Hogwarts and all

Maybe...maybe just leave the whole thing alone. Harry Potter. As a thing I mean. Like, I enjoyed the books and I saw most of the movies, and they were fine, but did you see this about the new Harry Potter game?

"Hey, what if we made a video game based on some already
established, super-successful multi-media property?" 

-Some visionary

"Please! We're in this up to our necks.
We built theme parks for God's sake."

-Warner Bros.

Yeah, I know you didn't click on the link. It's fine. I've even come to expect it now. Here, I'll just explain. It's easier this way: Warner Bros. Studios owns the film and video game rights to the Harry Potter novels and they've got a game in development called Hogwarts Legacy. And no, there's no colon in the title. I checked and everything. Anyway, they've been very clear that noted author and transphobia enthusiast J. K. Rowling is "not involved and didn't write the story and please whatever you do, please buy our stuff, we paid a lot for the franchise before we know she was horrible." Actual quote.*  

But if we can throw a wrench in her next yacht
purchase or home reno, it will be worth it.

I don't understand the nuances of how licensing works, but whether or not Rowling was involved in the development, she surely profits from sales of this game. So the best move here would be to not give her any more money, right? Because all she's going to do is tape it together into a big sheet that she'll roll up and use as a crude megaphone though which she will shout her gross nonsense about how trans women aren't women. And I should probably clarify that mean that metaphorically. She usually shouts her transphobia over Twitter, which is free. 

Ew...I'm not clicking on these. Look,
I'm not a journalist and I don't have to do
my due diligence. This is just a blog.

But people are going to buy it anyway, let's face it, despite everything, Harry Potter is basically a money printing machine. Or galleon printing machine, I guess. Or whatever. Doesn't matter, the point is that even without J. K. Rowling, buying the game is still tainted with the dilemma of supporting someone who's super-vocal about their gross opinions. It's come out that the game's lead designer, Troy Levitt, is a right-wing nutter who enjoys posting dumb YouTube videos about the injustice of social justice (no, really) and how awesome Gamergate was. 

Yup, between J. K. Rowlings transphobia--which she insists is somehow also feminist? And Levitt's red-state poppycock and misogyny, there's just no way for fans to pick up the new Harry Potter game without supporting someone with a shitty worldview. Which is a shame, because everyone involved suffers because of these two asshats. Are the kids stills saying asshat? Because they are. Asshats, I mean.

Oh, right, piracy. I suppose you could pirate
the game, but please don't pirate the game.

*no it's not.