…Today, when the freedom of our hobby is facing a serious crisis, we have been called back to this familiar place to defend the precious, intangible somethings of gaming culture. And just like before, it is only the hardcore gaming people who dare to assemble at the call. I hold no predilection for any given generation. I will only say that -- regardless of age or generation -- it is deplorable that the pioneers, who made the sacrifices of discovery and pushed the revolutionary ideas, should never enjoy the benefits of their labor. It is a bitter, ironic outcome….
…GamerGate is a struggle for the liberty and fairness of gaming culture as well as internet journalism, but it is also much more. GamerGate is about the problem of distinguishing truth from falsehood in today’s information-oriented society: an important theme in cyberpunk and dystopian SF literature as well as an important subject for philosophical discussion. GamerGate is each of us providing our own answer to the question of what gaming culture is and was. In doing so, we reaffirm that precious, intangible something which gives gaming its value. At the same time, we will leave behind a legacy of our own: GamerGate. And depending on how successful that legacy is, we may yet change the future of gaming…
…However, unlike the various dystopias depicted in science fiction novels, the hypothetical future I have described will not be controlled by despots. Instead of an evil dictator or a rogue artificial intelligence, it will be the collective ignorance of humanity which controls fiction. Individuals will secretly cooperate and compromise with one-another to control the potential of fiction. They will do this because, as slaves to authority, fiction which exhorts the idealistic pursuit of free thought is nothing more than a nuisance to them. Fiction will be judged not based on its content, but whether or not it conforms to the biases of society and how closely it parallels the academic and commercial narrative of authority. Fiction will transform into a medium for the exhibition of “safe”, bombastically “epic” stories driven by base emotionalism. The public, for its part, will buy this new fiction in droves because the unchallenging, socially-approved ideas within will make them feel safe and happy with themselves.
…If there is any difference at all between the composition of these social phenomena, it is this: In Japan, only a part of the otaku subculture took up the banner of resistance. In the West, GamerGate has spread to encompass not only many gamers but individuals who previously had no interest in games. It has spread so much that it has been acknowledged by the general public as a social issue. This is a big difference, and it represents the potentiality of GamerGate. The netizens of Japan and the West are both burdened with problems so shocking in their resemblance that it feels like nothing short of synchronicity. This problem which we share by coincidence may hold valuable lessons for us….