strong then people will promote and defend you. If your brand is weak then in some places any mention of you will get people coming in smearing you.

 

That is the thinking anyway. Rather than making more money, "how do we lose the least money" may well be taking over.

[Eraezr]

I'm just bracing for U.S's internal rupture in 2025 and weighing the odds of how well things will go with the new superpower lead with China, India and maybe Russia. That country's collapse is imminent and the main reason it's lasted this long is because most of the world's oil is traded in the American $.

 

Also OP, if you disagree with the journalism integrity of folks like Kotaku, you have the option of archiving the link before sharing it. That denies click revenues. Half the time Kotaku knows they're being dumb dumb but still bait for clicks into sharing.

Edited May 26, 2022 by Eraezr

[Tsundokuist]

47 minutes ago, Xugoshi said:

Can someone PLEASE explain to me how politics is profitable in video-games!? I'm sorry but I refuse to believe that these companies are so out of touch with reality that they don't realize that pandering to the 2% doesn't rake in the big cash! 

It’s all a PR exercise, it’s not the CEOs or leaders of these companies putting any serious thought/effort into this. It’s PR/Marketing/Social managers who live in a bubble where everyone else in their sector is doing this sort of thing and it’s just an additional opportunity for some publicity/clicks/likes.

 

Personally, I don’t get how people can be upset by this sort if thing. Even if you’re anti-trans it’s just a tweet/jpg, get a grip.

Edited May 26, 2022 by Tsundokuist

[Xugoshi]

5 minutes ago, Tsundokuist said:

It’s all a PR exercise, it’s not the CEOs or leaders of these companies putting any serious thought/effort into this. It’s PR/Marketing/Social managers who live in a bubble where everyone else in their sector is doing this sort of thing and it’s just an additional opportunity for some publicity/clicks/likes.

 

Personally, I don’t get how people can be upset by this sort if thing. Even if you’re anti-trans it’s just a tweet/jpg, get a grip.

 

I'm mostly neutral, I generally don't have an opinion on politics because quite frankly I don't give a shit. What do give a shit about is politics ruining video-games! Can't wait for this woke political bullshit to come to an end.