Feng Ji spent $70M developing China's first AAA game from scratch, and everybody thought he was nuts. Industry veterans scoffed, investors balked, and even
As the movie industry discovered, it’s a dice roll in terms of pissing off the censors. Hard to invest millions when something as stupid as a map can get your game banned.
Blizzard is already pretty infamous for adapting their games for the Chinese market, by removing or replacing certain numbers/symbolism or objects like skulls. So, it’s already been happening for a long time.
There’s a huge difference between a publisher or two censoring their games and the industry as a whole systematically sucking up to their insane restrictions.
Basically Nazi stuff. Which still isn’t awesome, but isn’t comparable at all to China. It’s a small side effect of them trying to prevent actual Nazis from regaining power and not properly recognizing games as art.
It also isn’t comparable because anyone who can’t be bothered with multiple versions is going to ignore Germany, not ruin their game.
Fun fact: Swastika’s are actually allowed for artistic and similar purposes, but in the 90’s a dodgy ruling did not consider this exception.
The reasoning was the same as ‘playing violent games make you violent’ . The court feared growing up with those symbols would normalize them.
By selling to China.
That doesn’t take away from it or mean it isn’t good, but that market is the difference between it and every other game.
I guess video game companies are learning now that you should make games that Chinese gamers will enjoy.
As the movie industry discovered, it’s a dice roll in terms of pissing off the censors. Hard to invest millions when something as stupid as a map can get your game banned.
Pretty sure they figured that out more than a decade ago. Blizzard (RIP) certainly did.
That’s what I’m scared of.
Catering to China’s censorship has not been beneficial to other media.
Blizzard is already pretty infamous for adapting their games for the Chinese market, by removing or replacing certain numbers/symbolism or objects like skulls. So, it’s already been happening for a long time.
There’s a huge difference between a publisher or two censoring their games and the industry as a whole systematically sucking up to their insane restrictions.
as opposed to western censorship? lol.
This is a joke right?
Look at the games banned on Germany.
Basically Nazi stuff. Which still isn’t awesome, but isn’t comparable at all to China. It’s a small side effect of them trying to prevent actual Nazis from regaining power and not properly recognizing games as art.
It also isn’t comparable because anyone who can’t be bothered with multiple versions is going to ignore Germany, not ruin their game.
Fun fact: Swastika’s are actually allowed for artistic and similar purposes, but in the 90’s a dodgy ruling did not consider this exception. The reasoning was the same as ‘playing violent games make you violent’ . The court feared growing up with those symbols would normalize them.
The ban got revoked in 2018
So yeah, we were kinda behind the times, but it’s getting better.
Yeah, I was pretty sure they fixed that, but couldn’t double check.
our censorship is le moral™
get off your high horse