Steam is Finally Coming To China But Chinese Gamers Don't Want It (abacusnews.com)

Valve officially announced this week the arrival of Steam China in Shanghai. But Chinese gamers are telling the PC gaming platform to "get lost!" From a report: One of the most upvoted comments wrote, "Steam China get out of China." It's important to point out that gamers are directing their anger at Steam China, not Steam. In fact, Chinese gamers love Steam... the global version of it, anyway. There are an estimated 30 million Chinese users playing games on the platform -- games which otherwise aren't officially available in China.

But that's exactly why they fear the launch of Steam China, which is a joint venture between Valve and Chinese company Perfect World. Gamers worry that not only will Steam China be a heavily censored platform with a much smaller lineup of titles; worse yet, it might also be the trigger for the government to ban the global version of Steam.

Comments

Wrong problem

[mwvdlee]

So the Chinese citizens' solution to stopping government censorship and overreach is to try and get a foreign company to stop a product that works with their government.

Seems like the wrong target to attack. How about revolting against your government instead?

Re:Wrong problem

[Anonymous Coward]

That's not true. Most Chinese I know like their culture and history. Their current government is scary, they know it, and thats just The Way It Is, and they have many friends and family still in China. I asked my ex why there was no change if most people feel repression on some level... She said to me, how can you change the moon? And if you changed it, would it be better? Could you protect your family if the moon fell from the sky? Leave the moon there.

Re:Wrong problem

[JaredOfEuropa]

There are plenty of people here, in our free society, who would not mind some of what the Chinese have. A ban on certain opinions. Bans or controls on addictive substances. Extensive monitoring of public and private life to catch fraudsters and such. A strong authoritative leader. Suppression of certain social groups. Thinkofthechildrenism. No violent video games or movies. Harsh punishment for antisocial behaviour. People have a strong aversion to being controlled, but they just love to impose controls on others.

Re:Wrong problem

[DNS-and-BIND]

There was a column published in the New York Times that gazed longingly at China and wished they could have the same system here. No messy democracy, no morons protesting, no fake news, just the smart people [Times readers] get to rule society as they see fit. They make the hard decisions that they see as necessary. Decisions we won't like but that someone has to step up and tell us "no". When China decides there will be a road or a bridge somewhere, it just happens. No debate, no citizens council, no environmental impact statements. One can see how elites greatly envy China and wish they could have that here. Oh, the great things they could accomplish without our interference!

Re:Wrong problem

[DNS-and-BIND]

Because the Communist Party has delivered 30 years of nonstop growth? Things are better every day in China. Revolutions happen when the people are not taken are of, the Communists know this well as it's how they got into power in the first place. People can gripe all they want but the Party is delivering the goods. Who would be insane enough to plunge China into chaos? They did chaos already, it didn't work out well for them.

Re:Wrong problem

[AmiMoJo]

If they revolt they will be killed or sent to re-education camps. If they just use the US version of Steam at worst one or two of those millions might go to jail and more likely the government will just block it one day.

Also this is a bunch of gamers, probably lacking much political engagement and given all the bad press about video games in China at the moment probably lacking much public support too.

Re:Wrong problem

[Luckyo]

Most Chinese people in general have no idea about their culture and history because Cultural Revolution has actually happened. I've no idea who your Chinese friends are, but chances are, they're not from actual PRC. As in not even raised there, much less living there, which seems to be what you're implying.

And there's well in excess of billion of Chinese people living in PRC, who very much support their government in most things, because state propaganda is near absolute.

Re:Wrong problem

[N1AK]

And before you bring up Tianenmen square (which was over 20 years ago) I will just say: yellow vest.

You're right, I couldn't believe it when the French military opened fire with tanks and killed hundreds of peacefully protesting students in yellow vests on the Champs-Élysées...

If only the French loved their government as much as the Chinese love theirs, surely then we'd have hundreds of thousands of French people attending *definitely not prisons* education camps to learn to better express that love.

Re:Wrong problem

[mlw4428]

Well now that your bold claim is in, how about something like evidence to back up your statement? A source? Anything more than your anecdotal response of a highly unlikely article?

Re:Wrong problem

[Solandri]

The Communist Party has been in control there for 69 years. They're the reason China is so behind the rest of the world. China's growth didn't begin until they got out of the way and allowed capitalistic reforms - allowed people to build and run businesses without Party interference. Giving them credit for the growth is rather like thanking your prison guard for not beating you today.

Re:Wrong problem

[DNS-and-BIND]

Yes, they are taking the capitalist road to achieve socialism. This was Deng Xiaoping in the 80s. Please do try to keep up.

Re:Wrong problem

[mlw4428]

Good god. The actual content of your reply is nonsensical and a little fucking batshit insane. Just answer my question so I can do my own research: can you post your source for the NY Times article you mentioned?

Re:Wrong problem

[Cederic]

30 years of growth out of the last 30 is a good track record.
https://data.worldbank.org/ind...

I expect their growth to slow mainly because they're catching up with the US and Europe and growth from there is inherently slower. Whether it's further slowed by a change in Government policy or kept above global averages by those policies is going to be interesting in the next couple of decades. But as I said, I expect their growth to slow from its current rate.

Dissent by proxy

[iTrawl]

Well done rulers of China, you got dissent by proxy. They can't criticise you guys directly, but they'll rise up via the commercial products that you guys get your hands into.

Doublethink:
1. Communist Party is the best party in the world (except for the US, who now have the best of everything)
2. Steam sucks! We want better games! We demand change!

Fringe

[jbmartin6]

Chinese gamers love Steam... the global version of it, anyway. There are an estimated 30 million Chinese users playing games on the platform

For China, 30 million is just a fringe user base. I think it would be accurate to rephrase as 'not very many Chinese gamers have even heard of Steam'

Re:Fringe

[Type44Q]

For China, 30 million is just a fringe user base.

That depends entirely on how poor your math skills are: are you comparing that figure to the number of PC gamers in China or the number of people??