Why I'm Not Immediately Playing Hogwarts Legacy (VIDEO SCRIPT)

Hi there, kids! Let's talk about video games! :D

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Readers, in the wake of E3 2020’s cancellation, the PS5 Showcase was the second half of a fairly successful alternative digital event

Not only do we now know that the digital PS5 is gonna be 400 dollars while the traditional console will be 100 more, but we also got a good look at a few new and recently announced games.

/We got a better look Spider-Man: Miles Morales, a teaser for God of War: Ragnarok, and a gameplay trailer of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 16 where they once again showcase that they place Eurocentric beauty and culture on a higher pedestal than any other in the world, including their own./

(looks at the camera before taking a sip of something) What? I’m not trying to start shit; I’m just stating the obvious!

However, the video game reveal that caught the internet by storm was the teaser of the highly rumored and anticipated Harry Potter roleplaying game, Hogwarts Legacy

/Taking place in the late 1800’s after the events of the Fantastic Beasts films, you play a Hogwarts student that you can create and modify to your liking, and it looks pretty dope./

And this is coming from someone who isn’t really a diehard Harry Potter fan like that and only watched the movies

.

So while this game is clearly highly anticipated among hardcore and novice Wizarding World fans alike, its existence and upcoming release also has them conflicted.

Because it was recently revealed by none other than herself that JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series and the creator of the Wizarding World they take place in, is a TERF

For those of you who are unaware, TERF is an acronym for Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist. Trans being the shorthand for Transgender.

Rowling for the past...Jesus Christ, I don’t even KNOW how long it’s been at this point, has made her mind up regarding how she feels about trans people -- specifically trans WOMEN -- across the internet and mostly on Twitter

And no, I’m not going to show the tweets or the essay. Mostly because I don’t feel like unblocking her just so I can have access to them and disrupt my peace as a result.

Trust me when I say that she is EXTREMELY proud of everything she’s posted about and hasn’t taken a single thing down, so you can go and find them yourself if you really care about it; I’m reclaiming my time.

So considering how much of an impact Harry Potter left upon its release -- both in literature and in mainstream media -- you can understand how disappointing this proved itself to be for a lot of the fans of the franchise, both trans and cis-gendered alike.

Some called for a boycott of everything Wizarding World while others try and practice the concept of Death of the Author as a way of separating the morality and beliefs of the creator from their creations in order to continue enjoying it guilt-free; a form of separating the art from the artist, which I’ll touch more on in a minute.

So one could imagine that once Rowling said what she said about trans folk and continues to double-down on it every opportunity she gets, lots of people who were once upon a time associated with the franchise felt inclined to confirm that they in no way shape or form agree with her opinions, and solidify their support of the trans community and trans rights in general

People. Not Half-Giants.

Even Warner Brothers -- the current film and media rights licensees of all things Wizarding World -- felt the need to make a statement after Rowling's brand-damaging posts.

And with the announcement and trailer reveal of Hogwarts Legacy during the PS5 Showcase, they especially felt the need to double-down in the separation

/They did so by establishing in an FAQ article almost immediately after the trailer for the game was revealed, that Rowling was in no way shape or form directly involved in the original story of the game, outside of what we currently know of the Wizarding World being the foundation the game is based on/

This was the information that a lot of news outlets ran with in articles following the trailer’s release and knowing the situation between Rowling and everyone’s stances against her.

Almost every one of them are fashioned to make people feel at ease about buying the game, pretty much saying that because she’s not directly involved in the project, means that you are not directly supporting her.

Unfortunately, that’s not necessarily true.

You see, while Warner Brothers does have the film, television and merchandising rights to Harry Potter and the overall Wizarding World, Rowling still benefits from them because they’re licensed.

She gets royalties for every movie made and sold, every folder, binder and toy, and every licensing deal Warner Brothers makes like the one it made with Universal Studios to make The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme parks.

She may not have been involved in the creative process of the game or its story, but because it’s Harry Potter-related, she’s going to get a slice of the pie for every game sold regardless

It makes things very difficult for those who care about not wanting to directly support Rowling but still want to partake in official products and attractions created for the Harry Potter fandom

/Lindsay Ellis actually goes in better detail about the initial aspect of this conundrum in her Death of the Author follow-up video once Rowling first outed herself as a TERF, so give it a watch if you wanna know more./

But going back a bit, the aspect of separating the art from the artist side of the Death of the Author in order to enjoy it guilt-free doesn’t really help, either. Because as long as said creator is still alive, you continuing to buy the art -- even if its licensed -- continues to support the bigoted artist that created it.

A perfect example of this, is JonTron (You can tell I’ve been wanting to speak on this topic for a while)

I..always hated JonTron. Even during the days when the internet was fresh and Newgrounds was, well... new.

So you could only imagine my level of unsurprise when I found out that JonTron hated me as well. And by me, I mean black people.

Some black people were genuinely surprised. Then others of great influence like recently outed Sociopath Sky Williams, attempted to separate the art from the artist by saying that he watches Jon for comedy, not social justice commentary, heavily implying that he would continue to do so

But you see, the way YouTube works is that it doesn’t matter. Because regardless of WHY you watch him, by CONTINUING to watch him, you continue to support him

By pressing play on every new video of his, ad revenue is generated for him to collect. And if you have an ad blocker on, that view you contribute and that comment you leave plays a contribution to the algorithm, telling it to promote his work to more people.

Separating the art from the artist is just a way of saying that you don’t care about the acts made by the artist and will continue to support the art, in order for you to feel less guilt about it.

And -- as we’ve recently seen with the works of HP Lovecraft -- as long as they are alive and can benefit off the capitalistic system that allows them to constantly collect revenue from their art, in the case of someone like JK Rowling, the death of the author practice is almost impossible to properly execute.

ALMOST.

Author and Pathfinder module creator Crystal Frasier went to Twitter a bit after Hogwarts Legacy was announced and wrote a detailed thread explaining a lot of the misunderstandings people had about what it meant to support the game.

This included clearing up bits about whether or not game developers received royalties outside of year-end bonuses. I’ll have a link to the thread in the description box below if you want to read everything yourself.

But one thing she does make clear in the thread is that there are in fact ways for you to legally own and play this game and not financially support Rowling in the process. Some might take longer than others depending on what you have available, but there are ways.

You see, because Hogwarts Legacy is in fact a licensed game, just like every other bit of official Wizarding World merchandise, Rowling will in fact receive royalties for every NEW unit sold

So if you are a fan of the Wizarding World and want to own official merchandise but you also want to make sure Rowling doesn’t get a piece of the pie via royalties, you buy it used-slash-second-hand. Hogwarts Legacy is -- and will be -- no different.

Calling up your local GameStop or used movie and game store to see if there’s a used copy that’s physically available is the best way to play the game if you’re for real about keeping your money out of her pocket.

And as far as those of you who have a strictly digital console or do PC gaming, it’ll probably take a while, but as Crystal also says in her thread, you can wait until the game is available in a Humble Bundle.

That way you can choose how much money goes to charity and how much goes to the developer.

While doing so increases the general sales of the game on Warner Brothers Games and Portkey Games’ side, none of the money will go to Rowling.

I’m more than likely gonna be on the former train.

Not only did I already make up my mind that I’m getting the traditional PlayStation 5 despite buying more digital versions of games lately, but there’s a small indie used media store that sells second-hand movies and games that’s literally down the street and around the corner from my house that I’d rather support than GameStop whenever I have the option.

And Readers, whether it's on PC, PS5, or the X-Box 365/2 Days...

If you truly feel conflicted about truly wanting to play this game and seriously do not wish to contribute to Rowling’s wealth, I urge you to do what Crystal and I suggested.

However, I’m not going to claim that these are the only ways to possibly own and play the game without putting more coin in her purse.

So with that being said Readers, YOUR homework assignment for the day:

Write in the comment section below any...LEGAL methods you’re aware of purchasing Hogwarts Legacy without having to support JK Rowling in the process.

Regardless of what you come up with, I’d love to know your thoughts.