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This will be truly interesting to see. I wonder what can Blizzard possibly do for this not to spiral out of control and please West and China at the same time.

This will be truly interesting to see. I wonder what can Blizzard possibly do for this not to spiral out of control and please West and China at the same time. I do not envy their PR department right now. But then again its all their own doing, so ready up the popcorn...

chii 7y ago
they cannot please both. They will have to ride out the bad PR in the west, because they cannot afford to ride out the chinese market's dominance and profits.
- sodosopa 7y ago
  the Chinese are 14% of their business. They could cut in other areas to make up for that loss.
  - chii 7y ago
    activision (blizzard's parent(?) company) is looking to expand in the chinese market. I m using this as a source : https://youtu.be/L3E1feh30fE?t=59 https://youtu.be/L3E1feh30fE?t=59 , and i m certain they want to ensure that their mobile titles do well in the chinese market (like their up-coming COD titles, as well as existing titles like candy crush etc). This requires that the chinese gov't "approve" them. They don't want to jeopardize this relationship.
  - sp332 7y ago
    Wouldn't they have to grow in other areas to make up the loss? That sounds a lot harder.
  - zipwitch 7y ago
    No. The Asia Pacific region is 14% of their business. That certainly includes China, but it isn't all China. https://www.statista.com/statistics/269665/activison-blizzards-revenue-by-region/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/269665/activison-blizzar...
    - sodosopa 7y ago
      Even better. That means less cuts in their business to take the right stand for freedom.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- falcolas 7y ago
  With a profit margin of ~25%, and a mere 10% of revenue coming from China, Activision Blizzard is in no risk of going bankrupt should they lose the Chinese market. They're only at risk of losing an opportunity to milk the Chinese market for all the money they can later.
- unethical_ban 7y ago
  Stop saying that. Many companies could completely afford to abandon the Chinese market. They just don't want to. I have slightly more sympathy (from a practical perspective) for those with significant supply chains in China - that extraction will take time.
- bradleyjg 7y ago
  The chinese market is not dominant and won’t be for quite a long time, if ever. The West (i.e. Five Eyes + EU) collectively has a far larger GDP and much more of it is in the form of consumer disposable income. What China represents that’s so attractive to multinationals is a virtually untapped market and so enormous opportunity for growth. But if it came down to picking one or the other the smart move would be the west.
- me_me_me 7y ago
  >they cannot please both Well that's my guess, but that's not what your boss would tell you to do :D
- kipchak 7y ago
  I suspect this may be short sighted on Blizzards part in the long term, if they don't capture the Chinese market and wind up losing western marketshare.
- seemack 7y ago
  I'm personally curious if the amount of profit is being overstated. My guess is that video game publishers in China grow to similar quality of western publishers and Chinese nationalism means the gamers from which Blizzard is hoping to glean their "profits" turn to supporting China's home-grown games.
  - CharlesColeman 7y ago
    > I'm personally curious if the amount of profit is being overstated. My guess is that video game publishers in China grow to similar quality of western publishers and Chinese nationalism means the gamers from which Blizzard is hoping to glean their "profits" turn to supporting China's home-grown games. China is not turning out to be a land of milk and honey for western corporations. The best business decision for a Western business with regard to China may be to give up on it, because the PRC wants your local competitor to succeed, not you. https://www.wsj.com/articles/america-is-losing-the-chinese-shopper-11570852805 https://www.wsj.com/articles/america-is-losing-the-chinese-s... > The shift signals a possible end of an era. For years, it was customary for Western executives to tout their plans for dominating China—a market they felt they had to win as markets elsewhere matured. But foreign consumer brands now hold a smaller market share in the categories tracked by McKinsey & Co. than at any time since the global financial crisis, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of research from the U.S. consulting firm, incorporating data from Euromonitor and IHS Markit. Market share losses were particularly evident in categories such as pet food, passenger cars, videogames, smartphones and appliances. > ... > Some Western companies, including Carrefour SA, Amazon Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc., have decided China is too complex or costly to win for some of their major businesses, and have closed or sold them off after facing powerful local rivals who were able to largely control the market. Ford Motor Co. , Apple Inc. and others remain committed, but are struggling to meet expectations. Amazon said it continues to serve Chinese consumers through its cross-border e-commerce business and remains committed to China. Uber didn’t respond to requests to comment. Ford didn’t comment. Carrefour provided no further comment beyond its press release detailing the transaction. I made this same comment elsewhere, but it's relevant here, too.
    - seemack 7y ago

chii 7y ago

they cannot please both. They will have to ride out the bad PR in the west, because they cannot afford to ride out the chinese market's dominance and profits.

sodosopa 7y ago
the Chinese are 14% of their business. They could cut in other areas to make up for that loss.
- chii 7y ago
  activision (blizzard's parent(?) company) is looking to expand in the chinese market. I m using this as a source : https://youtu.be/L3E1feh30fE?t=59 https://youtu.be/L3E1feh30fE?t=59 , and i m certain they want to ensure that their mobile titles do well in the chinese market (like their up-coming COD titles, as well as existing titles like candy crush etc). This requires that the chinese gov't "approve" them. They don't want to jeopardize this relationship.
- sp332 7y ago
  Wouldn't they have to grow in other areas to make up the loss? That sounds a lot harder.
- zipwitch 7y ago
  No. The Asia Pacific region is 14% of their business. That certainly includes China, but it isn't all China. https://www.statista.com/statistics/269665/activison-blizzards-revenue-by-region/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/269665/activison-blizzar...
  - sodosopa 7y ago
    Even better. That means less cuts in their business to take the right stand for freedom.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
falcolas 7y ago
With a profit margin of ~25%, and a mere 10% of revenue coming from China, Activision Blizzard is in no risk of going bankrupt should they lose the Chinese market. They're only at risk of losing an opportunity to milk the Chinese market for all the money they can later.
unethical_ban 7y ago
Stop saying that. Many companies could completely afford to abandon the Chinese market. They just don't want to. I have slightly more sympathy (from a practical perspective) for those with significant supply chains in China - that extraction will take time.
bradleyjg 7y ago
The chinese market is not dominant and won’t be for quite a long time, if ever. The West (i.e. Five Eyes + EU) collectively has a far larger GDP and much more of it is in the form of consumer disposable income. What China represents that’s so attractive to multinationals is a virtually untapped market and so enormous opportunity for growth. But if it came down to picking one or the other the smart move would be the west.
me_me_me 7y ago
>they cannot please both Well that's my guess, but that's not what your boss would tell you to do :D
kipchak 7y ago
I suspect this may be short sighted on Blizzards part in the long term, if they don't capture the Chinese market and wind up losing western marketshare.
seemack 7y ago
I'm personally curious if the amount of profit is being overstated. My guess is that video game publishers in China grow to similar quality of western publishers and Chinese nationalism means the gamers from which Blizzard is hoping to glean their "profits" turn to supporting China's home-grown games.
- CharlesColeman 7y ago
  > I'm personally curious if the amount of profit is being overstated. My guess is that video game publishers in China grow to similar quality of western publishers and Chinese nationalism means the gamers from which Blizzard is hoping to glean their "profits" turn to supporting China's home-grown games. China is not turning out to be a land of milk and honey for western corporations. The best business decision for a Western business with regard to China may be to give up on it, because the PRC wants your local competitor to succeed, not you. https://www.wsj.com/articles/america-is-losing-the-chinese-shopper-11570852805 https://www.wsj.com/articles/america-is-losing-the-chinese-s... > The shift signals a possible end of an era. For years, it was customary for Western executives to tout their plans for dominating China—a market they felt they had to win as markets elsewhere matured. But foreign consumer brands now hold a smaller market share in the categories tracked by McKinsey & Co. than at any time since the global financial crisis, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of research from the U.S. consulting firm, incorporating data from Euromonitor and IHS Markit. Market share losses were particularly evident in categories such as pet food, passenger cars, videogames, smartphones and appliances. > ... > Some Western companies, including Carrefour SA, Amazon Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc., have decided China is too complex or costly to win for some of their major businesses, and have closed or sold them off after facing powerful local rivals who were able to largely control the market. Ford Motor Co. , Apple Inc. and others remain committed, but are struggling to meet expectations. Amazon said it continues to serve Chinese consumers through its cross-border e-commerce business and remains committed to China. Uber didn’t respond to requests to comment. Ford didn’t comment. Carrefour provided no further comment beyond its press release detailing the transaction. I made this same comment elsewhere, but it's relevant here, too.
  - seemack 7y ago