@Gaming-Planet: You're not wrong, and I don't necessarily disagree.

Imagine trying to cancel Hugo Boss or Volkswagen because of their association with Nazi Germany. I know the regime is dead but their legacy is still with them.

Or Chanel, Adidas, IBM, or any number of companies who either collaborated with them or whose products were used in their awful machinations. There are so many examples it'll make people's heads spin.

As for creators who license an IP or get funding from a government, why get mad at them? They have nothing to do with either of them. The US government uses CoD to spread propaganda about America as well. It's fantasy, it is fiction. You take it with a damn grain of salt.

I don't know how much the US government directly involves itself in CoD (though America's not above using gaming to help recruitment). That said, it's true that many American movies, shows and games are not shy about overt patriotism, and I get countries are going to do that.

Governments using entertainment is not a new concept. In politics we call it Soft Power. You use culture influence to change the opinions of those who are deemed as your enemy/competitor. It's a great tool to cool down escalation in a globalist world. It can also be used for domination as well.

Again, no doubt. I think the problem becomes when it's overly obvious that there's government involvement. America's Army, for example, was a naked recruitment tool. And that video is interesting in that it shows the problem with using culture. Our culture spread through private enterprise, as did Japan's and South Korea's. The idea that China would rather suppress one of the few tools it could use to improve its image rather than risking anything that might make the CCP look less than perfect.

I think it's worth reiterating that I'm not opposed to people buying AH. While I have my own misgivings, I'm relatively certain they're not going to make more than enough to make a tank or two (those things cost a rather large sum of money, even the crappy ones Russia makes!). My point is that these two games, released relatively close to one another, were treated differently because the gaming media doesn't seem to see value in virtue signalling over Ukraine as it does over JK Rowling. I just think the priorities are a bit misguided.

@nirgal: My fault for putting this blog on Political Gamers, I guess... Should have known better.

@lundy86_4: I'm not sure you understand Gazaprom. It's a state-owned entity, and any connection to them is essentially a connection to the Russian government. Without evidence to the contrary, it's impossible to assume that GEM capital isn't a front for them.

@mrbojangles25: I'm not against idealism, far from it. It's part of why I wrote this. There's no reason one should get a free pass while the other is vilified to high heaven. As @nirgal points out in an earlier reply, in most cases you simply can't go for a morally perfect lifestyle. I just don't like the whole "pick and choose" thing, especially when it seems more based on who's more easy to hurt than what's important.

@nirgal: And that's the big thing. There's no getting around part of the money from AH being used to fund the war.

@lamprey263: She has her views, yes, and I disagree with them. But I think that the notion that having a set of views is condoning harassment is a massive leap. There's no attempt at convincing people, just straight to attacking anyone who even has a slight interaction with her IP. Also, I was never a fan of HP either, so I don't know what you're getting at or implying with that. This was strictly about the differences in reaction of two games released in the same month, and the relative lack of grandstanding on Atomic Heart.

@SOedipus: Same. I lost trust in Jim Sterling after he came out as cheering DOAX3 not being released in the West. He's clearly on one end of the horse shoe, and is thus an unreliable narrator, no different than the MAGAs.

@rmpumper: I think it's less "not having access to botox" and more "not enough botox in the universe." Every day proves Putin, and by extension the vatniks who continue to cheer him on, as fools. He can't possibly be handling that very well, and it's not going to get better once the Abrams tanks get there.

@lundy86_4: From what little I've been able to gather, Gem Capital is founded by a former bigwig at Gazaprom, one of the Russian businesses that have been sanctioned in response to the war. While not 100%, it's almost certain government kickbacks are involved given Gazaprom's ties to Putin. Also, there have apparently been accusations of the game collecting data on Russian players for the FSB, and Mundfish's tepid response led to composer Mick Gordon to donate his fee for working on the game to the Australian Red Cross.

@nirgal: I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one seeing this issue. Unlike some, I don't believe that people should be denied the right to feel how they feel, even if it's not what I may feel, but gaming coverage needs to be fair. And yeah, from all right and account, I've heard the devs went out of their way to make Hogwarts Legacy as inclusive as they could. That they're still being treated like this is beyond stupid.

@kathaariancode: Dude, that exchange hurt my brain. Like, seriously? Apparently the protagonist is a KGB agent as well? Not a lot of ways to make that not sound like propaganda, at least not without upsetting the regime, so it very well might be that mundfish was looking to gain favor with Putin. I'll be very interested to see how that story actually goes. And you're too right. The phrase "clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right," has never been more true. I'm at least honored to be stuck in the middle with people like yourself. :D

@hardwenzen: Not sure why the brown switch version is the most expensive, but either way, that looks like a sweet board. I've heard tons of good stuff about Topre, but those Realforce keyboards are a tad pricey. I'd go optical before spending $200+ on Topre.

@Serraph105: I can kinda see that with mice, but they all just seem... chunky. As for keyboards, if I were to go the ergo route, I'd probably get in for an alice layout or something split. Those seem like they have a better balance of adjusted ergonomics and learning curve compared to other keyboards I've seen in the category.

@Serraph105: You know, a lot of people talk about ergo keyboards, but I've never really heard any real evidence as to their benefits VS normal keyboards. Genuine curiosity, but how does it differ using an ergo keyboard VS a normal profile keyboard.

@horgen: Which is the point. Sounds like a good keyboard, either way.

@pillarrocks: Looking for a silent-ish keyboard? You might be best off with a hot swap keyboard, put in some Cherry silent black or Gateron G Pro 2.0 switches (which are pre-lubed save for the clicky blues). If you wanna start with a somewhat quiet board from the jump, the RK98 with their stock browns are pretty quiet, and can pick up the slack until you put in something more to your liking.

@horgen: The difference between the three mechanical feels is really preference, so as long as the switches aren't some bottom-of-the-barrel affair, you'll be fine. The amount of money that thing costs, I'm willing to bet either Cherry or Gateron, as those are the big names in stock switches.

@BassMan: Yeah, I feel that. I don't know how people type on linears, at least on light linears like Cherry reds or speed silvers (45g? Shit...). If I ever went with a linear switch, it would have to be heavier, like a 60+, so at least I feel something and am not worried about accidental actuation. As for tactility, have you tried the box royal switches? Those things are unbelievably tactile. Them and the mute jades are great picks if you want a non-clicky tactile, from what I hear.

@horgen why would a tactile keyboard be "mechanically" a downgrade? Contrary to what some people might think, linear isn't the end-all, be-all. Granted, I'm not sure I could stomach north of $200 for one of these guys, so I hope it's got some serious durability.

@osan0Red switches? Loud? If you've got ringing, that's probably spring rattling, owing to the off-brand switches. Depending on how handy you are with a soldering iron (I doubt that thing's hot swappable) you could always put better switches. Gateron is as smooth as they come. While it's impossible to exactly show off what a switch will sound like in a keyboard, here's an example of the basic three switch types - Red, Blue, Brown. As for clacking and thocking, those are unavoidable to some extent, and are even desired by some keyboard enthusiasts.

@osan0 It's quite the switch going from a crappy bargain keyboard to something with some care put into it, isn't it? As for noise, I have to wonder how people are always going on about loud (I'm assuming you went with the blue switch version). We all have louder shit than the keyboard. Honestly, I find it's not much louder than a mouse click, even the click jacket switches like blues. Can you imagine people like that in a room full of typewriters back in the day?

@omegamaster I've tried those, both standalone and laptop, and while I'm sure they're good for some people, I'll have to admit I never feel right with them, like I'm never comfortable that I'm actuating unless I'm slamming the chiclets down as hard as I'm able. Odd, I know, but those things seem like they'd hurt after a while. As for mechanical keyboards being bulky, not entirely sure I agree. Most modern keyboards are very compact, with just about enough space to fit the PCB and some dampening foam (for the people using scratchy ass Cherry switches and clones). Even with all the keys you'd need for work, you'll find plenty of space on your desk with an RK98 or an RK100. Even with a traditional full layout, boards like the GMMK or the Keychron C2 have an impressively small footprint. This of course ignores the weird toy-size keyboards that the custom keyboard community seems to be in love with, like 60% or even 40%.