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China To Force Changes To 20 Popular Games, Ban 9 Including Fortnite and PUBG (bbc.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: A panel of censors set up to vet mobile video games in China has signaled it will be hard to please. State media reports that of the first 20 titles it assessed, nine were refused permission to go on sale. The Xinhua news agency added that developers of the other 11 had been told they had to make adjustments to remove "controversial content." The authorities have voiced concerns about the violent nature of some titles as well as worries about the activity being addictive.
It was announced in August that a new body -- the State Administration of Press and Publications -- had taken over responsibility for approving games and that it would limit the number of online titles available. And although it has not been specified, some experts are assuming that the new panel will operate under its auspices. Xinhua said it is comprised of gaming experts, government-employed researchers, and representatives from the media and video games industry. But it provided no other information about who they were or the titles they had already examined. UPDATE: The list of games being examined by the ethics panel has been revealed by users on NGA, a Chinese gaming forum. A number of games, such as League of Legends, Overwatch, Diablo, and World of Warcraft, will need "corrective action," while others will be "banned/withdrawn" entirely. Some of the most popular prohibited titles include Fortnite and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG).
It was announced in August that a new body -- the State Administration of Press and Publications -- had taken over responsibility for approving games and that it would limit the number of online titles available. And although it has not been specified, some experts are assuming that the new panel will operate under its auspices. Xinhua said it is comprised of gaming experts, government-employed researchers, and representatives from the media and video games industry. But it provided no other information about who they were or the titles they had already examined. UPDATE: The list of games being examined by the ethics panel has been revealed by users on NGA, a Chinese gaming forum. A number of games, such as League of Legends, Overwatch, Diablo, and World of Warcraft, will need "corrective action," while others will be "banned/withdrawn" entirely. Some of the most popular prohibited titles include Fortnite and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG).
Terrible, barbaric, tyrannical governments that censor every little thing, should be CUT OFF FROM THE WORLD. Sell them NOTHING. Change NOTHING for them. Tell them take it or LEAVE it.
we need to ban olympics from them US / UN has that power
These are the same people who murdered over 100 million of their own citizens during peacetime, who cares about them banning some games?
When I see how crazily obsessed children are with Fortnite, when I see some adults here, comparing a Fortnite ban to human rights violation, it makes me think that maybe banning this shit would be a good thing.
GROW. UP.
(And if we have to talk about what china are doing, let's talk about their violations of human rights)
Avantgarde Hebrew science fiction
The MO of the CCP is to protect the CCP first and foremost. The entire planet is expendable to that endeavor and end.
Every move by the Chinese gov is ancillary. Just ask the ministry of culture.
nothing of value was lost.
Someone suggested in the last thread on this subject that China should be lauded for trying to do something about this issue even if they are failing at other issues. I said it was hypocritical bullshit and they deserved zero praise for it. Today we see that I was 100% correct. Once PUBG and Battlegrounds were included it proved that this was not about protecting citizens, but about crushing competition. Shame on you if you thought otherwise.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Cut them off. Spare them the trouble of sifting through content and them deciding what should be allowed and what not. Maybe their citizens start rebelling then, but probably not, so just keep it up.
They have been banning games for a long time, just informally. Started with spy hunter and pole position a long time ago, they even banned subway surfer and 2048 because it took up too much of childrens time
LITERALLY!
Panda-ring? Haha thatâ(TM)s funny. The Chinese are very easy to understand. They just want their kids learning violin and ping pong and whatever and not spending their time playing mindless or violent games or hanging out on street corners meeting drug dealers. Come to think of it, this is how it was in the US when I grew up
I mean, how dare Firaxis not make the Chinese military units in Civilization more powerful than everyone else. They need to update that game for the Chinese market, so whoever plays that character always wins!
What does China have to do with socialism?
In the international name-and-blame game, what you call yourself matters jack shit. The GDR was the German Democratic Republic. So? It was neither democratic nor a republic. And considering how they speak in those areas of Germany, even the German is something that I'd consider debatable.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Why? because they don't want to sell a couple of video games in their country?
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
You tell those big studios that they should ignore a market the size of the US, Japan and Europe combined. Make a video, their reaction should be priceless. I bet it goes viral.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
I love to read these posts from Holier than thou 'Muricans preaching to the rest of us. Oh how you love to point the finger, don't you?
I seem to recall, quite recently in your past in fact, y'all committing crimes against humanity. Japanese prison camps anyone?
Torture at GitMo anyone? Starting the conflict in Syria then acting like you're good guys? Iraq? Iran? Afghanistan? You just love to stir shit up break things and then tell everyone else how shitty they are.
BTW, I am not sure if you know this, but Germany often bans games containing Nazis. Shall we "build a wall" around them?
You trumpkins and your fucking walls.
Since you're 'Murican and lack critical thinking skills, consider that is known by everyone else... closing off exposure to western culture is actually NOT the way to influence change within a tightly controlled regime.
China is a country not open to free speech or anything that may loosen its control over its people. This is why a company like Google should not be doing any significant collaborations with China on anything. I think companies tend to choose money over ethics and moral conviction with China. Companies like GM, Google, Apple all cave to creating business in China for the sake of profits.
Actually let's ban the Olympics. It is an environmental disaster, a drain on economic resources, and (generally) a shrine to chemically enhanced human performance.
The bloated and self-serving IOC bureaucracy exists to provide an opulent lifestyle for themselves under the feel good of aegis of promoting global unity through athletics, which they really don't care about.
I totally support this. While I don’t think video games make individuals violent, they maintain the normalization of violence within our culture. The violent language men use to talk to each other. The violence we accept from the state on our own citizens. The violence we accept from our military on civilians abroad. I think part of the reason violent video games are so appealing is they help us process the reality of the system we live in, but by making systemic violence more palatable we also enable it to continue.
But how are Chinese teams able to win Overwatch World Cup in the future if new Chinese players get a modified version of the game? It will be like modifying published science for political or religious reasons and then complaining about the lack of progress.
nafta 2.0 = Mexico is back to making stuff
" long after China is but an unpleasant memory."
Says the youngest culture to one of the oldest cultures on earth.
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
NERF BASTION!
They already did this to the board game version. In that game, the leader of China (Mao) was changed to someone else, because Mao can't be in a game he could potentially lose.
I believe that this is more about blocking the transfer of money away from china to western economies than the violence in the games.
Fortnite being produced by Epic Games, which is 40% owned by Chinese Tencent, I'm a little surprised at the Fortnite ban. I guess "fantasy violence" they're ok with, but anything with "normal" guns must be a no-no.
What does China have to do with socialism?
Damn dude are you really that stupid? You should change your name to Obtuse. This action is taken by the very definition of socialist - controlling what people can do and think to make a harmonious and equal culture. No independent thought allowed.
I've been playing all sorts of video games since I was 7 and got my Atari 2600. Some of those games were mindless, and others took some thought. I had a guitar that I gave up on rather quickly. I stayed away from street corners and drugs. All that led me to my career in IT. It probably helped that my next gaming system was a Commodore 64, and after that an Amiga 500. Perhaps it would be better to give the kids a computer, rather than give them a game console.
It seems China has the same issues the United States has in that folks with kiddos either:
1) Don't know how or
2) Don't want to be bothered
with actually being a parent.
The simple fix for that Fortnite addiction is to simply not allow them to play it for excessive amounts of time.
You know. . . . BE a parent.
Good luck trying to play any decent video game. Or get arrested for playing it via VPN.
You backed your government. It's your turn to fuck yourself.
It's not a winning proposition. You'll end up pleasing the wrong person and not your core audience.
It is easy to post games off, what with Artifact, Fallout 76 and Battlefield V. Unless these studios really want to lose money and gamers, they better focus on making better games.
That's fascism, not socialism.
Trump needs to FUCK these assholes UP!
This will be the final straw that sparks a peoples revolution in China? I have a suspicion the government dosent fully understand just how important games can be to the younger generations.
My concern is that Chinese censorship will end up restricting what is available for the remainder of the world. It's going to be a growing, insidious problem that will hamper most forms of media.
-Bob-
Virtual Tiananmen square! Avoid the tanks, shelter Muslims and practice Falun Gong. For bonus points, piss on Mao! Invite your friends and challenge your family. No better way to save face while promoting intergenerational unity. It's even more fun than Pokémon Go (besides, what do Japanese know).
This is authoritarianism. Usually it's associated with dictatorships or other forms of oppressive government, and yes, that can be socialist. But it can just as well be fascist. Or a theocracy.
But that's not what you need to hear, right? You're one of those people who label everything you don't like in a country "socialist", right? Oppression of opposition? Socialist. No free press? Socialist. People "disappearing" after a visit from some guys in black trenchcoats? Socialist. Being arrested for "reeducation" if you criticize the government? Socialist.
I'm pretty sure you're even one of those dimwits that will claim the NSDAP was a socialist party because it had "social" in its name. And it did all those things! See? The definition is true!
Right?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Banning Fortnite? For once I'm not mad at China.
They have a list of 38 animes that are banned too, some of them good.
The funny thing is, they arent that questionable, not too much violence of sex or anything.
Except, the protagonists eventually go against a central authority figure or group! THAT is what they are afraid of!
CAPTCHA: "dissent", how apt!
One should hope so, but people keep preordering them like they can't learn from previous blunders. Fallout76 had one of the highest preorder rates ever. Yes, sales plummeted right after it got out the door, but who gives a fuck? Preorder sales easily pick up the slack.
And people will keep preordering. Know why? Because they get that exclusive preorder skin for their puppy and the exclusive preorder emote for the multiplayer game that makes them so SPECIAL!
So who gives a fuck whether they actually play it after they already bought it?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Out of all of the comments here, none of them actually discuss some of the reasons that these games are up for review.
Notably, one of those reasons, would make Slashdot fall of the face of China: "Inharmonious chat"
Actually, this is a VERY legitimate reason for reform in the gaming community and on the internet in general. A lot of games fail because their communities are full of toxic players and that's becoming pretty much the bane of the internet these days. Anyone comparing Slashdot from 15 years ago to now, refers to the same thing, lack of moderation (self moderation?) and the allowing of trolls and toxic opinions to be flooding the comments section, it's no different in gaming. People got used to not being idiots fearing violence or being outcast from society but that disappeared with the age of the internet. China, taking aim on Gaming, will draw ire from the gaming community and the "inharmonious" groups that voice their opinions and only that, but honestly? They're the pioneers of making the internet great again (sorry for the pun) by holding gaming companies accountable for the toxic group of people playing those games. Holy Crap! That's awesome!
How can we further support this cause?
Application should detect if game is the under test and display teletubbies. Once player takes over - go full nine yeards.
It teaches you how to think. Flying sticks - verry violent. You can cheat - fraud. Phallic objects - sexual content. Don't even get me started that you are controlling game play not the government.
I know where you are coming from as I know kids of friends who are generally good but have had to have some punishments applied because Fortnite drove them to some sneakiness to get around parent imposed rules.
But it seems to me that maybe this is useful, to have a real test of moral character around that can be used to temper otherwise soft individuals. It seems hard to even punish a kid these days, but no Fortnite for week or so is something that means something.
I've played Fortnite myself a bit, off and on - there's nothing inherently addictive, it's just got a good combination of latent story, gameplay, dance, and humor.
If kids are exposed to something this powerfully compelling early on, it would give them a lot of willpower later to resist other temptations.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
and those exclusive preorder Canvas ... I mean Vinyl ... rucksack (although props to Bethesda for owning up finally and agreeing to make the Canvas version they actually advertised).
Olympic committee just rejected E-sports. Ban olympics by your logic?
This is *exactly* what happens when you allow the government to control IT related things. And people still fight for net neutrality, giving the USA government control of the internet? I can already see the "banned" site list growing exponentially. And the gov will base all its banning sites off SJW influences (and whining).
Yes, yes, I know giving control to the likes of Comcast and other corporations is not better, AT ALL.
We need a true neutral third option, where no one controls it.
>Ban 9 Including Fortnite and PUBG
Sweet! No more Chinese screaming, "CHINAH NUMBAH ONE!" in pubg voice.
props for doing what they should've done in the first place?
The worst industrial disaster in history is the Bhopal disaster caused by Union Carbide, now a fully-owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical. Around 4,000 people died instantly, and ~ 500,000 people were injured. This is higher casualty than all the “chemical warfare” in the Middle East combined. After 5 years of litigation, Union Carbide paid $470 million to settle the case. UCC Chairman Warren Anderson was flown out of India immediately, and none of the UCC American owners and corporate officers have ever spent a day in jail.
The worst environmental disaster in history is the Exxon Valdez oil spill. 35,000 tons of oil was released close to the coastal habitat of salmon, otters, seals, and seabirds, covering 1,300 miles of coastline and 11,000 square miles of ocean. 22 orcas, 3,000 sea otters, a quarter million sea birds were wiped out. After 20 years of litigation, Exxon paid ~ $500 million in punitive damages. The boat captain got community service. None of the Exxon executives has ever spent a day in jail.
The worst financial disaster since the Great Depression is the Financial crisis of 2007–2008. Triggered by the subprime mortgage collapse in the US, DJI dropped from a high of ~ 14,000 to a trough of 6,600. The financial crisis spreat from the US to the rest of the world, wiped out an estimated $2.8 trillion from financial institutions, of which, about $1 trillion came from the US banks, and the rest from Europe and Asia. Most countries in the world have still not recovered to this day, but Wall Street was awarded $700 billion bailout immediately. Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 None of the Wall Street bankers has ever seen a day in jail.
... doubleplusungood. Comply in shutting them down, adjusting them according to the standards of the ministry of love or be collected for immediate recycling at the biomatter tanks in your district.
Thank you for your cooperation citizen. And remember: Big Mao is watching you.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
They cant play video games, or have religion. Their government blatantly abuses its citizens and breaks their constitution. I'd love to see a revolution there where the people rose up and thier leaders. It would be marvellous to see. Alas, Chinese people are too meek and dumb to figure out their own oppression.
You'll have to start censoring for everyone....and I have a pretty damn good feeling plenty of people here...who already don't give a fuck about freedom of expression; would be more than willing to put the screws to these companies.
It's better to maintain your integrity, stand behind your product, and tell China to go fuck itself.
But the problem is money talks...and it's become more and more clear that game publishers don't really give two shits about what gamers want...they just want money.
This is the end of the gaming industry. In a few years everyone will be demanding censorship and all we'll be able to do is look back at the great games we once had.
I do not know about you, but I really like PUBG. Great game made. Guys, recommended a gambling website gambling website where you can play online games like poker, roulette and blackjack.