Latest World of Warcraft Expansion Blocked In China

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.

Comments

WTF?

[Moraelin]

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

Re:WTF?

[MichaelSmith]

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.

Re:WTF?

[Anonymous Coward]

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

Re:WTF?

[Yvanhoe]

So you mean that gothic kids are taken seriously there ?

Re:WTF?

[kinnell]

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

Re:WTF?

[Fred_A]

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.

Re:WTF?

[bsane]

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.

Re:WTF?

[Fred_A]

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.

Re:WTF?

[Zebedeu]

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.

Re:WTF?

[SupremoMan]

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.

Re:WTF?

[lordtoran]

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...

Anonymous Coward

[Anonymous Coward]

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."

This is it...

[sakdoctor]

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.

Re:This is it...

[drinkypoo]

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.

Reminds me of my childhood

[microbee]

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.

Re:Reminds me of my childhood

[MichaelSmith]

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.

Great!

[Talla]

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

This is the least of your problems.

[jack2000]

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

Re:This is the least of your problems.

[xtracto]

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?

Re:This is the least of your problems.

[Anonymous Coward]

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

What is the difference?

Re:This is the least of your problems.

[Dread_ed]

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.

Re:Lobby price too low

[gzipped_tar]

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" ;)

Lobbying at work, not censorship.

[mynickslongerthanurs]

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.

Re:Lobbying at work, not censorship.

[Ogive17]

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

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

I'M CHINESE

[Anonymous Coward]

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!

Re:I'M CHINESE

[Anonymous Coward]

Burma Shave

Re:On the other hand

[MichaelSmith]

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 ;)

confused

[circletimessquare]

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?