I’m so tired of gaming getting attacked from all sides. You have people on the right saying violent games are bad. People on the left accusing games of not being inclusive enough. After a days hard work and fitting in family time, I just want to unwind and play a game. Period. Now I have no interest in Harry Potter. I saw the first movie once and I liked it. I never felt the need to read the books or play any of the games. But there are a lot of people who do like it. I see the cosplays at the conventions. I see the online presence of fans and the passion they have. The Harry Potter universe is their escapism. It is what they enjoy.

Hogwarts Legacy first came on to my radar when they tried to cancel Troy Leavitt. He was a game developer on the team who came under fire for a YouTube video. I never heard of him before. I watched the video in question and found it to be quite tame. It focused on some video clips from Thomas Sowell and was about the justice system and how it could be affected by social justice. Some how he was labeled far right because of this. Which is kind of ironic because the in the video character assassination was briefly mentioned and what happened to Troy actually kind of proves him right. Although his job was never in jeopardy he decided to bow out gracefully. This action caused the mob to stand down, for then.

Now I never had any stake in Hogwarts Legacy or Troy. Now as a Gamer I feel like I do. He seemed like a person who had a passion for the art of gaming. He came under fire for an opinion. That just didn’t sit right with me. Now I feel partly vested in this, I didn’t want to be, but here I am.

This wasn’t enough for people. Eventually the mob got incised again. Now they had to call for an all out boycott of Hogwarts Legacy. Although I’m terminally online and well aware of the perceived culture wars that are going on, I just generally don’t care. Sure I troll here and there but I don’t lose any sleep over anything. As much as I’m online, I exist in the real world and things are different. The hate for J.K. Rowling has brought out the narcissism in people. People who can not separate the internet world from the real world. These people have such vitriol and hatred for this woman that is beyond comprehension. It’s laughable. I’m sure J.K. Rowling laughs too, these people are that ridiculous. Now here’s the thing. Rowling and I differ in our political views. I don’t even think she’d like me. But she makes valid points and being a father who has a daughter It’s nice to see someone of influence looking out and bringing attention to certain things regarding women. Now I feel like I have to defend her. Although she doesn’t need me, she does just fine herself. People not only want to see her canceled but broke and destitute. They want her to sell the Harry potter franchise so they can enjoy it again. It’s weird. If they could just put a fraction of the effort into their own lives as they do this boycott and their hate, they’d have better lives.

Now how is the boycott going? Oh yeah it failed on a spectacular level. This single player game broke records all across the board. Even in failure they spammed posts and message boards with spoilers trying to stop this Juggernaut, but no one cared. This game would not be as popular as it is without the help of this boycott. I think it would have been an OK release if it didn’t have the dramma. I think it would have done well. But this boycott and lecturing gamers what they can and can not buy signal boosted it to the next level. They even made a site to see if your favorite streamer played “That wizzard game.” They are so juvenile and pathetic they can’t even say Hogwarts Legacy. Like saying the name gives it any kind of legitimacy. Zooey Zephyr a public representative even supported making lists of people who played the game, again weird. These are the people who can not separate the internet from the real world. Any normie looking in has no idea of their perceived culture war. They don’t know what TERF means and nor do they care to. They did more damage to their movement themselves than anyone on the right could have done.

Gaming sites didn’t help either. Gamer Gate was the downfall of gaming sites. So when people see them rally around a cause they tend to do the opposite. They call themselves gaming sites but they are really like CNN lite. Writers of the gaming sites are activists first and foremost. Sites like Polygon, Wired and Kotaku don’t have the passion for the hobby and that’s why they fail. They rarely talk about the game and talk more about the perceived politics that surround the game. They don’t even like people who play games. Most of the writers don’t even play the games they review. I like the fact sites like Kotaku didn’t even get review copies and sales still exceeded expectations. Also Instead of just reviewing the game they have to issue an apology first or a disclaimer. Weak.

Playing this game makes you nothing more than a gamer and a Harry Potter universe fan. It doesn’t make you a phobe or a bad person. Make no mistake this is a win. People tried to stop the thing you love, and they failed. I feel bad for these people. I think they only boycotted this game because it was easy. In the past one anonymous person with three followers could make a Tweet and force the hand of an entire company. It was nice to see them just ignored and fans put first. The success of this game will lead to more content and fun for you. So play your game and enjoy. If you stuck around to the end thanks for hanging in there and keep those wands raised.