Update: Naughty Dog has spoken out against the tidal wave of hate speech that has surrounded The Last of Us: Part II since launch. On its official Twitter account, the studio said that it encourages critical discussion but that it condemns harassment and threats. Here's the studio's statement in full:
Director Neil Druckmann has also spoken out about some of the vile messages he's received. As is the case with the comments sent to Laura Bailey below, these make for difficult reading so just be aware of that.
Original Story: The industry has leapt to voice actress Laura Bailey’s defence after she revealed some of the hate messages she’s received since the release of The Last of Us: Part II. The star – who plays the character Abby – has been the target of vile abuse, as a small but vocal contingent of the gaming community continue to struggle with the sequel’s story.
Bailey’s tweet is included below, but please be aware that its content can make for difficult reading:
The industry has since sent lots of love in Bailey's direction, with co-star Ashley Johnson – who plays Ellie – penning a particularly poignant response: “I love you Laura Bailey. Your performance in the game was an absolute revelation and it transformed me. It was an honour to be on that stage with you. So much love and adoration.”
While the response to The Last of Us: Part II has been overwhelmingly positive, the story hasn’t sat well with everyone. One group started a petition to get the plot rewritten, while director Neil Druckmann has been a constant target since sensitive details leaked. Discussing the backlash earlier this week, he explained: “This is kind of the cost. When you're doing something big, and you might disappoint fans, there is a cost to it now. Which is, you're going to get a certain level of hate, a certain level of vitriol that you just have to deal with. There is no other way to make it go away.”
In unrelated but loosely connected news, PlayStation has temporarily suspended its activities on Facebook and Instagram, as major corporations launch a battle against online hate speech.
[source twitter.com, via twitter.com]
Comments 185
As has been the case with other recent articles on this subject, we will close the comments section if civil discourse can't be maintained in this thread.
You're, of course, entitled to your views and opinions on The Last of Us 2, but please keep them respectful and be kind to your fellow members.
Thank you!
Disliking the game is one thing, but going after a voice actress is just pathetic. I hope some of these posts get reported and properly dealt with.
People being mean on the internet, case #7,220,339,427
Obviously this is still a pretty small minority, but it's very sad that there are still so many people who just don't seem human at all on the internet.
Not to mention that Laura actually seems like a really cool person as well, making it all the more strange.
We're at a point now where there needs to be real consequence for these kind of comments and messages. These people should be reported to the authorities and prosecuted, it's the only way to deter it.
@Medic_Alert Either way, action needs to be taken. The authorities need to be involved. After their arrest, they can have a psychic evaluation and take it from there.
Edit: sorry, just saw your other post.
How horrid. Ive not played the Last of us Part 2 yet, but Laura Bailey did great work as the Boss in Saints Row 4. Her voice acting is my first choice when I replay the game. What motivates these people, I just don't know.
Infuriating, but unsurprising considering the amount of vitriol that this game stirred up. I remember reading about how much abuse the voice actor for Jar Jar Binks received, for example, and how it made him consider self-harm.
Anyway, direct "I'm going to stab/kill/etc. you" messages and even more generalized threats absolutely should be reported to the police. Threats of violence have no place in a civil society.
It seems those so called gamers need more than psychiatric help;they need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. They make me ashamed to be a gamer. Laura Bailey should be applauded for her work,not abused.
Yes, gaming is meant to take you into worlds and situations that 99.99% to 100% of people will never experience and gives you a welcome break from reality. These kind of people still act as if they are still in the game and are unable to come back into the real world when they put the game controller down. So this is obviously a mental health issue. So sad for both the people who are giving out this abuse as well as for the victims.
@Medic_Alert Sure, but that's for the authorities to determine. As you say, these people can't simply be left to continue to perpetuate this kind of content. Either they should be prosecuted or evaluated and treated.
@Medic_Alert hahaha! Oops. Just saw that
@Medic_Alert I'm sorry but there's no excuse for making such threats. Maybe they have some bad ***** going on in their lives but boo hoo, join the club.
It's not on, not on at all.
Please also keep discussion of spoilers to the relevant article: https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2020/06/talking_point_the_last_of_us_2_spoilers_discussion
This is not the place for it.
Pathetic humans.
I will never understand the mentality of someone who does this. She played a character in a video game which you didn't like... so you send them death threats? 🤷♂️ Somethings needs to be done to prevent this from happening going forward. Whether that is classifying these platforms as publications, but something needs to be done before someone gets physically harmed.
Absolutely unacceptable, but also not really that surprising. Games make you care about characters more than any other type of media, so I get that many folks got disturbed by what happened in the game. There have been similar cases though: in Poland an actress playing in a soap opera the part of a woman who cheats on one of the main protagonists got harassed in the street with people calling her by her character's name and abusing her. Sad, but true.
The voice acting in TLOU2 was brilliant. Laura did what was asked of her. She doesn't deserve this kind of abuse and neither does anyone else. Personally i didnt like the story by the end although i get what they were going for.
Only thing I would say is she has been waaaaay overexposed this gen along with Troy Baker. Not every game has to have those two voices, they are plenty of voice actors out there.
Such a shame that people need to be like this. Separate the characters from the actors.
I admire the resolve of creators like Neil to brave the storm of fanship and keep wading through towards their goal, but that does NOT excuse the kind of bullcrap discussed. And it bears stating such an obvious thing because even now, as the news of attacks on Laura Bailey is making rounds online, there are dirty fanmouths barking in response that "she knew what she was in for when she became a famous actress and auditioned for such a fandom-disrespecting plot".
@Medic_Alert You're assuming that these people have mental issues though and aren't simply jerks.
Anyway regardless there's no excuse. Poor Laura, this sort of bile vitriol may make her quit the industry or at least opt for 'safer' roles in the future. We want developers to take some risks don't we or do we just want to see clones of what has come before?
No wonder the likes of FIFA and CoD regularly top the charts.
☹️
@LiamCroft Sure thing but in all honesty anyone clicking on this thread must have an idea of why this particular actor was targeted.
What the f is wrong with some people? If they can't separate fact from fiction, get some help 😠
@get2sammyb There should be a law that says everything you says on twitter has the same consequence if you said it in person 🙁
How odd, the freedom of speech crowd has gone quiet.
@get2sammyb I agree with that statement 100%.
@Medic_Alert may I ask your background? I'm a psychologist and the realm of unwell varies. Unfortunately a lot of what we call personality disorders aren't any reason for a lack of punishment and make up probably 85-95% of the unwell who would make these comments.
@Gremio108 Well of course they have, this doesn’t suit their narrative.
@get2sammyb sure, but these platforms continue to refuse to do anything about it. Let's face it, large amounts of money are made by social media companies BECAUSE of the vitriol, not in spite of it. Until these companies make real policy changes, this will continue to get worse.
This is one of the reasons I left Facebook I could not deal with all the negativity and hate. I know this game is a game of revenge but it’s a game. I hope people can separate gaming media from real life. But I think a lot of people have a hard time doing that! Personally I wish I never saw this article I’m about three fourth through the game and I’m sitting here wondering what happened! I will finish and what ever happens I realize it’s a video game with a story! I read a lot of books don’t always like the ending. I didn’t really like what happened to Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead graphic novels but it is a story!
@Medic_Alert a fair amount of the data has showed that trolling or threats on the internet aren't done by those in psychosis. Not to say it doesn't happen but usually it's far more disorganized and erratic in writing patterns. Even if they are experiencing issues most would see a few sessions with a therapist for anger management as punishment. But making these level of threats should be taken very serious. Like if a patient said they wanted to stab Laura Bailey, had a plans and means I so I would be required to report
Weird people, I really hated Abby in the game, but how on earth can you connect that to an actual living person, in this case the actor behind the character, and spread all this senseless hate on social media ?!! People should be ashamed of themselves. And their parents - did they actually learn their kids to behave this disrespectful against other people in general ??, because I mean, it most come from somewhere, doesn't it ?!
Twitter and other social media outlets really need to start having people actually prove who they are to be able to join. I think people would be much less likely to do this if everyone could see exactly who they are
Twitter disgusts me. This is absolutely horrific and evidently these people are completely thick if they struggle to comprehend that Laura Bailey is not actually the same person as the character she plays.
I wonder where the “free speech” brigade are.
Well firstly I want to say that I don't get the world anymore. Where I live threats like this are against the law and WILL result in prosecution. On the other hand I get the feeling that people get deplatformed and silenced for far less offenses without any court or law involved just because they went against someones agenda.
Also, Laura Bailey is a public figure, I'm sure she get's all sorts of threats, the occassional stalker and other weirdos - like EVERY celebrity. There is NO discussion about how revolting and disgusting those threats she received are, but the media will paint the picture, that the fanbase of TLOU I is TOXIC and wants an actress dead over a role she played. This is absolutely not true. It's disgusting that people that are not agreeing with a movie or a game get thrown into the same pot with such creatures posting threats against the actress' family (I'm thinking about The Last Jedi and Rose Tico).
But yeah. If you take the millions, you also have to deal with a few lunatics here and there, that is the risk of being in the public eye, unfortunately.
This is absolutely vile and discusting. I hope everyone who sent such a message to Laura, Neil or anyone else involved in the game is identified and arrested. This is a hate crime and everyone who can be idetified needs prosecuting / psychological treatment.
This vile behaviour on the internet must not and cannot be allowed to continue.
These are the people who will decry companies forcing people to provide personal data when signing up to social media because they want to hide behing a handle and think they can get away with saying what they want.
What if someone turned around and did it to them. I can't imagine how that must make people like laura feel. Absolutely pathetic behaviour from pathetic children.
The internet brings alot of good, but by god it brings the worst out in people. Over the last few years, i have never seen so much hatred and nonsense as i have seen propagating social media. I dont think you can read the comments on twitter on anything without people preaching hate.
Twitter, facebook etc have brought out the worst in people and must underfo radical reform to weed out these cretins. Would they do it if they risked being identified? Of course not. Stamp these pondlife out NOW.
FOR THE LAST TIME. IT IS PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE NOT TO LIKE TLOU2. IT IS PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE TO LOVE IT TOO. BUT DO. NOT. BEHAVE. THIS. WAY.
Honestly. What happened to sensible and reasoned debate. Now everything is so tribal. If you dont like it, can you say why without descending to homophobic slurs or insulting the developers or those that liked it? If you can't then dont say anything.
Yet again. And i expect i will get shouted at again for saying it. This was just a game. If you are taking it this personally, you need to seek support. Genuinely. We all love gaming. Games are important. But they should NEVER cause people to feel or behave this way.
We are lucky enough to live in a world where there are more games than anyone could ever hope to play. If you dont like a particular title, then move on to another. Abusing the cast and crew behind one you dont like is abhorrent and completely unecessary.
@Scollurio 🤦🤦🤦
@Rob_230 Nailed it.
Hate the character if you must, just don't hate the actor that played her.
Disgusting behaviour from the people on social media towards Laura. All social media platforms should be held accountable for allowing people to write whatever they want & get away with it. Their exactly the same people who would never say that stuff in person, but become keyboard warriors. And it shouldn’t be so easy that if you are banned on social media, all you have to do is make a new account with a new email & your free to go back on the social media sites. Social media platforms should make it mandatory so that you either have to put your passport, driving licence number, national insurance number or whatever else. And that will always link you to your social media’s. Maybe then, these prats won’t be so quick to write crap to people online. Also hopefully the police get involved. Absolutely ridiculous that a voice actor would get this type of stuff written to her. The character she voices isn’t real, it’s a game. The only other thing is that these people must have mental/psychological problems. Laura & everyone at Naughty Dog did a phenomenal job on Last Of Us 2, the best game I’ve played on PS4 & also imho the best game Sony have made.
We live in countries where free speech and freedom in art is a fact. But with freedom comes a responsibility and that is that you should respect it. So if you don't like the game, that is fine. If you demand it has to be something else, you are acting like a dictator, that is not fine.
And attacking an actrice about a role she is playing is beyond stupid. Do people understand she is not the character, she is just playing her (excellently).
@swagbag713 I'm beginning to understand some of the vitriol BUT I can't get into it otherwise my comment will be removed.
😉
Truly sickening. Most of the hateful comments are by people who have not even played the game. Twitter should start naming and shaming these sick people and definately ban them. I wonder if those big youtubers will report on this after they stirred the pot, but still everyone has to be accountable and soon I think privacy online will be ended due to the minority of idiots.
I really hate gamers sometimes. No voice actor should be treated like this let alone one of the best in the business.
Being angry at the game direction is fine, but don't attack the people who are employees for doing their job. 🤕
oh no, the internet being the internet again, 8 billion humans and plenty of a holes to go around
That's it! I'm writing to David Prowse to tell him off for how he treated poor old Han Solo 40 years ago, freezing him and all that just as his girlfriend told him she loved him. I'll get him for that!!!!
Seriously, can't people tell between fact and fiction anymore?? Poor girl, I thought she was excellent in the role, probably too good hence the replies from morons.
@Arugula Only positive I have seen is the out poor of love on her twitter also a few of the individuals have apologised and we can only hope there vile words shocks even themselves and they can change who they are and how they behave online and life.
Do people know the game is make believe?
Yeah but Freedom of Speech blahs blahs blahs. Those jerks should he banned from social media.
There should be Consequences for actions like this. Even If mandatory Help from a psychiatrist. My guess its most of them do not have a mental issue. I think a Court order not to own electronic devices that can access the internet or any attempt to use it would work.
@swagbag713 Can't mate.
☹️
@Nah900 —You’re right of course. If anyone wants to know more about what freedom of speech is, and what it is not, a good place to start is Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003).
You can or cant not like a video games if you dont enjoy it.but if you treathening someone else life.man you got some real damn issue.its a video game.word up son
This is
R.I.D.I.C.U.L.O.U.S.
no one deserves this treatment.Actually this is not ridiculous, this is ILLEGAL!
As someone who does not like the game, has refused to buy it brand new I disassociate myself from these idiots.
People are stupid.
She played a character.
The character in a game did something people are upset about. Why send hate to someone for playing a character in a video game?
She did nothing.
The dark side of social media - the idiots have a voice, now.
Start arresting and locking up every single dips—t that sends this type of stuff to Laura, Neil, or any other cast member/development team member. I’m pretty fed up with it myself. I played a masterpiece of a video game from start to finish, it moved me to my core, and there’s idiots out here still bashing and harassing anyone involved with the game. Absolutely pathetic.
You can “hate” whatever game you want. But going after a voice actor or digital artist is insane. They are given a script or task and Do their jobs.
What is wrong with people 🤦♂️
What's incredible is that these people not only can't tell the difference between an actor and a writer, but some of them seem to be struggling to differentiate between fiction and reality.
Reading this lead me to say “I hate humanity” for about the thousandth time this week. With all that’s going on in the world all it’s been doing is exposing the stain that humanity is.
That's cruel... At least it's a tiny minority of people. I thought she was great as Abby, I really liked that character. Her parts of the game had some of the best moments.
I hope the death threats are reported to the police.
@Gremio108 what's wrong with freedom of speech???
And death threats aren't covered... They're threats against someone's life. That's not free speech, that's a statement of intent to do harm.
Can't believe freedom of speech is considered a dirty thing in 2020. Then again we do have modern day book burners having "offensive" comedy banned.
@Nah900 I'm not surprised those two think free speech is a bad thing tbh. I'm I can't believe they think statements of intent to murder is covered by free speech 😂
Those two are definitely people who want things that hurt their feelings banned. One of them likes to call everyone racist.
I'm sorry but death threats and comments of vile hatred towards any professional doing their job are totally unacceptable.
The individuals who engage in such actions should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law in each territory they live. They are giving all gamers a bad rap!
This lady did an exceptional job in acting out Abby's story from start to finish and I applaud her and all her co-actors for their equally impressive performances.
I wasn't a massive fan of the story and the pacing was very much not on par with the first game; however, the gameplay was enjoyable and the technical achievements in terms of graphics, animation and sheer scope were fantastic.
Overall, the game was great, it was just let down by the story and pacing, a rare mishap for the best game studio (in my opinion of course) in the business.
Can't wait to see what these guys and gals bring to PS5.
As for Laura, I hope to see her act in future games, she did an incredible job. 👏
Social media is poison and has given voices to corwards and idiots
It's a fictional game of fictional characters. What the F is wrong with people?. Be thankful you get video games of this quality and stop whinging like spoilt babies with too much time on your hands.
I can’t really speak out about the Last of Us since I never really got into it. But no matter how much I dislike a game I can’t take frustration out on anybody like this. It ain’t called for.
@Arugula sorry, who was being facetious?
Agreed, I feel bad for Laura Bailey, it seems most are sending positive messages her way now. But British people usually make light of serious events, it doesn't mean we agree with what's happening. I have pretty dark humour myself. No point getting upset over people making light of a serious situation, unless they're being malicious and not trying to lighten the mood.
Because news publications keep reporting on this crap, Gamers will continue to be labelled as "Entitled" and "Toxic".
We get it, people are *****.
@oldschool1987 you beat me to it. Was just going to say the same to @Gremio108. Also hope we're all aware we don't have free speech in the UK.
Lmao! How do people get sucked into game worlds so much? Just imagine if they killed that girl off in the next one (don't know her name as I haven't played any the last of us games).
There's something to be said that if your art is causing such widespread controversy and discussion, then you must have made something truly game changing. Bravo to ND for sticking to their guns and standing by what they created. Obviously the people making these threats need to be prosecuted as others have pointed out.
This is disgraceful, I didn't care for the story of the game but nobody involved deserves to be personally attacked like this. Until there is consequence to hate, it will never stop.
Man... You have to have some kind of mental illness to use Twitter without getting any kind of benefit, but taking it to this level shows the extent to which these people will behave given a reason to.
I hope Laura Bailey is doing OK, and hopefully Twitter continues (?) to do something about this.
@oldschool1987 "I can't believe they think statements of intent to murder is covered by free speech"
I can't believe it either
@Eldritch unfortunately I'm very aware. People are being arrested for jokes, with the state prescribing intent to the accused. We have police resources being wasted monitoring "offensive" comments on twitter, sending the police to peoples homes to "check their thinking".
Orwell would be spinning in his grave.
These people are absolutely f*cking deranged.
@Gremio108 it isn't.
@Arugula thanks for clarifying ☺ hope you have a nice evening.
@Scollurio to hell with that shifting the blame *****. Her being a 'celebrity' is in no way reason for death threats. And yes, if it was from any other "fan" group, action should still be taken.
You making excuses is a huge part of the problem.
Weird how virtual law is different from physical law. I mean if someone went up to a colleague and publicly shouted abuse, the abuser would be reprimanded. If they became threatening law would be used to place distance bans etc. How long are silicon valleys companies going to pretend that the virtual space courtesy, rule of law don't apply? In real life abusers dare not say to much because there's no where to hide their face (probably put of afraid of being caught and recognised by family, colleagues, strangers, etc). It'd be awesome one day if abusers were given scores... And the more they are abusive online, they'll need to by law post their real life photo and send their ID to the Authorities, as a way to show decent people that these with photos have a negative vitriol attitude, and young children and vulnerable adults should be wary and stay away from such poison. Foolish killjoys wrecking fun for many people! The voice actress was only doing a job to pay her bills.... She didn't write the flaming dialogue!!!!
@oldschool1987 Are you sure? Because I've been sending chain letters to several high-profile celebs for years and no-one has batted an eyelid. Apparently I've even got my own post box at Dean Gaffney's holiday home
That poor woman Just trying to do her job that she has worked so hard for, reminds me of when people in soaps get hate mail and threats, it also shows what a good job they did and how stupid people can be 😔.
Its disgusting and these people shouldn't be allowed Internet access and shouldn't be allowed access to media if they can't tell fact from fiction. Laura done an amazing job in the game frankly and in my opinion Abby was the best thing about it.
This I so sad, people like this need to be stopped, obviously they have some kind of mental problems and they need to be dealt with. If they cant detach the actors to the character it is very dangerous for the actor. The police need to get involved in order to get these people the help that is needed
I dont want to live on this planet anymore FFS how low does humanity have to sink.. it's a game, I understand why this has people getting very emotional over some of the events, but death threats seriously?? I feel bad to be human somedays..
@get2sammyb I havent played part 2, yet I have no doubts that I will enjoy the game tremendously, regardless of any plot points. That some people feel so inclined to voice such childish opinions about a work of art - someone else's vision- because they feel they have more rights over it, is an unfortunately intrinsic element of the gaming community to some degree; a form of elitism, I guess, but is no more justified because of it.
@Gremio108 are you OK?
@oldschool1987 Oh I get it. So a man can't come on to an internet comments section and confess to sending hate mail to Dean Gaffney without being villainised and mocked? It's PC gone mad.
I'm going to be straight here. In work I still have colleagues who think coronavirus is fake. That tells you all to know about the mouthpiece social media gives people.
I agree with free speech, however when the vast majority of people can read between the lines - a vast minority can't. The kids in bottom grade maths in high school kind of people. They take the words their latest and greatest YouTube crush gives them and amplify it down to the lowest common denominator on social media. Suffice ending up on a flat earth, with no vaccines asking mum for money to pack Messi. Common courtesy and intelligent conversation goes out of the window replaced by self indulgent idiocy.
I’m not interested in TLOU2, but those comments step over the line of decency.
Also, Laura Bailey voiced Rayne, hope the rumours of a new Bloodrayne game turn out to be true.
Wtf is wrong with people. Seriously, these people must have one brain cell, its a game omg. Get a life lol
@Gremio108 I'm sorry this is happening to you. I hope you get well soon...
@oldschool1987 That's a good put down. That's going in my next letter to Dean Gaffney
Don't have Twitter but I love Laura. She did an amazing job! Agree or disagree with the story she has nothing to do with your hate!
Some gamers are so fragile.
This lady is just a voice actor, imagine the hate gay and trans people face in RL everyday.
It just goes to show, there are some weirdo's out there...
There are some idiots out there. It's the same situation as when Sean Murray was sent death threats. Dont pretend all gamers are that bad though. There were tons of articles blaming gamers at the time. Criticism is valid but not anywhere near that sort of creepy stuff.
I’ll look forward to the day the legal system catches up with this kind of garbage behaviour. It’s hate speech. bullying, and actual threats against the safety of a person.
These abusive pricks wouldn’t behave like this if they didn’t have a computer to hide behind.
@themcnoisy free speech is not and has never been a licence to behave however we see fit. We are still beholden to laws and decency.
Laura was absolutely fantastic in TLoU2 and so was Abby. I have absolutely no idea what people are smoking. I enjoyed Abby and her story (and growth) a heap load more than Ellie's. I could play a full game just with Abby. I love the way they made her look and the person they modeled her after, I love her voice actress, I love her storyline, I love her personality and I think she was an amazing character and really made this game for me.
Saying that, even if you absolutely hate the character and the game, leave the damn actress alone! It's not her fault that the character and story were written that way. To say you will murder her and her family is despicable and disgusting. I hope each one of those keyboard warriors get found by the police and arrested for harassment and threatening harm to another person. I am deeply ashamed of the gaming community for thr entire way the criticism for this game has been handled. From the leaks to the reviews to the aftermath which we see in this article.
@roe I have always found it pathetic how people act this way online but it’s also something that’s better to ignore. Every single public figure go through this, even Tom Hanks, one of the most loved guys in the world would get these type of messages daily.
Unfortunately it’s part of being famous. This kind of thing will never stop.
Gamers again prove they're among the worst people on the planet
@3MonthBeef yeah, I doubt they'd smile if they found themselves in legal trouble.
@thefirst with politicians it's vastly different because they affect people's lives. Hundreds of thousands can literally lose their life because of a president's policies.
Video games are... video games. No comparison here.
@Eldritch so, do you get arrested in the UK if you call Boris Johnson names? Or if you criticise the government?
@naruball it depends on the severity of the insult. For instance if you were to make fun of Boris's hair then the likely outcome is the Queen's guards will come get you. Punishment is death by firing squad.
@Eldritch Makes perfect sense.
People need to seriously grow up. That’s F**king disgusting.
Well TLoU is a terrible franchise.
Even in the egdiest years of my teenage angst wI would never even think to send death threats to someone who worked on something I ended up not liking.
You want to ***** on the game thats fine, while I enjoyed it, I can see why it was a letdown for some; but in the end its just a game if someone gets this worked up over something ultimately so trivial they really need to seek mental help.
I had to ban some people on my YT channel and other social media just because they started pouring hate on me for enjoying the game. Some people refuse to see behind their curtains and do live in their weird limited self concentrated world while believing that their word is only one to be heard and only they got universe's truth.
@JorbNorb 😂
@thefirst of course it doesn't make it right. Never said it did. I specifically argued against using it as an example for this particular case. The difference between them is simply massive.
Direct threats of violence do not fall under protected speech. This kind of BS is insane and gives gamers collectively a bad name. It should be called out for what it is; extreme far-right bigotry against LGBTQ individuals, from a few very sad people.
@Gremio108 direct calls of violence is not freedom of speech. Simple as that my friend.
Hmm just because a story may stink Disney Star Wars I'm looking at you. Doesn't mean the actors did anything wrong. The age of social media where clowns think(and mostly can) so anything with zero to no conciquences. They say teen suicide is up do we wonder why? 1 sticks and stones now break most of their bones and 2 they can't remove their faces from twittwat and facebook he said she said. In the 90s if a dude was bullying someone you called him out if he didn't show up he shut up if he showed up you shut him up. In 2020 if your bullied you hide it inside until you take your life or bring a weapon to your school and ruin many many lives. Call these bullies out and shut them up. People will dox a tuber they disagree with start doing it to this trash. See who keeps spewing trash. I have a twittwat account and use my name I have nothing to hide.
I think it’s easy to gang up on some of these individuals for acts of misplaced aggression. I was mad too as to the fate of some of TLOU alumni. That should probably go more towards Druckmann and less so the voice actors. We can’t kill people obviously, but are death threats actually illegal? I thought they only were if you planned on carrying it out! Yes, threats of violence are ugly and mean; but killing off characters we love and grew up on can be as well.
@Corum Well, you learn something every day
@Hungerjames 🤦🤦🤦
These people are fu**ing sick. This sort of behavior should carry a custodial sentence or sent to a looney bin for help. People spend their time creating something for others to enjoy (despite what peoples opinions are on the game) and this is the sort of abuse they get. Its literally disgusting.
I am personally not sure why you would give this behaviour oxygen, also death threats does not fall under free speech, it never has. Outrage behaviour & this behaviour is definitely linked it feeds each other, and mostly likely the reason it's done. The best treatment for stuff like this is the block button and never responding, the more you give them oxygen the more they'll do it. The vast majority of people know this behaviour is wrong, again the very reason it's done.
Just skimming the comments but freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences. It's a conversation that always comes up time and time again.
Death threats aren't even a freedom of speech issue so I'm not sure why it even came up other than that people seem to use the issue as a crutch for whatever hateful or harmful thing they have want to express nowadays.
@Hungerjames "are death threats actually illegal? I thought they only were if you planned on carrying it out! Yes, threats of violence are ugly and mean; but killing off characters we love and grew up on can be as well."
Νot.Even.Close
Social Media platforms needs to step in and put a stop to this. If you want a Twitter account you should have to prove your identification somehow, this would be a stop to this kind of nonsense immediately.
@Col_McCafferty nah.. you can do better than that. Speak you mind. Don’t emoji your mind
@naruball come on man. You have to talk a little bit. You’re as bad as these dude making the threats. Not even close? You can do better than that hon.
I don't like news sites saying fans and the gaming community. I'd like to think they have nothing to do with gaming. Anything high profile becomes the next target. Every review of the TLoU2 takes different things away from the experience. It's never acceptable when discussions on the internet become personal attacks 😬
@thefirst I'm sorry, but once again, you're missing the point. The comparison doesn't work.
It's as if I ask you how you are and you tell me that you're feeling terrible because your sibling died in a car accident last week and I proceed by telling you that I know exactly what you mean, since my favourite character in a tv show was killed off a few days ago.
It's just ridiculous.
You can simply not play the next video game, but you can't do anything about your president. No matter whom you vote for, the person you don't like may still win. So, again, the comparison doesn't work. His policies could literally cost you your life. A video game cannot (unless you have serious mental issues).
I never said that threats against anyone (including politicians) are acceptable. I don't see why you keep insisting that I hold such a view.
The threats per se are bad no matter what. The rationale behind them is what's different.
@Hungerjames There is no need to when something is so utterly ridiculous. Comparing death threats to fiction that you, personally, don't like is just absurd.
On a scale from 0 to 100, "bad" stories would be a 1, death threats a 40. The latter could cost you your life, the former? Make you a little upset?
The likes of Twitter and Facebook should be given authorities information in these people and they should be either fined of sent to jail. It's a game a story of fiction characters of fiction in a world that probably won't happen, for these people to seriously take offence because it didn't go the way they want it then sorry they may need to step away and maybe lower there personally expectations in life.
@Gremio108 They do have freedom of speech. They used it to threaten violence against someone.
@thefirst But this way art stays safe, doesn't take any risks, just looks to follow formula and give us more of the same and that way we all miss out.
People have the right not to like the game and story BUT sending death threats against actors and their family members?!
I'm sorry but you have to be really twisted in the head to think that's justified.
Seriously man, you're just making yourself look bad here.
@Hungerjames it really depends on the country but here in the states any sort of threat can be taken to court. Now the severity of the outcome will differ depending on several factors and evidence but it can always be taken to court. Even if nothing comes from it, it may scare the individual and go on their record in case they decide to repeat the offence.
Between people trying to dox each other regarding opinions on race and petty stuff like this, I really want to just get off the internet. If only there wasn’t a nice PlayStation site that keeps me browsing...
Threatening an actor for what happened in a fictitious story with murder. Classy. Seriously, why does an imaginary character’s death inspire idiots to actually threaten to kill someone who was merely portraying another fictitious character? No brains for some people. I wish they’d direct this anger towards fighting actual causes worth addressing like global poverty, the environment, and saving abused animals.
Fictional character in a fictional story, this isnt good at all. Be respectful to others , seems these people missed that ,i do hope this will stop quickly . We cant allow this sort of thing to happen. geez gaming is fun lets keep it like that.
Yeah let's highlight this story on the very few bad eggs doing this so you can conflate them with the many many people who have legitimate issues with this game. Still waiting for any story highlighting any of the crap behavior of Sony and Naughty Dog. How about a piece on the Sony rep who called up a Vice reviewer who gave TLOU 2 a bad review. And told them they were wrong and explained how. Or how about how they hired a third party, Muso Ltd to file false copyright claims against youtubers who dared speak about the leaks. Or how they illegally used an artists version of a song in a commercial and only gave credit after she complained.
@Exlee300p
Do you mean the same Vice review where it sounds like they didn't actually play the game?
@Medic_Alert absolutely not but it’s fairly Implausible that all these people are mentally ill to the point of this level of delusion.
I think this is more about young men (and yes I believe it’s mostly men) who have been conditioned to believe they can say anything they like online and hide behind anonymity. That there will be no repercussions for their behaviour.
That they can project their own misery within themselves at anyone they chose.
@Exlee300p naughty dog/Sony aren’t making death threats, transphobic, homophobic, sexist comments or running targeted hate campaigns against innocent people.
Also, none of what you mentioned has anything to do with the content or quality of the game and you have no proof those things actually happened . Way to clutch at straws mate.
This doesn’t sound like PlayStation Fans really. Most of the hate is coming from non-PlayStation owners I bet.
I’d be writing an incredibly critical email about the game and the story and asking why did you do this or that, and direct it at Druckmann, I wouldn’t tell a voice actor to die etc.. but that’s the world we live in I guess?
Voice acting, including Abby’s, is one of the few best parts of the game IMO, as per the norm for Naughty Dog.
@Carl-G Well, you don't know. But does it even matter?
@thefirst "OMG are you like one of those people who has to have the last word on everything? It’s very annoying 🤣
I’m not comparing the reasons for making death threats, I’m saying making death threats is wrong no matter the reason."
I agreed with you on this from the very beginning. But you kept repeating yourself as if I didn't. How ironic.
Wasnt there a sociale media campaing against a the Guy who made FEZ too kill himself yeah the internet has a lot of sick scum around
My God, that's so sad and painful to read. This can't be tolerated at all! For those discussing why PlayStation would fight against hate speech, this is why!
I feel sorry for Naughty Dogs's employees, they're some of the best talents in the industry! I hope they can manage to ignore these awful comments.
This is disgusting behaviour. Whether you think there is a political narrative in the game, or not. Personal death threats because of someones work is unacceptable, and furthermore completely undermines any point you may have had in making, by acting like a complete and utter p****k.
I put a lot of people on my Ignore list again. Haha. :')
@Kidfried
The only good thing to come from this situation really.
Pathetic. People don't like a story so they go on a rampage. Whether you like or dislike TLOU2's story this has got to stop simply because this hatred is proving the media right when they say "video games cause violence".
This is a fantastic way to get the media to start pushing a narrative that video games should be banned, age-restricted further or that "violent" video games should no longer be made.
These abhorrent messages to the TLOU2 crew are mind boggling. No surprise that many of them are coming from people with Far Right views, proving that they are on the wrong side of history.
"hate speech"
Naughty translation "people who did not like their game"
@Octane
If true. People who lead naughty dog are from that sort that is used to making themselves look like the victims.
First things first: HARASSMENT IS BAD.
With that out of the way, I have to point out two things that have been glossed over:
1) Naughty Dog, as "welcoming critical discussion" as it may be, has also dumbed down the concept of game journalism as "tearing us down", an oversimplification directed at the one journalist who exposed the crunch going on at the company.
2) Troy Baker himself said "I AM JOEL" in a tweet. It's kinda hard to side with voice actors who don't want to be confused with characters they play when their colleagues want to make a point with being one and the same with the characters they play.
Yes, I wanted to prove my point with Jim Sterling videos despite me being a Nintendo fan. Make of that what you will, if you think it invalidates my point.
@Dominatso What?
@AlexSora89 Not to add to the debate further but regarding your first point, i am pretty sure it was Cory Barlog (God of War) that accused Jason Schreier of tearing down dev's. That wasn't Naughty Dog. He also apologised and said he spoke out of turn - and that he supported the investigative journalism into crunch. Its the other stuff that he took issues with.
Can't wait until this whole mess dies down though. Hopefully Sucker Punch will get a healthier online reaction to Ghost!
This stuff is mental! I haven't played the game, and don't know exactly what they are so angry about, but frankly the police should be involved; especially for the death threats. Nasty people!
@Col_McCafferty I’m sorry there’s nothing in the game that makes these kinds of bigoted and outrageous comments fine.
It looks to me that these few comments are from people with mental health issues seeing that they are talking to the voice actor and not Naughty Dog or the director and or script writers. Either that or they are just trolling for a laugh. There are people out there who will do that. And this is what happens when you are available on a platform that is open to 7,000,000,000 people worldwide. You just have to deal with these things. This is the problem with social media, it's turning people crazy because there are some awful people out there and they do not know how to deal with it. 7 Billion people, you are going to get some bad eggs. Learn to shrug it off.
@thefirst gtho with that line of thought. So it’s ok for people to attack Neil since he wrote the game that made choices you didn’t agree with smh that’s ridiculous and behavior like this is never acceptable
@Exlee300p dude get out of here you don’t care about the article and what it pertains to you just want to fanboy and hate on ND and Sony which is sad. Your whataboutisms have no bearing on the story of this piece and you even trying that should make you embarrassed smh.
@Dominatso wow you really are a pathetic person aren’t you. I wouldn’t be surprised if you have sent comments like from the article to Neil or Laura since you supposedly see it as people not liking the game instead of harassment and bigotry smh read the room dude it get out.
@dark_knightmare2 No absolutely not. I can understand though why some fans feel a tad cheesed off regarding the fate of a certain character BUT the hate has gone way too far and some of the comments aimed at both Bailey and Druckmann are completely out of order.
I have posted many times about my love for Part II and praised it on a technical level as well as the story.
Maybe you have me confused with somebody else.
😜
Game devs and cast members of other games have received death threats before with much less press coverage. Unless they have been doxxed, this is just a publicity move by Naughty Dog for sympathy sales of their polarizing game.
I got banned on Twitter permanently for calling a flat earther and idiot, but most of these people won't get banned at all.
@AlexSora89
'Tear us down" was a tweet from Cory B and he was dam right to roast Jason and the golden book. Saying everything is not about his articles and his book.(I would have kissed Cory on both ears for saying it:)
However I'm glad at last ND said they welcome criticism since that was not clear at all with the fans who tend to think any criticism is hating from some sort of weirdos.
Social media has caused mental health to rise at a incredible rate since Facebook launched. It's because of FB, Twitter Instagram etc why we have seen a rise in it because people don't meet up and talk any more they'd rather just talk via mobile. In fact when PS3 and 360 came out it also made gaming worse in a small way because you didn't need to go to your friends any more.
I have Facebook but I don't use it I only ever use it to sell PC hardware locally (well not right now with Covid) I don't have Twitter or Instagram before this happened I would try to meet friends when I could because it feels better to social in person. I hope when all this lockdown gets better that people actually change and meet people because it's reason why mental health is like it is and people believe they have no one to talk to
I wish I could say these are kids acting stupid... Unfortunately, we all know that they are grown adults. All it takes is one lunatic to follow through with their threat tho.
These people need locking up
Doesn't change the fact that the game has the absolute worst story/plot structure/progression this generation.
If the story of this game had been turned in to any established writers to be graded it would have been thrown right back into the face of the writers, kicked out of writing school, laughed and mocked off the premises as it rightfully should be.
Seriously the TLoU2 has one of the absolute worse stories I've ever seen, this trash isn't even acceptable for a low budget scifi direct to video movie, it's that terrible.
Niel Druckmann, and whoever he hired to come up with this trashy a$$ revenge story, should be fired, period.
@dark_knightmare2
No, what i am reffering to is the countless of times where people like them create their own death threats, remember Anita sarkeesian? (who still has to finish her promised 12 part YT series for which she received 400.000 to do so , for a console , games and a green screen) She (and a lot of others like her) did the same thing , even the feds looked into it and said the death threats where fake.
Coincidentally this Naughty guy is close close friends with her , they even hyped her on stage. And it is always people like them that suddenly come under threat of Online death... Always from brand new accounts..
@1_W1NG3D_4NG3L @1_W1NG3D_4NG3L
"are you insinuating that the tweeted examples from Laura and Neil are not hate speech and are just ND labelling as such because its just people disliking their game?"
Go check the accounts who made the death threads. They make them themselves, a tactic we all know by now "Become the victim by making yourself look like one".
@dark_knightmare2
If you want to see harassment and bigotry all you have to do is play that game.
Get rid of Twitter and work your way from there.
@Arnna Actually there is proof of the things I mentioned. Apparantly you didn't understand what I was saying. And yes it is relevant. The people making death threats are a very small group of people. It is clear push square is only covering the stories that make those who didn't like the game look bad so as to dismiss those who had legitimate criticism of the game by conflating them with the nasty people who make threats.
@dark_knightmare2 Wrong bud. I happen to be a big fan of Sony and I was a fan of Naughty Dog before the talentless egomaniac Neil Druckmann took over. When Amy Hennig and Bruce Straley were there Naughty Dog made some of the best games with best writing. The point is pushsquare is purposely highlighting the very small number of people who do these nasty things to try and conflate it with people who have legitimate criticism of the game. And no I'm not embarrassed. You shoukd be embarrassed to think you have any right to tell me what to say and think. People have different beliefs and opinions I'm sorry that bothers you. But you better get used to it because that's life!
People are just insane! Just enjoy the damn game Jesus! Haven’t played but loved the first one! Looking forward to this one!
@Wavey84 it’s absolutely insane today’s world! It’s just a video game like I said. Yea I’ll probably hold off for the ps5 version as well with my ridiculous backlog! But it’s on the list! Lol 😂
@Exlee300p again, none of your listed criticisms have anything to do with the actual product. They are PERCEIVED issues (most of which have no actual proof or sources) related to Naughty DOG and Sony.
Legitimate criticism of the game's story is fine but it's both childish and entitled to expect a company to tailor a story to your specific needs and wants. ND owes you nothing.
I've yet to see any criticism from fans which isn't.
a) "the story sucks because reasons"
b) "I'm gonna use the story as a smokescreen to air my issues about perceived left-wing bias"
c) "I'm an abusive/unhinged person yelling threats"
@Exlee300p lol at calling Neil Druckmann a talentless egomaniac smh. Here’s a little information for you that “talentless egomaniac” wrote tlou part 1 and 2 as well as uncharted 4 which were all better told stories with better written dialogue than any of the first three uncharted games. Uncharted is my favorite series of games and Amy Henning deserves a lot of credit for that but those are facts. Now on to your point that push square is trying to state all haters of the game are these people from the article that’s false but let’s also get something straight the vast majority are these people. Yes there a a minority of gamers with real gripes even when those gripes are flimsy and most of the time end up with the person not being happy they didn’t get their fanfic but they are still legit and I accept that.
@Dominatso Lol ok now I know I can ignore you and your “opinions” thanks for that. One bit of advice though grow up and get out of your bubble the world has all kinds of different people and you or I aren’t no better or worse than them so just deal with it.
@dark_knightmare2 Wow your arrogance is stunning. Look at you going up and down telling everybody they are wrong as if your view on the matter is the final word. No bud Neil Druckmann did not write the most of the games you mentioned. Yes he had a hand in it but he was not the main dialogue writer. It was Amy Hennig and Bruce Straley. That's why the writing is terrible in TLOU 2. Secondly bud a large large percentage of players have many legitimate issues with the game. And no it's not because they didn't get the fan fic they wanted. It's because ND and Druckmann totally disrespected the characters and players who enjoyed the first game. They might as well have given everyone the finger. No one would of had a problem with the death if it was handled with respect. The writing is amateurish, shallow and unbelievable. The gameplay barely evolved over 7 years and the game is about 10 hours too long just to name a few of many issues. The access journalist reviews are far more phoney than the reader's who had to pony up 60 bucks for this game. It's laughable how you think you are the arbitor of truth. You are gonna be in for some big surprises in life with an ego that big.
@Arnna I'm sorry what are you talking about? They are not perceived issues. Yes ND and Sony hired a third party to file false copyright claims to shutdown discussion by youtubers. There was shown proof by them. Yes ND used false advertising to sell the game using fake imagery to show the game as one way. Then you have Sony calling a reviewer telling them they were wrong to give it a low score. All these are facts.
As to your other point I disagree. Games are a form of interactive entertainment. So when people played and loved the previous game and characters they would expect them to be treated with respect and continuity. And even more basic that someone is in the game based on advertising. But no they chose to lie in advertising and crap on the characters. The writing is crap, basic, amateurish and shallow. The gameplay unevolved and boring. The point is the reader review scores on aggregate sites are far more reflective of reality than the access media who get the game free and early who know they risk blacklisting if they give a low score. As we saw. Left wing bias that is hilarious? It would be nice if there was some balance in gaming journalism. If everyone doesn't agree with the narrative we are biased. Look in the mirror chief.
@Exlee300p false advertising? Respect and continuity to fans?
This is some entitled garbage. Naughty Dog are not going to reveal major plot points in advertising nor should they. It’s their game, their creative vision. It’s not their fault that a certain minority of loudmouth ‘fans’ are so narrow minded they can’t process an evolving story or narrative shake-ups.
The simple fact is YOU don’t like the story and are throwing a tantrum over it. Just like the people who threw a tantrum over Metal Gear Solid 2.
Your claims that the writing is garbage are churlish and hyperbolic at best. Have you ever actually played a game with bad writing? Or see a film with bad writing?Seems you have a huge deficit in gaming experience or more plausibly you’re clutching at straws to make your point.
Again, none of your points about what Naughty Dog or Sony allegedly did in regards to contacting reviewers etc have any bearing on the actual finished product and you are again using irrelevant issues to bolster your straw-man argument.
You’ve been continuously combative and borderline trollish with numerous other posters in this thread and quite frankly I’m done trying to reason with you.
@Arnna Wow the arrogance of you people is stunning. They changed Joel with another character in the advertising to imply things. I am not having a tantrum you are dude. You can't take the fact that people have a different opinion than you and the critics. And no we are not the minority. People from all walks of life think it is disrespectful what they did. And I've got news for you what they did is not profound at all and we understand it just fine. You are the dense one who can't comprehend people understand what Naughty Dog did and think it's amateur. Your ego is so out of control thinking your view of things is the correct one. You want to like the game that's fine but understand people don't and it is legitimate. Get over yourself!!
@Arnna Again your arrogance! Your done trying to convince me my opinion is wrong? Just think about that for a second. Insane ego. Have I seen a movie or game with bad writing? Yes TLOU 2. Seriously get over yourself.
@Exlee300p first off he was the main writer of last of us part 1 and he had Halley gross as co writer for part 2 and Bruce straley as co writer for uncharted 4 no Amy Henning in any of those games so yeah don’t talk when you can’t even have the facts straight. Second you wouldn’t know amateurish writing from great writing go watch girlfriend reviews if you want a lesson on writing or just check out the hundred plus positive reviews on metacritic some deal with the writing. Your point about the gameplay is laughable and leads me to believe you haven’t even played the game because the gameplay isn’t a little improved it has some of the if not the best gameplay in the tps stealth genre only possibly surpassed by MGS V and it has some of the best level design in a game this gen.
@dark_knightmare2 So I will admit you are correct about the writing of Last of Us part one. But it still changes nothing bud. I still think the writing is sub par in part 2. Secondly everything you say about the gameplay and level design is opinion and not objective fact. And I disagree with you. Simple as that. Good day sir.
@dark_knightmare2
" Lol ok now I know I can ignore you and your “opinions” thanks for that. One bit of advice though grow up and get out of your bubble the world has all kinds of different people and you or I aren’t no better or worse than them so just deal with it."
Which is totally not the issue here.
Tap here to load 185 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...