The Harry Potter video game is dividing social networks
To boycott or not? This is the biggest question of the moment taking over Twitter and Reddit. We are talking about the highly anticipated video game at the beginning of the year: “Hogwarts Legacy”, French for Hogwarts legacy.
The first open world game from the Harry Potter universe. Open world is one of the most popular game types for gamers because you can roam the world without doing anything… or doing quests. So these are games that never end, like “GTA” or “Red Dead Redemption”. So definitely, open world Harry Potter, it’s a dream wizard fans.
Especially since the historic producer of the franchise, Warner, has big things in mind for this game. We will be able to embody our wizard, create him physically… and above all, choose his house… it’s everyone’s dream. have been immersed in the Harry Potter universe since childhood.
And then we’ll be able to walk around Hogwarts school of magic, meet iconic characters, cast spells… I personally have stars in my eyes, I’m on the verge of buying myself a console just to be able to do that. use it. player.
Because the author of Harry Potter says JK Rowling. And
JK Rowling has made transphobic statements in public several times. He alienated the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as the three main actors in the saga, who quickly distanced themselves from his remarks. The author tried to reclaim the picture by claiming, for example, that Dumbledore’s character was gay, but many saw it as an unwanted recovery.
Since then, the Harry Potter fan community has been divided. Should they continue shopping or go to theme parks? Because obviously the profits benefit JK Rowling in part. And next week’s release of “Hogwarts Legacy” kicked up the dust and in a more dangerous way.
On Twitter, for example, we can read this:
“Do you buy, promote, or broadcast Hogwarts Legacy? Are you involved in taking back the rights of trans people, no debate. We don’t want you as an ‘ally’ to fund the discrimination, the escalation of our attacks, the expulsion of our health systems.”
Seeing the increasing number of boycott calls on the networks, Warner also wanted to distance himself from JK Rowling by stating that he was not involved in the creation of the game. And above all, they added that the game includes inclusive options, including the game. the ability to play as a trans character. Let’s not be naive, it’s marketing, but it’s still going in the right direction…
No, because everything about Harry Potter is equated with JK Rowling… and as I told you, thanks to her continuing to make a fortune… It doesn’t pass. For some, buying Hogwarts Legacy is like donating a euro to an anti-trans association. So they show themselves they boycott as much as they can. For example, on specialized sites, many reviews of the game are negative even before its release. It’s called a “control bomb” (I told you about it
one of my columns): this is the principle of underestimating something, a product or a series, so that its rating goes down.
A dedicated Gaming forum, ResetEra, has completely banned all discussion of video games to quote “not to promote transphobic ideas”.
On the other hand, others try to keep it temporary. They specifically say that they won’t deprive themselves of having fun because of JK Rowling, and that we can love the world she creates without endorsing her words. There are also those who criticize the “cancellation culture” of the Internet. Unfortunately, it is a very complicated subject: separating the artist’s work. And in this case it is even more complicated because the artist is not directly connected to the work…
Either way, don’t expect JK Rowling to lie low or apologize. When asked how he managed to sleep at night considering the reviews, he said he would see his bank account and that it was better. But he should know: money does not buy happiness.
