"Am I wrong about this?" - Asmongold responds to netizens criticizing him for saying "artists' opinions don't matter" amid Palworld controversy

Twitch streamer Zack "Asmongold" became embroiled in a controversy after sharing his thoughts on Palworld. On January 24, 2024, a one-minute and 32-second video went viral on X, in which Asmongold commented on the drama surrounding Palworld's alleged "use of AI." After claiming that "nobody cares" about the situation, the Austin, Texas-based personality added that "artists' opinions don't matter."

X user @bromojumbo re-posted the streamer's clip, expressing displeasure with his opinions. In a series of tweets, the netizen wrote:

"'Artists' opinions don’t matter. What matters is the opinion of the people buying the product.' Whew boy, what the hell, lmao. This has to be the stankiest take in recent history goddamn, lol. (I) Truly don't give a s**t if it's related to PWorld (Palworld), I've stopped caring about any discussion surrounding that game. But this involves a bigger point surrounding AI being used by studios while lay-offs in the industry keep happening, and that's something you should care about."

On January 25, 2024, Asmongold responded to the criticisms, saying he was surprised to see "so many people angry." He added:

"Am I wrong about this? Looking at so many people angry with what I said is kind of shocking to me. When you go to market with a product, the only thing that matters is the consumers' perception of that product's value. When did this become wrong?"

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What did Asmongold say about AI and artists amid the Palworld controversy?

During a recent livestream, Asmongold reacted to YouTuber "Ludwig" Ahgren's Mogul Mail video titled Huge Pokemon Scam, in which he discussed Palworld. At one point, Ludwig brought up the game's controversy, in which netizens speculated that Pocket Pair, Inc. sought AI's assistance in developing it.

Timestamp: 06:35

Sharing his thoughts, the One True King (OTK) co-founder said:

"...Everybody to expect me to draw a moral line - I have to perceive a difference I consider substantial... and I do not consider the difference substantial. Do you guys? No. Right. No. And, that's really what matters. If it was made with AI, I'm completely okay with that because it was fun. Doesn't matter. Nobody really cares about this. We're going to play this, by the way."

As Ludwig's video continued, Asmongold remarked that "artists' opinions don't matter" because it is the end consumer's opinions that matter. He elaborated:

"Well, AI and the sentiment from artists... artists' opinions don't matter. It just doesn't matter! Because what matters is the opinion of the people that are buying the product. Like, your opinion on it, like, just because you do it... nobody cares! Like, it's not relevant."

The Twitch star continued:

"It's like whenever these, like, you know, really well-respected and really respectable directors talk about how bad Marvel is. Shut up, old man! Shut up! I like watching the Thor movie. It was cool!"

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Fans react to the streamer's response

Asmongold's response to netizens' criticisms has elicited over 2,700 comments. Here's what the online community had to say about it:

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Asmongold is one of Twitch's most popular content creators, having joined the Amazon-owned platform in 2011. He now broadcasts on his alternate channel, Zackrawrr, which currently has 1,679,526 followers.