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

Posted by msmash on from the tough-luck dept.

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.

8 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Wrong problem by mwvdlee · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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?

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    1. Re:Wrong problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      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.

    2. Re:Wrong problem by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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.

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    3. Re:Wrong problem by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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.

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    4. Re:Wrong problem by Luckyo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      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.

    5. Re:Wrong problem by N1AK · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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.

  2. Fringe by jbmartin6 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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'

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    1. Re:Fringe by Type44Q · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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??