|
|
Post by reconnecting on Apr 19, 2022 13:00:58 GMT -5
Plarium has removed Mech Arena from the Playstore in Russia and Belarus. They actually did something right for once.   |
|
|
|
Post by salvia on Apr 20, 2022 10:40:22 GMT -5
Yet another controversial move. I hope I'll still get to play with my ordinary Russian buddies.
|
|
|
|
Post by dukeofadvil on Apr 20, 2022 11:00:28 GMT -5
I do not see the upside in doing this. I'm willing to bet that 95%+ of the Russian players have absolutely nothing to do with this invasion....many of them probably do not want their military in Ukraine. Isolating these individuals, by strong arming them will only make them resent Westerners. I understand suspending money transfers, but who does it hurt if the civilians play any free app?
|
|
|
|
Post by S1E1 on Apr 20, 2022 13:50:40 GMT -5
I do not see the upside in doing this. I'm willing to bet that 95%+ of the Russian players have absolutely nothing to do with this invasion....many of them probably do not want their military in Ukraine. Isolating these individuals, by strong arming them will only make them resent Westerners. I understand suspending money transfers, but who does it hurt if the civilians play any free app? That could be the case. Some Western activists have even been using platforms like Twitch and Tinder to get real information on the war to Russian users and game chat could work for that as well. But this is not really a free app. I am not sure why companies like Plarium should maintain a customer base that can never pay them anything. And in the overall, the Russian people's attitude toward the West probably won't have much of an impact. This Vox article has an excellent breakdown (particularly in the second half of the article) of why Putin's government is particularly unlikely to fall to either a coup or a popular uprising: www.vox.com/22961563/putin-russia-ukraine-coup-revolution-invasionRight now there are several things happening at once: sanctions, divestment and cultural boycott. They're blunt instruments but there are not many options when you're dealing with a persistently malignant actor whose political system won't change or change course. About all you can do is contain, weaken and isolate. It's not just about cutting Russia off from resources that enable its aggression it is also about insulating us from their influence in our affairs, including economic clout. If you look at the informational aggression (electoral interference, misinformation campaigns, hacking) that all makes sense. The bigger thing is economics - if Western companies don't have Russian customers then that minimizes the Russian government's lobbying clout. Bottom line, this is going to play out slowly. It might be at the end Putin's strongman image crumbles and all this will make Russians turn on him and his vision of empire. Maybe not. But it is also probably the best (or least worst) of all the bad options. P.S. - Sorry to for the TLDR political commentary. I am definitely a bit of an international news junkie... |
|
|
|
Post by dukeofadvil on Apr 20, 2022 17:41:43 GMT -5
I do not see the upside in doing this. I'm willing to bet that 95%+ of the Russian players have absolutely nothing to do with this invasion....many of them probably do not want their military in Ukraine. Isolating these individuals, by strong arming them will only make them resent Westerners. I understand suspending money transfers, but who does it hurt if the civilians play any free app? That could be the case. Some Western activists have even been using platforms like Twitch and Tinder to get real information on the war to Russian users and game chat could work for that as well. But this is not really a free app. I am not sure why companies like Plarium should maintain a customer base that can never pay them anything. And in the overall, the Russian people's attitude toward the West probably won't have much of an impact. This Vox article has an excellent breakdown (particularly in the second half of the article) of why Putin's government is particularly unlikely to fall to either a coup or a popular uprising: www.vox.com/22961563/putin-russia-ukraine-coup-revolution-invasionRight now there are several things happening at once: sanctions, divestment and cultural boycott. They're blunt instruments but there are not many options when you're dealing with a persistently malignant actor whose political system won't change or change course. About all you can do is contain, weaken and isolate. It's not just about cutting Russia off from resources that enable its aggression it is also about insulating us from their influence in our affairs, including economic clout. If you look at the informational aggression (electoral interference, misinformation campaigns, hacking) that all makes sense. The bigger thing is economics - if Western companies don't have Russian customers then that minimizes the Russian government's lobbying clout. Bottom line, this is going to play out slowly. It might be at the end Putin's strongman image crumbles and all this will make Russians turn on him and his vision of empire. Maybe not. But it is also probably the best (or least worst) of all the bad options. P.S. - Sorry to for the TLDR political commentary. I am definitely a bit of an international news junkie... i appreciate the input. It is nice to see someone who can bring different perspective into any conversation. We may disagree on our beliefs on this boycott, and its impact, but it is great that we have this forum to share our opinions |
|
|
|
Post by S1E1 on Apr 20, 2022 18:30:24 GMT -5
i appreciate the input. It is nice to see someone who can bring different perspective into any conversation. We may disagree on our beliefs on this boycott, and its impact, but it is great that we have this forum to share our opinions Totally! :-) |
|
