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Play Nice

The Rise, Fall, and Future Of Blizzard Entertainment

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Play Nice

Auteur(s): Jason Schreier
Narrateur(s): Ray Chase
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À propos de cet audio

 From a New York Times bestselling author and investigative journalist comes The Social Network for the video game industry: a riveting examination of Blizzard Entertainment's rise and shocking downfall—"A fast paced thrill ride, perfect for anyone who has ever played a video game" (Ben Mezrich).

For video game fans, the name Blizzard Entertainment was once synonymous with perfection. The renowned company behind classics like Diablo and World of Warcraft was known to celebrate the joy of gaming over all else. What was once two UCLA students' simple mission — to make games they wanted to play — launched an empire with thousands of employees, millions of fans, and billions of dollars.

But when Blizzard cancelled a buzzy project in 2013, it gave Bobby Kotick, the infamous CEO of corporate parent Activision, the excuse he needed to start cracking down on Blizzard's proud autonomy. Activision began invading Blizzard from the inside. Glitchy products, PR disasters, mass layoffs, and a staggering lawsuit marred the company's reputation and led to its ultimate reckoning.

Based on firsthand interviews with more than 300 current and former employees, Play Nice chronicles the creativity, frustration, beauty, and betrayal across the epic 33-year saga of Blizzard Entertainment, showing us what it really means to "bleed Blizzard blue." Full of colorful personalities and dramatic twists, this is the story of what happens when the ruthless pursuit of profit meets artistic idealism.
Histoire et culture Programmation et développement de logiciels Divertissement Jeux vidéo

Ce que les critiques en disent

“Here’s a thrilling adventure story from the untamed, online wilderness of modern capitalism. Think Barbarians at the Gate, but with digital dragons and blood-thirsty trolls. Gaming is now a more powerful and influential business than Hollywood, and Jason Schreier has delivered a masterful narrative that shows how the industry really works.”—Christopher Leonard, New York Times bestselling author of Kochland and The Lords of Easy Money
“A fast paced thrill ride, perfect for anyone who has ever played a video game. Jason Schreier’s comprehensive history of Blizzard Entertainment offers a completely enthralling look at the company’s founding and the bitter battle for its future. A must read!”—Ben Mezrich, New York Times bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires, Dumb Money, and The Midnight Ride.
"Jason Schreier's Play Nice is a riveting chronicle of one of gaming's most iconic companies. With gripping detail and unmatched access, Schreier pulls back the curtain on Blizzard Entertainment's meteoric rise, turbulent history, and struggle to balance uncompromising creativity with corporate America's unyielding pursuit of profit. Play Nice is a must-read exposé of the passion, ambition and dysfunction behind some of the most beloved games of all time."

—Bradley Hope, co-author of the New York Times bestseller Billion Dollar Whale
"Jason Schreier's PLAY NICE is a gripping narrative not just of a single influential company but the evolution of the entire video game industry, changing from a niche pursuit to one of the largest cultural products in the world. This is vital reading for anyone hoping to understand the state of entertainment in the 21st century. Video games are an unavoidable force; PLAY NICE breaks down the genre as well as the personalities behind it."—Kyle Chayka, author Filterworld
"Play Nice is the ultimate insider account of the creation of some of the most beloved games ever, and a colorful portrait of the computer-game gold rush. Who knew that behind the scenes of Warcraft and Overwatch was a story of power plays, betrayals, and quests for glory as epic as the games themselves?"—Zeke Faux, author of Number Go Up
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Great reporting by Jason again, a tough listen with the unfortunate reality of the industry: highly recommend a full listen through.

Great report, hard listen at times

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Even if you have been following Blizzard news for years, this book still has some behind-the-scenes insights into what made Blizzard great and what made it horrible at times. "Stack Ranking" where managers were forced to rank their team from best to worst which caused favouritism and unwarranted competitiveness inside of teams has to be one of the worst business practices I've ever heard of. There are many lessons here about what to do and not do while running not only a video game company but any creative company.

Interesting Indeed!

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Jason Schreier does it again. Another great collection of stories shinning the light in one of the biggest companies in the gaming industry.

Outstanding

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it's wild to see just how long many of the now infamous problems at Blizzard had actually been metastasizing unseen by the public for years (sometimes decades). An excellent guided tour through the history of a once beloved company.

organized history of Blizzard

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Recommended for fans interested in the stories behind video games and fortune-500 companies in general, but especially Blizzard fans (or ex-fans lol). From its humble beginnings to its meteoric rise to its inevitable downfall (like much of the current gaming industry). Narrator does a great job too, same narrator as a lot of Jason Schreier’s video game books.

Thoroughly Entertaining Deep-dive into the Blizzard Saga

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I love videogames and I love the way Jason tells stories. Loved the book and loved the narrator.

Jason did it once again

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this was a wonderful insight to the industry that we never get to see. All the good and bad not just the bad things that people focus on these days but all the good that came out of it. And just shows that yes there is coroperate evil inside but also generally good people that are affected daily by everything that happens inside a studio

womderful insight

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Listened to the whole thing in a day. Tons of interesting stories and insight into Blizzard. Especially fun for those in-tune with the company over the years.

Page Turner!

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This book brought back a lot of nostalgia as I grew up playing Blizzard games. I even went to the Irvine Campus a few years back. It was interesting to learn about the succesess and failures of such and influential company in the gaming industry, and how they kind of messed it all up. Narration was fantastic.

The nostalgia...

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As my title mentioned, if you are a fan of Blizzard Entertainment games, this book is for you. You willlearn a lotabout how the company got started, certain perspectives you were maybe not necessarily aware of, some fun facts, as well as details concerning some controversies that have surfaced in recent years. Seeing the story of Blizzard Entertainment through eyes of people who were actually there is really helpful to understand how the company has evolved to what it is today and perhaps, where it will be in the next few years. I ate this book up. I highly recommend it. Even if you are not a fan of Blizzard Entertainment, but perhaps just a fan of video games, this could also be a book for you.

If you’re a fan of Blizzard games, it’s for you

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