Podquisition 426: What Are We Doing Again?

I've unsubbed from BwB and I Like to Make Stuff because they were both sponsored by the game. Also finally unsubbed from Girlfriend Reviews after that terrible video throwing out every excuse she could think of as to why it was okay for her to play the game. I think most of my other subscriptions either aren't big enough to have WB throw money at them, or have said outright that they won't have any association with the game.

ThatMacFella

Exactly, the whole boycott is just a win for transphobes- and for streamers who wanna make a quick buck at the expense of trans people. Also, I strongly object to this game as a litmus test for who is an "ally". It's a terrible idea to begin with. The actual damage to trans people done by playing this game is negligible. If the text or the subtext of the game itself was transphobic, or the company releasing the game supported transphobic causes, I'd understand, but the only thing making this a cause for trans people at all is the fact that the original author of the franchise is a massive transphobe - the same person who is famously already richer than the Windsors and is in no way dependent on any income from Hogwarts Legacy licensing fee.

Harro

Harro, they get to play and stream a popular video game, we get a cornucopia of "allies" self-IDing that they'd pick money and clicks over supporting trans rights (or rather, just *not* supporting the anti-trans movement) when it's actually uncomfortable. Sounds like a win for them. They also get to boo-hoo that some former followers expressed displeasure at them putting their money where their actual mouth is, so I guess that's a really win-win for them.

KB

If you genuinely believe everyone who plays or endorses the game is not on "our side" (presumably meaning the side of trans rights), then that's just silly. It was a bad take by JSS beforehand, but now that the game has sold as many copies since its release as Elden Ring has in the timeframe, the take has gotten worse. All you boycotters achieved is making trans people look whiny, powerless and puritanical. The reasons for the boycott weren't quite understandable to most people outside our online bubble, and even where they were, there was plenty of room for disagreement. Continuing to make as big a deal out of the failed boycott is just going to make people angry at you and care less about JK Rowling's statements, not more. Call it a loss, and direct your ire at more relevant battlefields for trans people, of which there are (sadly) a lot.

Harro

I can't be as charitable. The whole point of BwB is to recreate food from movies/TV. Everything else came from that. Years ago (before I knew about how bad JK had gotten) he did Butter Beer from the series. I can't believe he didn't know about her views. Tasting History is certainly more interesting. I wish he'd do a stew during winter. But it seems too late for this season. Too bad Drinking History faded away.

Jason Youngberg

I found the dialogue in Atomic Heart so obnoxious that about an hour in, I went into the audio options and set ALL the dialogue audio volume to zero just to avoid hearing the protagonist. Then I got to the semi "open world" segments and it was such a mess that I stopped playing and uninstalled I wish the creativity put into the enemy designs had also been put into... well, anything else

Yeah, didn't unsub, but I did tell him in the comments. Not sure, you'd have to be at least a BIT media deaf to not know what's going on with Trans rights and 'She who shall not be named', it's possible that it's gone under his radar, but if not, I'll be unsubbing. Max Miller's 'Tasting History' series is far more interesting anyhoo. Also had an impromptu debate over Hogwart's and the politics behind Atomic Heart with a streamer in line at the drug store. Talk about your games...the production AND the content.

Harry

I unsubscribed from one of my favorite YouTube cooking channels today because their newest video was sponsored by "that game". Gotta say, I really thought the guy was on our side and didn't seem like the kind of person who would support JK but there he was, talking about how "exciting" the game was. I commented how disappointed I was and why I was unsubscribing and followed through. I expected better from him.

Jason Youngberg

Try candied ginger for the nausea You get from VR. I have an Index and sometimes got nauseous but no more. Thank god for You.

phredgsanford

Just looking at the wig you sported in "Death and Taxes" vs the looks you have now is enough to get my Atomic Heart going.

George Michelle Catron