#173 - Jason Schreier Interview (Play Nice: The Rise, Fall & Future Of Blizzard Entertainment)

Jason Schreier the legendary video game journalist talks to me about his new book PLAY NICE that you can purchase here https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jason-schreier/play-nice/9781538725429/

#blizzard #blizzardentertainment #bloomberg

NOTE: Jason had to bail urgently which is why the podcast ended very abruptly.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

01:23 - Researching & Preparing For Play Nice

04:01 - Movie/TV Adaptation Of Play Nice

04:50 - Blizzard Sex Parties

07:09 - Will Blizzard Ever Be On The Level They Once Were

08:40 - Why Jason Wanted To Write About Blizzard

10:02 - How Jason Decided To Finish The Book

11:30 - Crunch At Blizzard & In The Industry

14:30 - Blizzard Employees Dating & Marrying Each Other

16:30 - Blizzard Approach To Polish

20:00 - Blizzard Devs Clashing With Upper Management

21:30 - CEO’s In The West Won’t Follow Iwata’s Model

25:15 - Trauma For Devs Following Lay Offs

26:51 - Commute Times For Blizzard Devs

28:39 - Crunch/Devs Being More Open Of Work Conditions

29:57 - Jason Doesn’t Leak Info/Still Being Blacklisted From Bethesda

31:40 - Jason’s Dream Book To Write/Japanese Culture Barrier

33:50 - Japanese Game Industry

35:10 - Play Nice Is A Very Dense Book In Terms Of Stories

36:19 - Blizzard Devs Opinions Of Armin Zerza

37:09 - Game Devs Vs The Suits