For All Intents and Purposes

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A BLIZZARD OF CONTROVERSY: Activision Blizzard––makers of such hit games as World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Hearthstone––have hit a geo-political wall as they take a stance over controversial statements made by the winner of a Hearthstone tournament about the protests in Hong Kong against the People’s Republic of China. Andrew and D. Bethel investigate the complicated relationship between popular American entertainment and China.

RELEVANT LINKS:

• Carpenter, Nicole. “Protesters Are Trying to Get Overwatch Banned in China, Using Memes of Popular Hero Mei.” Polygon. Vox Media, 09 Oct. 2019.
• Gault, Matthew. “Blizzard’s Hong Kong Screw-Up Is Officially an International Incident.” Vice Games. Vice Media, 08 Oct. 2019.
• Klepek, Patrick. “We Talked to Hearthstone Pro Players Who Are Quitting the Game in Protest.” Vice Games. Vice Media, 09 Oct. 2019.
• Plunkett, Luke. “Blizzard Suspends Hearthstone Player for Hong Kong Support, Pulls Prize Money.” Kotaku. G/O Media, 08 Oct. 2019.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

• Idealistic Ventures Based on Bad Premises (18 March 2016): Where Andrew and D. talked about a new Hearthstone expansion.

INFO:

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FEATURED MUSIC:

• “Disco Medusae” by Kevin McLeod
  • Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3652-disco-medusae
• “District Four” by Kevin McLeod
  • Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3662-district-four
• Tracks are licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)