Blizzard Games - Privacy Controversy and Real ID

Privacy Controversy and Real ID

On July 6, 2010, Blizzard announced that they were changing the way their forums worked to require that users identify themselves with their real name. The reaction from the community was overwhelmingly negative with multiple game magazines calling the change "foolhardy" and an "Epic Fail". It resulted in a significant user response on the Blizzard forums, including one thread on the issue reaching over 11,000 replies. This included personal details of a Blizzard employee who gave his real name "to show it wasn't a big deal". Shortly after revealing his real name, forum users posted personal information including his phone number, picture, age, and home address.

Some technology media outlets suggested that displaying real names through Real ID is a good idea and would benefit both Battle.net and the Blizzard community. But others were worried that Blizzard were opening their fans up to real-life dangers such as stalking, harassment, and employment issues, since a simple Google search by your employer will reveal your online activities.

Blizzard initially responded to some of the concerns by saying that the changes would not be retroactive to previous posts, that parents could set up the system so that minors cannot post, and that posting to the forums is optional. However, due to the huge negative response, Blizzard President Michael Morhaime issued a statement rescinding the plan to use real names on Blizzard's forums for the time being.

Apart from the negative side effects of Real ID relating to privacy, the new addition boasts new features for current Blizzard titles. For instance, real names for friends, cross-realm and cross-game chat, rich presence and broadcasts are included with the Real ID system.

Real names for friends: Real ID friends will appear under their real-life names on friends lists. This means that when chatting, communicating in-game, or viewing a character's profile, the user will be able to retrieve the player's account name as opposed to the character name. This saves the hassle of remembering multiple character names in order to communicate.

Cross-realm and cross-game chat: With Real ID, friends can chat cross-realm and cross-faction in World of Warcraft. Prior to Real ID this was not possible as players needed to be on the same server and same faction in order to communicate. Furthermore, cross game chat was not available to players playing different Blizzard titles. This is no longer the case as Real ID allows players to chat across different Blizzard games like Starcraft 2 to Diablo 3 to World of Warcraft.

Rich Presence: This feature will allow you to track and monitor what your friends are playing in real time. This means when you open your friends list you will be able to view the current game your friend might be playing. Broadcasts: Allows players to broadcast a short status message for your friends to see. This means a player can make his or her status busy, available, etc. In additon, a player can send out short messages to update any change of plans which can be viewed by all friends.