A few days from The Game Awards, one of the most anticipated events of the year, the videogame medium was hit again by a scandal, after that of Activision Blizzard and the harassment suffered by employees of the same software house, this time in the ranks of Sony Interactive Entertainment.
George Cacioppo, division vice president PlayStation Network, now an ex, was accused of having solicited and made an appointment with minors through the dating platform Grindr, using a fake name. The case emerged after the publication of some screenshots proving the accusation and a video broadcast by the youtube channel People v. Preds, where “Jeff”, the name he used to not be recognized, is surprised as he waits at the door (wearing a shirt with the PlayStation 5 logo) one of the boys with whom he had also exchanged photos of his genitals, only to return home as soon as he realized that it was a trap.
Timely was the reaction of Sony, which he promptly fired Cacioppo, but what will happen in view of the The Game Awards? The options, in my opinion, are only three.
Sony still participates in the Game Awards
The worst option, especially when Geoff Keighley, journalist and patron of the event, did not mince words to announce the exclusion of Activision Blizzard. Involving Sony would first of all mean using two diametrically opposed evaluation meters, going against what was previously stated: “There is no place for abuse, harassment or predatory practices in any business or community.”
The aggravating circumstance in this case would be that of child abuse and molestation, because after removing the boy who reported everything, we do not know how many others were lured and unfortunately ended up in the former VP’s house. Even if it were the only case against, it would still be serious to let it all go because it took place outside the company. But added to other cases that have been put on the back burner as the allegations within Insomniac Games, sexual harassment within the workplace, e Naughty Dog, extreme crunch for employees ahead of the exit of The Last of Us Part II, could give rise to a huge media case where no one, and I repeat no one, would save himself from negative comments or much worse by paving the way for a possible reintegration of Activision Blizzard at the event.
The organization excludes Sony
If we take up the words quoted above on the exclusion of Activision Blizzard, and if the same yardstick was used by dwelling on the word Community, Sony should be excluded even if the case is not internal to the company, this time, however, leaving the nominations to the titles, as the various development divisions, and therefore the workers, have no role in this very serious case of chronicle.
Sony withdraws from the event
Limit case, true, but Jim Ryan, CEO of the company, had expressed his concerns towards Activision Blizzard and its way of handling the situation, so I would not be surprised if the same CEO of Sony, despite having fired Cacioppo without further ado, can declare a willingness to withdraw from the event, and as for the second case it would be necessary to understand what Keighley meant by exclusion or, in this hypothesis, withdrawal. Would that just mean not collecting any prizes? Or the impossibility of showing the much desired trailers of the new titles in development? These two questions should be asked directly to the organization of the event, and we will not be able to know until the night of December 9th.
One thing is certain, whatever the gender, religion, age, any form of harassment or abuse is to be condemned and denounced, these subjects with their unbecoming actions try to disintegrate others just for the pleasure of feeling superior, diminishing a dignity of which they sin.
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