Valve Apologizes As Hatred Greenlight Campaign Returns

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Apparently Gabe Newell has decided to step in and reverse an earlier decision to remove Hatred from Greenlight.

The Steam Greenlight campaign for Hatred has returned, not long after it was ended by Valve, who said at the time: "Based on what we've seen on Greenlight we would not publish Hatred on Steam. As such we'll be taking it down." Polish developer Destructive Creations' announcement of this isometric shooter admitted its themes are "disturbing," and this sparked controversy from the start.
 
Since Steam Greenlight is about voting for games that the community wants. I don't see any issue with this. If people want it then it will be Greenlit. Pretty simple..
 
The issue was that the game had been removed after it had started to gather votes, with Doug Lombardi making the statement above. The problem is, other games are on steam that are very similar, so this whole issue seemed like bowing to peer pressure from a vocal few, like the GTA5 ban in Aus/NZ.
 
I read that it was pulled because it had no ESRB rating, and thus was in violation of rules regarding content without being rated. They added a rating, and it was put back up.

Me being the skeptic/cynic I am, wonder if this was done on purpose to drum up media attention. Games like this are extremely niche, and likely get sales based on the word-of-mouth controversy. They weren't going to get a sale from irate SJW's anyways, but if they get some backlash from them, it provides a motivation for anti-SJW people to support the title. So to that effect, they get a "yes I'm interested" from me, but I probably won't buy it unless it ends up being a truly good game.
 
Me being the skeptic/cynic I am, wonder if this was done on purpose to drum up media attention. Games like this are extremely niche, and likely get sales based on the word-of-mouth controversy. They weren't going to get a sale from irate SJW's anyways, but if they get some backlash from them, it provides a motivation for anti-SJW people to support the title. So to that effect, they get a "yes I'm interested" from me, but I probably won't buy it unless it ends up being a truly good game.

"Chik-fil-A Syndrome"
 
looks like Postal but without the humor... pass
Yup! I need some reason, or least an attempt at satire to make a game like this playable for me. Still I think it was the right decision to put the game back up.
 
Seriously, I can't believe people old enough to be able to buy games on Steam would be interested in this garbage.
 
Seriously, I can't believe people old enough to be able to buy games on Steam would be interested in this garbage.

Normally, they probably wouldn't have. I still don't plan on getting it, but the only reason I even heard about this crappy looking game was the fuss people were making over it. Had they just shut up the game wouldn't have had anywhere near the coverage it got, and likely would have been quickly relegated to a $1.99 steam sale item within a couple of months. Heck, it'll probably still turn out like that, just with people willing to buy it just to spite the people who complained about it.
 
Here's hoping it's 8 year olds voting on it, but in reality no one will buy it.
 
I want to play that game since it looks pretty interesting.
 
Meh, this "game" with no purpose, and no story, should've stayed off Steam and thrown into the garbage bin.
 
Pass on the game itself, but in the interests of promoting a democratic internet and keeping Steam as open as possible, I think it was the right decision to bring it back. Let it fail on its own merits (or succeed!), rather than having that decision come from on high.
 
Hit enter too soon..

It's because of "games" like this, that Valve said they're going to get rid of the Greenlight program. These mixed signals is a bad move by Valve as well. Either get rid of Greenlight or don't, and if you don't stop taking approved titles off for violating the terms, only to put them back on when the kids start posting on forums. Get a backbone, enforce the rules, and practice what you preach!
 
Taking that game off steam green light in the first place was the absolute wrong move. The people that wanted it removed are idiots, I never would have heard of this game if it wasn't for the removal from the green light program. I might buy it now just to taste the salty tears of the people who wanted it removed.
 
Steam should have a a very clear and objective set of guidelines and policies as to what's acceptable on their service and what's not. Valve sounds like they're essentially winging it - which certainly doesn't do developers any favors when they have to guess whether they'll be banned for any content that causes a firestorm.
 

Oh don't be that guy. DepressionQuest might be crap, but it's crap to make a point. For that same logic, Dear Esther should be yanked. IF (and I mean IF) Hatred is a 'game' similarly there to make a point (further out on the same spectrum as Spec Ops: The Line), and it actually does make a point, then it deserves its spot on Steam.

Dear Esther was not a game. It was an art piece. That dumb mountain game was the same.
SpecOps: The Line is an FPS to make a point. Same as Depression Quest.

Whether they are good or not, or successful at their goals, are not questions relevant to whether they belong on Steam. They are questions about whether they are good games. Questions for buyers.

I do NOT want Steam curating their catalog based on what they find "acceptable," because that opens the door to political, religious, moral and other measures that are NEVER appropriate in an art medium.


...IMHO.:p
 
Thought I'd repost here what I said in the Hatred thread in the PC Gaming subforum.

To recap: Wealthy Seattle Jewish hippie guy opens his storefront to ultra right-wing Poles so they can sell a genocide game.

These are some damn strange times for gaming I tells ya.
 
All that didn't piss me off. Gabe did. I mean, look at all the differing opinions here... you may not agree with the decision, but I'd say a reasonable person can see the dilemma.

Yet Gabe chose it as an opportunity to throw his team under the bus? "It was the wrong decision." Seriously? You can't even agree on a story arc for HL2 EP3 for what, how many YEARS now and you're going to throw your own guy under the bus for making a decision which, if anything, leans in the direction of protecting your company?

He could have just said Greenlight is relatively new industry and as such blah blah blah, but no, he's gotta go to the additional length of throwing the folks who work for him under the bus.

Wow. Says a lot about someone.
 
It's a game, it does not have to be good, it does not have to be PC. Why should someone else decide what I can play? Let it go and let the market decide.
 
Wow. Says a lot about someone.
Yes, it does: The boss holds his team personally responsible for bad decisions and doesn't equivocate in public. That's the kind of attitude that keeps me coming back [H]ere, and keeps me as a happy Steam customer.
 
Some guy on Steam created a Greenlight page for a project that will never exist just to protest. That is $100 well spent! It's called "Kill All the Kids" IIRC. I voted Yes for it and sent him a friend request :D.
 
I'm shocked at the number of censorship advocates in this thread. Hatred isn't the type of game that interests me, but I'm not willing to speak for everyone and say that they should be barred from purchasing it or that the devs can't produce it.

Good on Gabe for reversing the decision, we really don't need some arbiter deciding what entertainment we can or cannot consume, Greenlight is about gamers deciding what they want through voting which I think really is something unique and of value.
 
Speaking for myself, wanting no one to buy it and hoping it fails is not censorship.
 
I like the top rated Youtube troll comment for this game:

"This is Angry White Male Simulator 2015". :D

Although it is true that most mass-murderers are white males, perhaps its just because white males are more successful, and that includes at killing people?
troll_face_dancing_banana_by_zorkky-d3cyzrl.gif


Personally, I'm proud that I live in a country that is free enough that a game like this can exist. I'm not going to spend my hard earned money on it, but its nice to know that I could if I wanted to. Hooray for "Mah Freedomz". *hears bald eagle screeching in the background*
 
Although it is true that most mass-murderers are white males, perhaps its just because white males are more successful, and that includes at killing people?

White privilege is everywhere! :D:D
(IB4 soapbox)
 
All that didn't piss me off. Gabe did. I mean, look at all the differing opinions here... you may not agree with the decision, but I'd say a reasonable person can see the dilemma.

Yet Gabe chose it as an opportunity to throw his team under the bus? "It was the wrong decision." Seriously? You can't even agree on a story arc for HL2 EP3 for what, how many YEARS now and you're going to throw your own guy under the bus for making a decision which, if anything, leans in the direction of protecting your company?

He could have just said Greenlight is relatively new industry and as such blah blah blah, but no, he's gotta go to the additional length of throwing the folks who work for him under the bus.

Wow. Says a lot about someone.

You guys are ridiculous. He didn't throw anyone under the bus, he just said removing it wasn't a good decision (which it wasn't).

Valve aren't the police of the internet/steam, that stance would work against what they've been building towards the last 6+ years.
 
I'm perfectly fine with Valve pulling it from the store. If a publishing company finds something to strongly conflict with their morals, or possibly damage their public image, they are wise to not publish such media.

Remember, there is literally nothing stopping the dev from just publishing the game themselves.
 
I find the lack of backbone disturbing in companies these days. The very second there is even the inkling of backlash from an interest group it gets yanked. Everything for acceptance/appeasement and the almighty dollar.

There are some forms of expression worth censoring, virtual or not. This game is one of those things.
 
It's a game, it does not have to be good, it does not have to be PC. Why should someone else decide what I can play? Let it go and let the market decide.

Would you even play this game?

Yes / No
 
Would you even play this game?

Yes / No

Prolly not. But not because the killing is only because the protagonist hates everyone, himself included. I am just not a third person or top down shooter fan.

The haters should have just shut up, and let the market decide. It would have decided in their favor I think.
 
All that didn't piss me off. Gabe did. I mean, look at all the differing opinions here... you may not agree with the decision, but I'd say a reasonable person can see the dilemma.

Yet Gabe chose it as an opportunity to throw his team under the bus? "It was the wrong decision." Seriously? You can't even agree on a story arc for HL2 EP3 for what, how many YEARS now and you're going to throw your own guy under the bus for making a decision which, if anything, leans in the direction of protecting your company?

He could have just said Greenlight is relatively new industry and as such blah blah blah, but no, he's gotta go to the additional length of throwing the folks who work for him under the bus.

Wow. Says a lot about someone.
Peter Pan, never grow up and return to the real world.
 
Prolly not. But not because the killing is only because the protagonist hates everyone, himself included. I am just not a third person or top down shooter fan.

The haters should have just shut up, and let the market decide. It would have decided in their favor I think.

The haters have opinions. Are you calling for censorship? Let's ignore the hypocritical tone of your post and continue.

About the market, i do agree with you: It will decide..and because this is a game with no point, it will fade into the background like Postal etc, and with any luck the devs will go bankrupt because of people like you who "support" the game...but won't put your mouth were your money is.

So, in the end, the pro-censorship people will win. :)
 
The haters have opinions. Are you calling for censorship? Let's ignore the hypocritical tone of your post and continue.

About the market, i do agree with you: It will decide..and because this is a game with no point, it will fade into the background like Postal etc, and with any luck the devs will go bankrupt because of people like you who "support" the game...but won't put your mouth were your money is.

So, in the end, the pro-censorship people will win. :)
Reasoning with such dishonest logic if obviously futile. I could tell you what kind of monster you are by showing you the company you keep. But I would expect that to be futile too. I have to concede a good job was done turning the last couple of upcoming generations into a shame based collective with some nebulous backroom of people who issue forth the code to live by. I can only begin to imagine the horrors that will come form that.
 
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