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Latest World of Warcraft Expansion Blocked In China

Posted by Soulskill on from the mourn-the-farmers dept.

The Opposable Thumbs blog reports that World of Warcraft's most recent expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, is not being allowed into the Chinese market. The Escapist brings further details, saying, "According to an insider, two specific shortcomings included the presence of skeleton characters and a 'city raid.' Nor did the submitted version contain the starting area for the game's new Death Knight class." The Chinese version of World of Warcraft has been modified in the past to remove skeletons and zombies.

165 comments

  1. WTF? by Moraelin · · Score: 4, Funny

    WTF? So what did they replace the whole plaguelands, undercity, Tirisfal, and Silverpine with? Evil Tibetans? ;)

    --
    A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
    1. Re:WTF? by MichaelSmith · · Score: 4, Informative

      My wife is Malaysian Chinese. The Chinese are a bit weird about death. They avoid the number 4 (sounds like death in Mandarin). They avoid cemeteries. For them, death is kind of a shameful thing. Not to be discussed in public.

      --
      http://michaelsmith.id.au
    2. Re:WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      If we combine chinese and US censorship, will there be anything left?

    3. Re:WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If we combine chinese and US censorship, will there be anything left?

      Probably Jonas Brothers.

    4. Re:WTF? by fractoid · · Score: 1

      The Great Firewall of Kevin Rudd, probably. :(

      --
      Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
    5. Re:WTF? by Yvanhoe · · Score: 3, Funny

      So you mean that gothic kids are taken seriously there ?

      --
      The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
    6. Re:WTF? by kinnell · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I can imagine a similar response by many western governments if naked characters were actually naked, with visible genitalia

      --
      If I seem short sighted, it is because I stand on the shoulders of midgets
    7. Re:WTF? by dangitman · · Score: 1

      That doesn't make a lot of sense, because goths are generally obsessed with death, they don't avoid discussing it.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
    8. Re:WTF? by Sebilrazen · · Score: 1

      If we combine chinese and US censorship, will there be anything left?

      Probably Jonas Brothers.

      If I were a young girl I'd probably feel a tingle in my "giney."

      --
      "There are no facts, only interpretations." --Friedrich Nietzsche.
    9. Re:WTF? by Fred_A · · Score: 3, Funny

      If we combine chinese and US censorship, will there be anything left?

      There goes my concept of a game with devil worshiping big breasted skeletons... Back to the drawing board.

      --

      May contain traces of nut.
      Made from the freshest electrons.
    10. Re:WTF? by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 1

      > The Chinese are a bit weird about death.

      Denial doesn't make it go away.

      --
      How can you even understand Life if you don't even understand what happens after Death?

    11. Re:WTF? by bsane · · Score: 4, Funny

      There goes my concept of a game with devil worshiping big breasted skeletons... Back to the drawing board.

      I know you've probably never felt any breasts (this being slashdot and all), but to the best of my knowledge they don't have bones.

    12. Re:WTF? by Kharny · · Score: 1

      many western countries nowadays equals the USA?

      most european countries have no laws against nakedness as such, except if it is pornographic.

      --
      Make a man a fire and he will be warm for a day, set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life
    13. Re:WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Naked characters are only allowed so long as they are blue and the only good part involves an interesting psycho with a very cool ink blot mask.

    14. Re:WTF? by MisterCIA · · Score: 1

      They may not have laws against it, but they tend to be just as anal about censoring the "naughty bits" as any southern baptist preacher.

    15. Re:WTF? by batquux · · Score: 1

      Wait, so you can't die in the chinese version of the game?

    16. Re:WTF? by gibson_81 · · Score: 1

      many western countries nowadays equals the USA?

      most european countries have no laws against nakedness as such, except if it is pornographic.

      This might just be because we Swedes are prudes, but it is actually illegal to walk around naked in a public place here. I can't say what it's like in other European countries but I believe that public nudity is generally illegal, with special "nude beaches" and suchlike thrown in here and there.

    17. Re:WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's the problem with the US. ANYTHING related to sex, nudity, etc... people try to censor. They want to get rid of nude beaches, pornography, sex education, anything more than a 2sec kiss in a TV show.

      The US is a sad sad country where you can see people getting killed, dismembered, and disected but one flash of someones genetalia and call the police.

    18. Re:WTF? by MBGMorden · · Score: 1

      I think the definition of "nudity" varies though. In particular, IIRC a woman with her chest exposed is not considered to be "nude" in many parts of Europe. In the US, she most certainly will be, and will almost certainly be arrested. Now, past that point there actually has been some *legal* precedent set that since men can bare their breasts in public that women can too, but that generally doesn't reflect the *cultural* views of society.

      --
      "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
    19. Re:WTF? by Fred_A · · Score: 4, Funny

      There goes my concept of a game with devil worshiping big breasted skeletons... Back to the drawing board.

      I know you've probably never felt any breasts (this being slashdot and all), but to the best of my knowledge they don't have bones.

      Given my target customers, you can trust me, this is completely irrelevant.

      --

      May contain traces of nut.
      Made from the freshest electrons.
    20. Re:WTF? by ockegheim · · Score: 1

      And yet the female undead are stacked. One of Azeroth's enduring mysteries.

      --
      I’m old enough to remember 16K of memory being described as “whopping”
    21. Re:WTF? by Zebedeu · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Methinks you have the wrong idea about Europe.

      While it is true that in some countries you can see naked women (as in, bare breasts, not genitalia) in advertising in broad daylight and afternoon tv, I've yet to see anyone with their tits out in public, and I've been basically everywhere in Europe. I'm no lawyer, but I think it's illegal everywhere here.

      Exception made to the fore-mentioned nude beaches and parks.

      Basically, restirctions to nudity are more relaxed here than in the US, but they still exist. On the other hand, violence is more strictly controled here, specially in the central germanic countries. Though I must say that if I had to choose between blood and tits, I'd rather take the second :-)

    22. Re:WTF? by Adriax · · Score: 2, Informative

      /silly on a female undead character, cycle through till you get your answer.

      --
      I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!
    23. Re:WTF? by Idiomatick · · Score: 1

      All beaches in Europe are nude beaches..... or there might be special 'clothed-beaches' certainly throughout Italy I've seen topless women. But that might just mean that we Italians are sluts.

    24. Re:WTF? by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 1

      Taxes.

    25. Re:WTF? by The+Ultimate+Fartkno · · Score: 2, Funny

      Though I must say that if I had to choose between blood and tits, I'd rather take the second :-)

      I'm from Hallmark, a leading world-wide manufacturer of greeting cards. Could I speak to you about perhaps doing some copywriting for our Valentine's Day collection?

    26. Re:WTF? by andi75 · · Score: 1

      > While it is true that in some countries you can see naked women (as in, bare breasts, not genitalia) in advertising in broad daylight and afternoon tv, I've yet to see anyone
      > with their tits out in public, and I've been basically everywhere in Europe.

      That's probably because you've been there in Winter. It's not fun to walk around bare breasted through the snow. Come back in summer, and visit any recreational areas (parks / lakesides etc.).

      I guess if you'd walk around (half) naked at a shopping mile and walked into the autorities, you'd probably kindly get asked to get dressed please, not arrested.

    27. Re:WTF? by AxemRed · · Score: 1

      I don't think the reaction would be quite the same. Many people would complain, and the game would get a M or, more likely, an AO rating. Nothing would directly prevent its sale though.

    28. Re:WTF? by Zebedeu · · Score: 1

      I'd say all beaches in Europe are topless beaches, but I'm not sure if you can drop everything. Maybe you can do it, but at least it's not common where I've been.

      There are nudist beaches, though, where you *must* be nude. Usually they are on less populated areas of a normal beach, but I've never seen any clear frontiers between the two.

    29. Re:WTF? by mweather · · Score: 1

      An M or an AO ensures Walmart won't sell the game, which ensures no publisher will touch it. That would pretty much prevent it's sale. Sure, it may not be illegal to sell, but that's little consolation.

    30. Re:WTF? by Zebedeu · · Score: 1

      Uh. Where?

      I know that in Portugal and Germany the law forbids it with exceptions in some places (beaches and some parks).

      That includes topless men, btw.

    31. Re:WTF? by Zebedeu · · Score: 3, Funny

      Sure man. I'm a veritable fountain of romantic sayings.

      Here's another freebie: If I had to choose between yogurt and tits, I'd take the second.

    32. Re:WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unless it's blue and glowing.

    33. Re:WTF? by SupremoMan · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yeah but display swastika in your game and good luck in the European markets.... To me censorship of nudity makes a whole lot more sense than censorship of history.

    34. Re:WTF? by The+Ultimate+Fartkno · · Score: 1

      I'm *quite* ashamed to admit that I laughed at that one even harder than your original post.

    35. Re:WTF? by Yvanhoe · · Score: 1

      Which is the point. Goths stop being taken seriously once you begin to discuss with them.

      --
      The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
    36. Re:WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Chinese are a bit weird about death. They avoid the number 4 (sounds like death in Mandarin). They avoid cemeteries. For them, death is kind of a shameful thing. Not to be discussed in public.

      I'm guessing Left4Dead isn't a big hit in China, either, then.

    37. Re:WTF? by MBGMorden · · Score: 1

      That includes topless men, btw.

      That I do find odd. In the US a male not wearing his shirt is not really seen as nudity at all. It's a bit unclassy to walk around in certain areas with your shirt off (and many stores will refuse you service and/or entry if you don't have a shirt or shoes on, though that's a privately enforced thing), it's never something that would be codified into law. Particularly down south, in the summer it gets up past 100 degrees easily. A lot of the outdoor workers in things like construction, lawn care and the like will all be shirtless during the hot months. While they're not indoors, they're certainly in public in the middle of town.

      --
      "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
    38. Re:WTF? by wireloose · · Score: 1

      Sure you can. When you resurrect, instead of leaving a skeleton on the ground where you died, it's now a police chalk outline.

    39. Re:WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You see, he was combining the US's censorship of nudity with the Chinese censorship of skeletons.

      Though I don't doubt he's not touched any boobies.

    40. Re:WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      You think you're joking, but in CWoW, you DON'T leave a skeleton behind when you rez. You leave a nice, neat little grave with a headstone.

    41. Re:WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "An M or an AO ensures Walmart won't sell the game, which ensures no publisher will touch it."

      What? Tell that to whoever publishes all those M and AO-rated games I see for sale at Fry's Electronics, which is pretty much the only place I go to buy games, anyway. Since when was Warlmart a force for video game sales? The last time I was in a Walmart, their game selection sucked. Besides, as to an M or AO MMO, Age of Conan anyone? I've never played it, but I hear it's a blood and tit fest that would make any 14 year old happy. :-)

    42. Re:WTF? by lordtoran · · Score: 3, Funny

      Must feel sort of uncomfortable there, with the lakes etc. slowly starting to boil and vaporize during midday, as the temperature goes past 100 degrees. So far I thought 42 degrees in southern Spain were really hot...

      --
      Want to hear the voice of GOD? cat /boot/vmlinuz > /dev/dsp
    43. Re:WTF? by Walpurgiss · · Score: 1

      We're too stupid to use Celsius in the USA. But you knew that, right? Water boils at like 212 degrees Fahrenheit, freezes at 32.

      Your 42 * 9/5 + 32 = 107.6, which is a bit higher than the op was talking about.

    44. Re:WTF? by Walpurgiss · · Score: 1

      Last, and coincidentally every time I checked since the ESRB rating started, Walmart has carried and sold M rated games. Never an AO though.

      M = Halo GTA RE Gears Bioshock Resistance, etc, etc.

    45. Re:WTF? by Walpurgiss · · Score: 1

      Without walmart to sell AO games, their potential market is excessively small. A 'real' game sold as AO would fail. The AO games that do get sold are most likely small companys just making porn games, not AAA blockbuster games that happen to have too many tits.

      Aside from being wrong about M rated games, op's assumption about AO rating killing a game's sales is correct. Walmart's retail pull in the US is enormous. An AO game would still find buyers, but not enough to be a super hit, unless it gets a unique streisand effect going for it. But even Postal2 was just M and did not see many retail outlets.

    46. Re:WTF? by khellendros1984 · · Score: 2, Funny

      The Egyptians found out that da Nile doesn't make it go away, either.

      --
      It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
    47. Re:WTF? by acohen1 · · Score: 0

      I actually bought Age of Conan at a Walmart, and while it did suck, it was full of both blood and tits.

    48. Re:WTF? by dangitman · · Score: 1

      Since when were they being taken seriously before the discussion?

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
    49. Re:WTF? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      To entertain the curiosity of us who do not play WoW, what is it?

    50. Re:WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Quick reference notes for metric users.

      100 degrees Fahrenheit = Damn Hot

      0 degrees Fahrenheit = Damn Cold

      You tend not to see atmospheric temperatures outside that range much in most of the US

    51. Re:WTF? by Dhrakar · · Score: 2, Funny

      "Yes, they are real. They are not mine, but they are real."

    52. Re:WTF? by FreakWent · · Score: 2, Interesting

      interesting contrast to the south American 'death festivals' isn't it?

    53. Re:WTF? by Quikah · · Score: 1

      Really? hmm, I saw topless women at the English Garden in Munich. that was about 8 years ago, maybe times have changed.

      --
      Q.
    54. Re:WTF? by Fluffeh · · Score: 1

      WTF? So what did they replace the whole plaguelands, undercity, Tirisfal, and Silverpine with? Evil Tibetans? ;)

      Riiiiight. So "Chinese Ghost Story" is okay, ergo people getting "biblical" with ghosts and lots of "long time" moments, but a game where you can run about as a smash-guitar-rockband skeleton is off limits?

      I think it's all about the raiding of cities personally. We can't give the plebs these fanciful ideas that if enough tards get together, they can go zerg a nearby town they don't like. Oh no, we can't give them that idea.

      --
      Moved to http://soylentnews.org/. You are invited to join us too!
    55. Re:WTF? by CapnStank · · Score: 1

      "...Don't doubt he's not touched..." Just to clarify the English here, you're implying that he 'has not'; correct?

    56. Re:WTF? by CapnStank · · Score: 1

      Or do the Bob & Doug McKenzie method...

      Double it 'n add 30.

      15C??
      2(15)+30 ~= 60F
      We do the actual calculation and get... 59F

    57. Re:WTF? by Zebedeu · · Score: 1

      This is for Portugal, because it's where I know the law better. There, the law states that in public you must be minimally dressed. I don't know what exactly "minimally" means, but I know it includes a shirt of some kind.

      As I said before, there are exceptions for places such as beaches and the areas around them, and probably some sport venues.

      Basically the law exists because the country has such a nice weather, which can also become quite hot during the summer, that otherwise men would be walking around the cities shirtless.

      Lawmakers decided that that would go against their view of a nice society so they made these rules which are generally ignored except to keep the offenses to a minimum.

      For that reason you still have your construction workers shirtless, and your teens going home after sport practice with their shirts over their shoulders.

      But you're sure as hell going to get stopped if you're going around the city shirtless in your day-to-day life.

    58. Re:WTF? by Zebedeu · · Score: 1

      English Garden in Munich == nude park.

      Try doing it in other parks in Munich if you don't believe me (or even in diferent areas of the english garden, which is huge).

    59. Re:WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And silicon does not rot away as fast as flesh.

  2. Anonymous Coward by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Read the article...
    "Chinese players of World of Warcraft, a hugely popular online role-playing game, have expressed outrage after their 'undead skeleton' characters were suddenly clad in new flesh, apparently in order to comply with a secret government ban on bare bones."

  3. This is it... by sakdoctor · · Score: 4, Funny

    The one liberty that they shouldn't have messed with.
    There will be a real life city raid (bloody revolution in Beijing), and China will be a democracy by May.

    1. Re:This is it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sadly the mentality in China is that the government knows best, and that obviously if they refuse to approve a version of WoW, it is in the people's best interest.

    2. Re:This is it... by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Funny

      There will be a real life city raid (bloody revolution in Beijing), and China will be a democracy by May.

      Never happen. Gold farmers can't go into the sunlight, they'll burst into flames.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    3. Re:This is it... by Jurily · · Score: 1

      There will be a real life city raid (bloody revolution in Beijing)

      Everyone knows you won't have a succesful raid without tanks.

    4. Re:This is it... by BlackSnake112 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Previous administration: We are doing _____ to protect the US security.

      Current administration: We are doing _____ to build up the economy and create jobs.

      Fill in the blanks with what ever you want. Either way it really looks like abuse of power by both administrations. Too bad most people do not see that.

    5. Re:This is it... by Fluffeh · · Score: 1

      The one liberty that they shouldn't have messed with. There will be a real life city raid (bloody revolution in Beijing), and China will be a democracy by May.

      George Dubbya, is that you? Have we found oil deposits in China?

      --
      Moved to http://soylentnews.org/. You are invited to join us too!
  4. Reminds me of my childhood by microbee · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I am a Chinese. When I was young (~1988), at one time they banned a very popular TV series from Hongkong because, rumor had it, there were skeletons in it.

    The funny thing was it wasn't even the first time it was aired on TV. It had been broadcasted nationwide many years ago already.

    Anyway, there are always a lot of stupid people in the government. Not news anymore.

    1. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by sakdoctor · · Score: 1

      What exactly is the problem with skeletons?
      I'm guessing it's something to do with superstition of ancestor worship.

      Fear not! Skeletons would make lousy human rights campaigners. Their lack of skeletal muscle...or actually any muscle renders their opposable thumbs useless.

    2. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by MichaelSmith · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What exactly is the problem with skeletons?

      It is a problem with death generally. Its a bit like in western culture there are things people prefer not to discuss in polite company like what you do in the toilet but in other cultures people are more open.

      --
      http://michaelsmith.id.au
    3. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

      what about this and this?

    4. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by LizardKing · · Score: 1

      there are things people prefer not to discuss in polite company like what you do in the toilet

      Things you do in the toilet? Like read the paper while having a crafty cigarette? What's so offensive about that?

    5. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by PetriBORG · · Score: 0

      You clearly haven't played through this last expansion yet because there are at least half a dozen poop collecting or toilet quests to go through. I thought the outhouse quest quite disgusting myself.

      --
      Pete/Petri "damn, my chainsaw is clogged with 1's and 0's again." --clyde
    6. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can actually vouch for this one. Friend of mine's family is all chinese, and let's just say some of their nicknames involve more #2 than you can shake a stick at.

      I wish I were joking, I'm not.

    7. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by vertinox · · Score: 1

      It is a problem with death generally. Its a bit like in western culture there are things people prefer not to discuss in polite company like what you do in the toilet but in other cultures people are more open.

      I dunno about Europe and Canada, but in US culture we do talk about what we do in the toilet in polite company.

      But seriously.... Is there a goth scene in China? And I really understand why the Japanese freak the Chinese out since the majority of the modern and historical culture is based around spirits, ghosts, and the vengeful dead.

      --
      "I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
      -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
    8. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by kalirion · · Score: 1

      Now is this a social thing or a government policy thing? Cause, you know, thinking about death and what happens afterward leads some people to religion.

    9. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bit of both.

      It's a social thing, akin to our nation's aversion to nudity. But also a policy thing where the government starts from the most conservative stance and then takes it a bit too far; like the FCC throwing around fines for a wardrobe malfunction.

      One could certainly argue that policy is being used in both places to try and control social behavior the government doesn't like. But simple incompetence, petty political nonsense and bureaucracy is more likely the situation.

    10. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by arekusu_ou · · Score: 1

      Yeah, you can keep the potty talks to yourself man. South Park has done it to death.

    11. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by arekusu_ou · · Score: 1

      Uhm the Japanese probably freak the Chinese out because they invaded and slaughtered billions during the Sino-Japanese War?

      http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.CHAP3.HTM

      I can understand occupation and enslavement. But the brutality of killing women and children, skewing them and displaying them in fields. It wasn't systematic and clean genocide. It was slaughter in the cruelest manner they could think of.

      China has it's history of Spirits and vengeful dead. They even have their lore of vampires, I think it was Guilty Gear X that made a character based on Chinese vamps. But if you look back to Chinese, Korean, or Japanese, not familiar with Vietnamese, "spirits" or "ghosts" are good lingers, once they start being evil or vengeful dead, they're called oni, or demons. Some traditionalist still make shrines, over food, light candles, and all that thing about honoured dead.

    12. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm in a western country and I like to shit... What

    13. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by khellendros1984 · · Score: 1

      Billions? I think you've got a typo there.

      --
      It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
    14. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by khellendros1984 · · Score: 1

      Or the terminator movies for that matter. That would probably be a better-known example than First Contact.

      --
      It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
    15. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Funny, because china is a highly religious country, so I'm not sure what your comment was about. There are 5 officially recognized religions in china, two of which the government states are integral parts of chinese culture and are fully endorsed by the state. Hmmm, sounds like quite a bit of religious freedom to me. When is the last time you saw anybody in the US government who didn't believe in the christian god?

      The fear of death is a very old cultural idea in china, depiction of death is taboo. It has nothing to do with the communist boogie men, so you can rest easy.

    16. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by Fluffeh · · Score: 1

      What exactly is the problem with skeletons?

      It is a problem with death generally. Its a bit like in western culture there are things people prefer not to discuss in polite company like what you do in the toilet but in other cultures people are more open.

      What exactly do you mean by "do in the toilet"? We are pretty open about taking a piss, hanging a shit or choking the chicken. Is there something I am missing?

      --
      Moved to http://soylentnews.org/. You are invited to join us too!
    17. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      What if a nazi died on the can? Can we talk about that?

    18. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by s1lverl0rd · · Score: 0

      Depends on what you do in the toilet.

    19. Re:Reminds me of my childhood by LMariachi · · Score: 1

      I dunno about Europe and Canada, but in US culture we do talk about what we do in the toilet in polite company.

      See, this is why you never get invited to dinner parties.

  5. Rule 34 on zombies? by argent · · Score: 0, Troll

    OUTRAGE over the loss of naked skeletons in the game? Is this some new expansion of rule 34 beyond the grave?

  6. Lobby price too low by gzipped_tar · · Score: 1

    It's just a matter of time before the new game get approved. Probably the game company isn't offering somebody in the govn't enough money. Just guessing.

    I have now a guy playing World of Warcraft (in China) right beside me physically. The login screen has already been changed to the "Northrend" (spelling? I'm not a player) frost-and-ice theme. I don't think they are going to postpone forever.

    Mind you this is "blocking" as in "blocking a process until I/O is available". It's not "banning".

    BTW interestingly, the gamer beside me told me there should have been a skeleton dragon somewhere on the login screen, which is "harmonized" out in the Chinese version.

    --
    Colorless green Cthulhu waits dreaming furiously.
    1. Re:Lobby price too low by RuBLed · · Score: 1

      The dragon on the login screen is a frost wyrm which is basically made up of reanimated dragon skeletons. How did they harmonize that?

    2. Re:Lobby price too low by gzipped_tar · · Score: 5, Funny

      Oh, probably I forgot to explain myself. In the Chinese login screen the frost wyrm is just missing. "Harmonize" is a sarcastic term used by Chinese people to mean "censor", as a pun on the government's self-proclaimed goal of "developing a harmonious society" ;)

      --
      Colorless green Cthulhu waits dreaming furiously.
    3. Re:Lobby price too low by ockegheim · · Score: 1

      It's a shame because Northrend is a beautiful place. I wonder what "Death Knights" will become. You can't miss the "unharmonized" skeleton dragon. The noise it makes is annoying the 100th time you hear it.

      --
      I’m old enough to remember 16K of memory being described as “whopping”
  7. Great! by Talla · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now my gold will be much more valuable in the future.

    1. Re:Great! by Ogive17 · · Score: 1

      Talla of CCP?

      --
      "Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
    2. Re:Great! by Greyfox · · Score: 1

      I'm waiting for my gold to be worth more than the US Dollar. At this point it seems like as viable a retirement plan as anything else that has been proposed...

      --

      I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

    3. Re:Great! by Fluffeh · · Score: 1

      Or Talla 2XLC ?

      --
      Moved to http://soylentnews.org/. You are invited to join us too!
  8. This is the least of your problems. by jack2000 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Cartoony skeletons with poorly chosen color palettes? Really china? THIS is what you're going to worry about?

    1. Re:This is the least of your problems. by xtracto · · Score: 5, Insightful

      A small nipple? a small female nipple that was seen in 4 video frames and which those you are "protecting" have been touching and sucking daily ?

      THIS is what you are going to worry about?

      --
      Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I can't configure Debian'
    2. Re:This is the least of your problems. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To be fair, there are entirely different processes at work here. The Chinese government took it upon itself to censor this because of the unease surrounding depictions of death and the dead. The U.S. government didn't censor the Super Bowl slip, they just punished the people who broadcast it after a bunch of Lovejoy-esque mothers and self-appointed decency police got the vapors and started to send in very angry letters about it.

      The Chinese government censors things on its own. The U.S. government only punishes people for free expression after a bunch of our own countrymen get all whiny and cry about it instead of just turning off their damn TVs.

      The U.S. federal government is largely impotent when it comes to censoring or punishing expression. They really only have as much power as the irresponsible idiots in our own communities give them.

    3. Re:This is the least of your problems. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And so the american media censor themselve to avoid being punished after some redneck gets upset.

      What is the difference?

    4. Re:This is the least of your problems. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The redneck will go beat off to it later.

    5. Re:This is the least of your problems. by MBGMorden · · Score: 1

      The FCC defines a lot of censorship rules outside of self-censorship. There IS government involvement on that front. Still, at least we (mostly) confine our censorship to public airwaves. For the most part, beyond those if it's a seperate medium (DVD's, cable TV, etc) it's all self-imposed or uncensored.

      --
      "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
    6. Re:This is the least of your problems. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The US wouldn't have hesitated to censor the nipple if they could. The problem is it happened live, so they were too late.

    7. Re:This is the least of your problems. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      can someone explain to me what nipple is?

    8. Re:This is the least of your problems. by frenchgates · · Score: 1

      The wardrobe malfunction thing was completely ridiculous, but if you are really trying to equate government control of speech in Western countries (especially the US) with government control of speech in China (and Saudi Arabia etc.) you are generalizing the concept to the point of meaninglessness.

      --
      Syntax error: loose != lose, affect != effect, then!=than
    9. Re:This is the least of your problems. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As far as the outcome, none. The process by which you come to that outcome, however, is entirely different. The FCC only acts in cases where a community decides that its sensibilities have been violated, which means that you can broadcast anything you want over the public airwaves (short of what becomes inherently unfree in any setting such as threatening the government or trying to incite riots) just so long as you understand that it's your responsibility to comply with local mores and taboos.

      The federal government has no hand in setting the criteria at all. The federal government merely metes out punishment. As a result, to fix the problem, you don't need to lean on the government, you need to lean on the lowlife busybodies who spend so much of their time combing through broadcast TV and radio and trying to find things to be outraged about.

      In the end, you're still being censored, but you're being censored by your nosy neighbor, not the government.

    10. Re:This is the least of your problems. by Dread_ed · · Score: 4, Funny

      As someone who has, in the interests of science only I might add, studied those 4 frames you mention quite intensely for hours and hours and hours on end, I can officially state that was not a "small nipple."

      Based on my extensive measurements, it is soundly in the upper 84th percentile of the "humongous" category. Sadly, it doesn't quite reach the rarafied heights of "gargantuan" (except possibly on my 60" TV), but she isn't hungarian either so that wasn't to be expected.

      In the future please leave the classification of nipple sizes to qualified experts. It is already hard enough for the average layman to get back the results he wants from Google when searching between "large," "big," "huge," "giant," "GIANT," "humongous," and the aforementioned "gargantuan" without you hacks muddying these oft-motorboated waters with your slipshod appraisals.

      If you are so inclined, I do have quite a few reference documents (867 gigs) that will help you with your future attempts at nipple classification. Alas, the accompanying certification classes have been cancelled due to lack of attendance. For some reason no one shows up after the first day when we distribute the resource materials.

      --
      When the only tool you have is a claw hammer every problem starts to look like the back of someone's skull.
    11. Re:This is the least of your problems. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you had actually studied the frames as closely as claimed you surely would have noticed that the nipple, was indeed, covered by a pasty.

      This covering makes it near impossible to conclude the exact size of the aforementioned nipple.

      If you have a proven method of verifying that the nipple under said pasty is indeed the size that you claim then I would formally request you submit such proof for peer review so that it may be published.

  9. I don't think they by Shivetya · · Score: 1

    want their citizens driving tanks which is something you can do in WOW now. Let alone tanks in a square running over other people.

    That is to be reserved for the Loyal People's Soldier and Responsible Government Employees.

    --
    * Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
    1. Re:I don't think they by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You fucking idiot.

  10. Lobbying at work, not censorship. by mynickslongerthanurs · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Actually censorship does not contribute as much as lobbying from competition in this case.

    WOW has dominated the Chinese MMORPG market for years and currently all the OTHER MMORPG companies are spending big fortunes on lobbying (aka bribing) the "department of (anti-)culture" to delay WLK as much as they can. They know that WOW will eat their lunch with the new expansion pack and one more day delay of WLK's debut means gain in millions for them.

    So as any corrupt agency will do, the DOC is busy inventing ridiculous reasons to deny clearance for the game. "Oh noes! References like the Massacre of Stratholme are so harmful for the helpless minds of our young people! THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!1!".

    I don't think Nineth City (agent for WOW mainland) has much chance in this "9C vs Everyone Else" war. By the way, almost all my WOWer friends have quit playing and those who are really into that game (shame on them) have switched to servers in Taiwan anyway.

    Oh yeah I am Chinese. No penis jokes please.

    1. Re:Lobbying at work, not censorship. by Ogive17 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "Oh yeah I am Chinese. No penis jokes please."

      I can't resist quoting this after seeing your user name :). Compensation?

      --
      "Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
    2. Re:Lobbying at work, not censorship. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh yeah I am Chinese. No penis jokes please.

      Deal. Just post a picture and put this whole thing to rest.

    3. Re:Lobbying at work, not censorship. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He did; you missed it since it was only one pixel.

    4. Re:Lobbying at work, not censorship. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The biggest 'zombies' are the players. How many of those '11 million' subscribers are just multi-boxers? Probably at least half.

      WoW is a terrible game, only fit for the very young, or others who need their hands held, their backs patted, and to be told how incredible they are for collecting 50 of some useless item.

      WoW is just rubbish, an awful game I wouldn't recommend to anyone.

    5. Re:Lobbying at work, not censorship. by mynickslongerthanurs · · Score: 1

      Sir, I would like to remind you that there is a substantial difference between the letter 'n' and the letter 'd'. Thank you.

  11. I'M CHINESE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    i'm chinese

    son of a bitch skeleton

    skeleton is pig

    do you want rotten flesh?

    do you want no eyeballs?

    skeleton is pig disgusting

    zombie is an evil

    FUCKING SKELETON!

    1. Re:I'M CHINESE by Dr.+Hellno · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      FUCKING SKELETON!

    2. Re:I'M CHINESE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mod parent up please.

    3. Re:I'M CHINESE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Burma Shave

    4. Re:I'M CHINESE by ciderVisor · · Score: 1

      Mod +5 Funny.

      Man, I just had a vision of driving along and seeing these phrases pop up one after the other to advertize Burma Shave. Shaking with mirth and getting some weird glances. Good work !

      --
      Squirrel!
    5. Re:I'M CHINESE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Burma Shave

      That's Myamar Shave now, you insensitive clod!

    6. Re:I'M CHINESE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apparently pigs are just as bad as skeletons in Chinese culture. :) That would explain the traditional "imperial capitalist pig" insult. :)

  12. BRING THE PANDARENS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Chinese have cut their own tires, leave them behind. Bring the Pandarens to the game!

  13. On the other hand by jspoon · · Score: 1

    On the other hand, they have movies like Mr Vampire. That movie is crazy. I'm trying to think though, and of the Chinese movies involving ghosts and spirits and stuff I don't recall an skeletons. Chinese Ghost Story had some seriously anorexic claymation zombies if I remember right, I bet they were censored.

    1. Re:On the other hand by MichaelSmith · · Score: 3, Interesting

      All the Chinese movies with ghosts in my experience present the ghost a bit like in the Sixth Sense. As an intact body but not with the same behaviour as a living person. Of course the special effects are cheaper that way ;)

      --
      http://michaelsmith.id.au
    2. Re:On the other hand by MBGMorden · · Score: 1

      Cheaper, but I'd argue that they're more scary that way too. Depending on just how "different" they can make them look though. Still, that woman in the kitchen on Sixth Sense was certainly more scary than some walking skeleton a la "Jason and the Argonauts".

      --
      "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
  14. Uhhm hello??? by meist3r · · Score: 1

    So the problem is that the government won't allow the sales of the original game expansion?
    Like on the original disc? Running the risk of sounding like a jerk but when was the last time that bothered anyone in China? Don't you just have to install WLK from "somewhere" and you can play? This move is only bad for Acti-Blizzard not really for Chinese WoW players I'd guess.

    1. Re:Uhhm hello??? by gzipped_tar · · Score: 1

      Although I don't play the game, I guess the client and server have to match so that you can play the game. If none of the servers is ready for the expansion set, how can you just install the client and play? By logging in a server outside of China? The network latency may kill the performance.

      --
      Colorless green Cthulhu waits dreaming furiously.
    2. Re:Uhhm hello??? by jonwil · · Score: 1

      More than likely the great firewall of china will block you from connecting to a non-chinese server. That or (more likely) the version of WoW chinese players get has been modified so that you cant use non-chinese versions of expansion packs with it or connect to non-chinese servers.

    3. Re:Uhhm hello??? by gzipped_tar · · Score: 1

      The Firewall doesn't do that. I have some friends who are very into the game. One of them once tried to connect to a Taiwan-based server somehow. He could login but the game is barely enjoyable due to the high latency. This is true even for Chinese domestic servers. Some gamers have to connect to their game servers via special proxies so that they can play it smoothly.

      Of course we're assuming the client matches the server here. If they are incompatible it's likely the old client simply can't login due to server-side input validation.

      --
      Colorless green Cthulhu waits dreaming furiously.
    4. Re:Uhhm hello??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And did you notice what's on that disk? About 120MB of basically nothing. The actual LK expansion code is downloaded - it takes hours. No instant gratification on LK purchase :-(

    5. Re:Uhhm hello??? by spooje · · Score: 1

      I live in Beijing but play on Ocena servers. No real problem with latency on things like that or using a US based VOIP company for phone calls back home.

      --
      Tea and kung-fu. Life is good. Rising Phoenix
    6. Re:Uhhm hello??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      If you didn't notice the Single Layer DVD contains the 3.0.1 content patch uncompressed and can bring any previous version of the client up to 3.0.1.

      There was far more then 120Mb on that single layer DVD.

  15. Government wants to discourage by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A more likely reason is that WoW way too popular in China and the government doesn't like that.

  16. confused by circletimessquare · · Score: 4, Funny

    i saw chinese ghost story recently and there was a scene where clearly rotting corpses were trying to drag the main character into the cellar

    there was even a transvestite tree spirit pimp of dead ghost whores

    so no skeletons... but transvestite tree spirit pimp of dead ghost whores is ok?

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    1. Re:confused by hansamurai · · Score: 1

      What, you've never seen Tootsie?

      --
      Reviewing just the first hour of video games.
    2. Re:confused by Chibi · · Score: 1

      You probably need someone with more awareness of Chinese history and Asian cinema than I have to be able to accurately explain this, but I'll give it a shot. That movie, according to IMDB, was made in 1987. Hong Kong reverted back to China in 1997. So, it's possible that Hong Kong, when not under the control of China, was a bit more open regarding censorship.

      This is purely anecdotal, but I seem to remember reading articles about people in the Hong Kong movie industry wondering what would happen after the shift, and if that would be the death of the industry.

      And just because it says, "Chinese" in the title doesn't automatically qualify it as a definitive representation of everything Chinese... or ghostly, I suppose. :)

      --
      If all you have are silver bullets, everything looks like a werewolf.
    3. Re:confused by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You know, Chinese ghosts don't like competition. It's the same thing as "Buy American product".
      The Chinese want to preserve local ghost culture.

    4. Re:confused by Desiderius · · Score: 2, Funny

      Nerf transvestite tree spirit pimps of dead ghost whores.

    5. Re:confused by dbIII · · Score: 1

      so no skeletons... but transvestite tree spirit pimp of dead ghost whores is ok?

      Don't know about you, but he/she would terrify me a lot more than a walking pile of bones if I saw that wooden tongue coming my way. It's dark - you might get buggered and then eaten by a grue.

  17. Doomed to repeat history by Duodecimal · · Score: 1

    It's no wonder the zombie outbreak started in China.

  18. Good. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now maybe we can get Pandarens since China backed out anyway.

  19. Skeletons? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'd have thought China would object more to the addictive nature of the game. It's sort of an overall drain on society/productivity, from a certain viewpoint, and giving it up wouldn't exactly be the greatest sacrifice China requires of its citizens.

    Then again if China's anything like the US, cutting off WoW would probably cause more civil unrest than the one-child policy.

    1. Re:Skeletons? by ACAx1985 · · Score: 1

      Can anyone post a link to facts/discussion about the Chinese avoiding the number four, death, skeletons, etc? I've never heard of this--I'm fascinated.

    2. Re:Skeletons? by khellendros1984 · · Score: 1

      With 4, it's almost like 13 in American culture, except that they tend to take superstition more seriously than most Americans. It's like a woman wearing black to a wedding. It's just not done, because it's disrespectful, and it reminds people of a funeral. The Chinese have all sorts of things like that. Black clothing, 4, sticking chopsticks into rice so that they stand upright, etc.

      --
      It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
  20. Only if they wear white by Moraelin · · Score: 1

    Only if they wear white ;)

    --
    A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
  21. Zombies and Skelies Oh my! by NetNinja · · Score: 1

    Ok ever since WOW was released there were skelies and zombies. Why this makes such a huge difference 4 years later is beyond me.

    So are they going to replace the Skelies and Zombies images with Tanks and armoured personal carriers?

    Change Naxx to Tianamen square? At the end if you fail you get shipped out to a prison nobody has ever heard of in the Gobi desert?

  22. This happened with popular games before by JoshuaZ · · Score: 1

    Magic: The Gathering cards often have had to have modified artwork for the Chinese versions to remove skeletons. See http://www.redkemp.com/?p=344 and http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/arcana/948 which discusses this for some cards with the original version and the Chinese version both shown. Note that clearly dead beings such as zombies are apparently ok. The issue is purely if the being is skeletal And for a skeleton to be made acceptable it just needs a tiny bit of flesh added on to make it look more zombie-like.

  23. Chinese ghost story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We all do realize that the Chinese ghost story series was Hong Kong cinema iirc, Hong Kong under British colonial rule.

  24. Skelingtons by ciderVisor · · Score: 1

    Someone should e-mail in to Steve Wright In The Afternoon to tell him about this 'factoid'. See if he'll call them "Skelingtons".

    --
    Squirrel!
  25. But... but... but...... by SIR_Taco · · Score: 1

    How will the ever prepare themselves for the impending zombie infestation?!

    --
    I say don't drink and drive, you might spill your drink. Before you get behind the wheel just stop and think.
  26. Other Chinese games... by gaelfx · · Score: 1

    ... definitely feature zombies and skeletons. I know because in those games, I have had to kill several thousand of these things to earn even a remote amount of money. The game is called ZhengTu, the website is here: http://zt.ztgame.com/ I definitely buy the economic argument for this, considering that most Chinese online games are pretty boring.

  27. Hush!!!! by wireloose · · Score: 1

    Don't tell them that. Remember you're talking to slashdotters and WoW players. They need their fantasies. Brag about how wonderful your view is all over Europe. "I saw 5 absolutely perfect D-sets at lunch today." They'll be so excited they won't even be able to key in replies for hours.

    1. Re:Hush!!!! by wireloose · · Score: 1

      On second thought and better yet, tell the the European version of WoW has naked female characters, no bikinis.

  28. I think they captured them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Arr your skeretons are berong to us

  29. Shameful? by Moraelin · · Score: 1

    Erm... of all the things I could think of to associate death with, "shameful" seems... illogical to the extreme.

    "Shame" implies some sort of breaking some morals, and it makes no sense to have morals against something inevitable. You can have morals against, say, streaking, because that's something you can avoid doing. You can't have morals against something that will happen sooner or later to everyone, and has happened to a bunch of everyone's relatives anyway.

    Basically contrast:

    A) "We're ashamed of cousin John. He got drunk and sang obscene songs in the town square."

    B) "We're ashamed of cousin Wang. He got ill and died."

    The latter makes no sense to me.

    --
    A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
    1. Re:Shameful? by MichaelSmith · · Score: 1

      The latter makes no sense to me.

      A lot of it doesn't. My wife told me about a female relative in Malaysia who died. Her husband left their child with her relatives, disappeared and never returned. And that is expected behavior.

      --
      http://michaelsmith.id.au
    2. Re:Shameful? by SkunkPussy · · Score: 1

      just speculating but maybe someone dying in your family reflects badly on your family, e.g. you must have done something wrong to receive a punishment, or perhaps you didnt look after the person, or even perhaps you are a bad luck family.

      if any of those were true then shame would be a logical response

      --
      SURELY NOT!!!!!
  30. SO MUCH CENSOR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Aww, first porn, now sexy undead chars in WoW? Where am I going to get off? T_T

  31. The texture heard 'round the world... by Vertana · · Score: 1

    The game delayed
    The Chinese silenced
    The Blood Elves bowed
    The Gnomes didn't mine
    The Mainland was still
    And the government hath said
    The game shall be delayed
    The Night Elves wept
    And the world once again
    Fell to it's knees.

    --
    "The best way to accelerate a Macintosh is at 9.8m/sec^2" -Marcus Dolengo
  32. Fuck China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm half-Chinese myself but fuck 'em. Freedom-hating communist hooliganism, nothing more.

  33. Strateos of Suramar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Chinese people fear death but respect it as a part of the circle of Life. I'm asian as well (and a WoW player in North America) and when we celebrate our Chinese New Year, we give our respects to our ancestors and ask them to look over the family. A zombie or skelly would represent an unrestful dead, one that is cursed or mad/unhappy (a lot of superstition here, bear with it >.)
    As mentioned by Micheal Smith, the number 4 in chinese (pronounced Shu) is like Death.
    The Japanese also have that same philosophy over death, their number 4 (pronounced Shi) is like their word Death. In addition, number 7 in japanese (pronounced Shichi) is also an unlucky number because of the "Shi" part.

    And yeah, I wonder how the plaguelands look like without zombies and skellies. And how about the DK's Raise Ghoul or Raise Ally...

  34. No undead? by xyno512 · · Score: 1

    So does this mean that the Horde faction only has 4 classes as compared to the alliance, who would have 5, or do they just think that all of the undead are just guys with leprosy?