Blizzard, and more importantly, J Allen Brack, have publicly apologized for incorrectly handling the Hong Kong / Blitzchung situation. If we are being 100% honest, this is about as much as Blizzard could have done at the very opening of Blizzcon. To lead off your biggest event with an apology is a big deal.
Also important was the acknowledgement that actions mean more than words, and Brack strongly insisted that players were free to protest and demonstrate at Blizzcon. This is exactly what they punished Blitzchung for, so their ACTION here is a complete reversal of that original decision. Short of outright telling China to go F itself, I don’t know what more they could have done to show they are correcting the mistake. That someone is being allowed to walk in as Winnie the Pooh is, in fact, that direct F You to China.
For my part I’ll resub to WoW Classic when that comes around (assuming Blizzard doesn’t screw it up by then, but that’s an issue for another day/post). This also means I’ll go back to blogging about the game. Hopefully the gaggle of children I lead in-game will now have their faith restored that daddy won’t abandon them and resume more actively playing as well.
Finally, for everyone who was doubtful that players protesting Blizzard over this incident wouldn’t matter, suck it. Some part of Brack saying sorry was due to a financial hit related to this incident, whether direct via cancelled subs or indirect in bad PR. Here the protesters and players won, and China lost. That’s a good thing, that goes far beyond just silly videogames.
