News Harry Potter game developers troubled by JK Rowling's transphobia

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One of the most anticipated video games is one whose existence has yet to be acknowledged by its publisher, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It’s a big-budget Harry Potter game that will let players role-play as wizards and roam a vast, open-world re-creation of Hogwarts and its surrounding areas.

The long-rumored project is very real, according to two people currently working on it. The game is in development at a Warner Bros.-owned studio, Avalanche Software in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is scheduled for release late next year for platforms including the upcoming Sony Corp. PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Corp. Xbox Series X, said the people, who requested anonymity over fears they would be fired for speaking publicly about an unannounced game.
Within the team, though, some anxiety surrounds the work. The studio’s management has not addressed recent comments from the author J.K. Rowling that were widely viewed as transphobic, the people said. The situation made some members of the team uncomfortable and sparked private discussions among staff over the pandemic water cooler, the workplace communication app Slack.

Spokespeople for AT&T Inc.’s Warner Bros. Interactive and Rowling declined to comment.
The result was that many transgender people felt demeaned, and the comments were denounced by fans and collaborators. Cast members from the Harry Potter series, including Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, said they disagreed with Rowling’s stance, and Warner Bros. responded by touting its “inclusive culture.”

Many fans are attempting to reconcile their love of the fantasy series with its author’s beliefs, which they find repugnant. On Reddit, there’s a 6,000-member community dedicated to the yet-to-be-announced Harry Potter game. The usual exchange of rumors and wish lists that takes place there was derailed this month by debate over Rowling’s statements. The forum’s editors posted a declaration that they “firmly stand in disagreement with the opinions stated in those tweets” and that fans should avoid discussing them.
Warner Bros. had originally planned to announce the Harry Potter game during a news conference at the trade show E3 in June, according to people familiar with the plans. When E3 was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the publisher’s marketing roadmap shifted.

The new plan is to unveil the Batman game in August at a digital event called DC FanDome, and the Harry Potter game will be revealed later, a person with knowledge of the plans said. The person said those plans were made before Rowling’s comments.


 
I'm still lost on this, what did she say exactly?

She has said SEVERAL things about how Trans individuals aren't the gender they identify as. Specifically, she has been saying how Trans women aren't women, which is absurd. Honestly, I can't believe she's still going on all of this and continues to dig herself a deeper hole. A good chunk of people who were in the Harry Potter movies have come out to speak against her along with other actors and actresses, publishers, game developers, and authors. What she's saying is just not right and she needs to see that, but isn't.
 
Clearly out of touch with modern life.

I've never read a Harry Potter book or watched any of the movies. Will this hurt her sales do you think?
 
She has said SEVERAL things about how Trans individuals aren't the gender they identify as. Specifically, she has been saying how Trans women aren't women, which is absurd. Honestly, I can't believe she's still going on all of this and continues to dig herself a deeper hole. A good chunk of people who were in the Harry Potter movies have come out to speak against her along with other actors and actresses, publishers, game developers, and authors. What she's saying is just not right and she needs to see that, but isn't.
I was so excited for the game after the leak but now I don't want to go anywhere near this transphobic game.
 
Allot of her work is now not being published. Shame, she's only saying her thoughts and whatnot and she's getting the back stick. Even Emma And daniel are putting her down. She made the famous and rich and what they did and saying LOL

But they are young and they just that age..
 
Clearly out of touch with modern life.

I've never read a Harry Potter book or watched any of the movies. Will this hurt her sales do you think?
She's already made a bajillion dollars. They can't hurt her economically. Honestly they should just leave her be. The constant struggle sessions and cancellations for wrongthink are getting tiring, and all they're doing is giving her statements more attention anyway.
 
The issue is that she’s an influential public figure and she’s peddling hate and misinformation. She needs to be held to account and perhaps apologise? It’s ok to make mistakes as long as those are learning opportunities. If one fails to learn from ones mistakes they’re destined to be repeated.
 
The issue is that she’s an influential public figure and she’s peddling hate and misinformation. She needs to be held to account and perhaps apologise? It’s ok to make mistakes as long as those are learning opportunities. If one fails to learn from ones mistakes they’re destined to be repeated.
She's already made it clear how she feels and what she believes. She's not sorry. What you're talking about is forcing her to recant via social and economic penalties, not actually changing her mind or her "learning from her mistakes." You can't actually force someone to believe differently, you can only force them to play pretend with threat of punishment, but that's not working in this case. She's resisted social pressure and economic pressure isn't even possible for someone in her position. Her fame was largely faded before this anyway, but now she's back in the headlines because of it.

Ya'll gotta learn when to leave people you disagree with alone.
 
Ya'll gotta learn when to leave people you disagree with alone.
I’m very much an agree to disagree person. And if she’s not willing to have her mind changed then so be it. It’s right she should be ostracised for hate and bigotry. There’s no place in modern society for backwards beliefs. Yes leave her to her warped misguided views. I wouldn’t want her to apologise if it wasn’t intended.
 
She has said SEVERAL things about how Trans individuals aren't the gender they identify as. Specifically, she has been saying how Trans women aren't women, which is absurd. Honestly, I can't believe she's still going on all of this and continues to dig herself a deeper hole. A good chunk of people who were in the Harry Potter movies have come out to speak against her along with other actors and actresses, publishers, game developers, and authors. What she's saying is just not right and she needs to see that, but isn't.
Is that what she said? Because I don't think so, I think there is some personal editorializing going on here. Do you have a link?
 
Actually, having time to think about it I don't agree to disagree with a bigot. If someone said negative things about blacks or gays or people with disabilities we wouldn't just say, "Oh that's their opinion, it's ok, just let them get on with it." We'd take them to task and inform them that they are wrong. The same applies here. Unless thriftegaming believes the plight of trans people is not as justified or as worthy of protection as that of other persecuted minorities. It's wrong to accept hate and prejudice. To accept it is to give tacit approval to it.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”― Edmund Burke
 
Actually, having time to think about it I don't agree to disagree with a bigot. If someone said negative things about blacks or gays or people with disabilities we wouldn't just say, "Oh that's their opinion, it's ok, just let them get on with it." We'd take them to task and inform them that they are wrong. The same applies here. Unless thriftegaming believes the plight of trans people is not as justified or as worthy of protection as that of other persecuted minorities. It's wrong to accept hate and prejudice. To accept it is to give tacit approval to it.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”― Edmund Burke
You equate having a difference of opinion on if a transwoman's experience is exactly the same as a biological woman's experience with evil, and you think others are bigots? Seriously?
 
No, not at all. The quote is merely to highlight that apathy isn't an acceptable response to hate. Trans-women are women and we should rightly challenge the view that they're not.
 
No, not at all. The quote is merely to highlight that apathy isn't an acceptable response to hate. Trans-women are women and we should rightly challenge the view that they're not.
But that is what the latest drama is all about, all JK said was your experience is not the same as my experience. That the two can't be equated. And for that, she's a hate filled bigot?
 
I'm fairly certain that neither you, I or JK Rowling can comment on the experiences of trans-women. The only people who can comment on the experiences of trans-women are trans-women. That she can use her platform as a famous writer and influencer to dismiss the experiences of the trans-community; and to do this whilst the blacklivesmatter movement is at the forefront of popular consciousness is crass.

"What’s more disturbing to me is the choice to speak out against trans people at the very moment that the Black Lives Matter movement has taken the global centerstage,” she wrote. “The fear, ignorance, and callous cruelty underneath JK Rowling’s words are the very same factors that lead to the murder and systemic destruction of black trans lives. There’s a saying, ‘Scratch a TERF, find a racist,’ born out again and again by the ease with which people argue against the freedom and dignity of one group tend to feel the same about others.” - Trans actress Jen Richards

Bigot: a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (such as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance.

My disdain for Rowling has nothing to do with her membership of a group, be that women, privileged white females, authors, creators of wizardry, or any other. My opinion is not bigotry - by the dictionary definition.
 
I'm fairly certain that neither you, I or JK Rowling can comment on the experiences of trans-women. The only people who can comment on the experiences of trans-women are trans-women.
By that same logic, trans-women can't comment on the experience of cis-women, which is actually pretty close to Rowling's position. It goes both ways. You can't say trans-women are women who are no different from cis-women, then turn around and say that cis-women can't possibly understand anything about trans-women because they're too different.
 
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I'm fairly certain that neither you, I or JK Rowling can comment on the experiences of trans-women. The only people who can comment on the experiences of trans-women are trans-women. That she can use her platform as a famous writer and influencer to dismiss the experiences of the trans-community; and to do this whilst the blacklivesmatter movement is at the forefront of popular consciousness is crass.



Bigot: a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (such as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance.

My disdain for Rowling has nothing to do with her membership of a group, be that women, privileged white females, authors, creators of wizardry, or any other. My opinion is not bigotry - by the dictionary definition.
Yes, hence why I was a bit taken aback that you would call someone a bigot, on the same breath that you declare contrary option to be akin to evil.
 
She has said SEVERAL things about how Trans individuals aren't the gender they identify as. Specifically, she has been saying how Trans women aren't women, which is absurd. Honestly, I can't believe she's still going on all of this and continues to dig herself a deeper hole. A good chunk of people who were in the Harry Potter movies have come out to speak against her along with other actors and actresses, publishers, game developers, and authors. What she's saying is just not right and she needs to see that, but isn't.

yesh, someone has grown drunk on their wealth. I bet she would't dare speak this back during writing her books.
 
You equate having a difference of opinion on if a transwoman's experience is exactly the same as a biological woman's experience with evil, and you think others are bigots? Seriously?
To quote yourself
Is that what she said? Because I don't think so, I think there is some personal editorializing going on here. Do you have a link?
 

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