China Cracks Down on "Unwholesome" Game Content

[Andy Chalk]

China Cracks Down on "Unwholesome" Game Content

China's Ministry of Culture has issued a new directive ordering online game operators to remove "unwholesome" content from games made for children.

China isn't exactly a bastion of personal liberty and neither are its online games, which will soon be subject to yet another new government directive. This one demands that operators remove any and all "unwholesome" material from games that target minors; what exactly constitutes "unwholesome" isn't very clearly defined, but "content advocating pornography, cults, superstitions, gambling and violence" is all expressly forbidden and operators must keep minors away from "inappropriate games."

Furthermore, game companies have also been ordered to develop techniques to limit the amount of time minors can spend in online games in order to help curtail the problem of internet and videogame addiction, although again, no specific methods for doing so are suggested. Minors will also not be allowed to buy or sell items with virtual currency, which due to a previous regulation can only be used to purchase virtual items within games.

Facilitating all this is another regulation that came into effect last year requiring online game subscribers to register with their real names, thereby allowing the government to determine exactly who is doing what. It's all part of an effort to promote "moderate gaming" and protect the public health in China, where roughly 24 million citizens suffer from some form of internet addiction, according to the China Youth Association for Network Development. I guess that's just too damn many to ship off to ship off to boot camp [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/101201-Internet-Addicted-Chinese-Youth-Break-Out-of-Boot-Camp].

Source: GamePolitics [http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-06/22/c_13363691.htm]




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[Jared]

Well, trust China to be the ones who bring down the hammer...although, I cant blame them from wanting to protect kids, as long as it dosnt turn into censorship...again

 

[ultimateownage]

I find it funny that china of all people want to make it more family friendly. Maybe it's an excuse for some propaganda.

 

[The Amazing Tea Alligator]

That boot camp picture is hilarious.

Nonetheless, doesn't this all backfire? Or are Chinese people really that obedient and bow down towards the Government, hopelessly getting their faces bashed in with more suffocating rules. Perhaps it's in the culture to comply. Either way, I declare shennegans.

Or I don't.

Whats a shennagen?
You mean shenanigin ... sh shenuniggan ... fuck it, I don't know how to spell it either.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

That boot camp picture is hilarious.

Nonetheless, doesn't this all backfire? Or are Chinese people really that obedient and bow down towards the Government, hopelessly getting their faces bashed in with more suffocating rules. Perhaps it's in the culture to comply. Either way, I declare shennegans.

Or I don't.

Whats a shennagen?
You mean shenanigin ... sh shenuniggan ... fuck it, I don't know how to spell it either.

Shenanigans.

I love spellcheck...Odd that spellcheck itself doesn't think that "spellcheck" is a word.

 

[tomtom94]

Well, at least it's better than North Korea where the government ARE VERY NICE AND DO NOT INTERFERE AT ALL.

[sub]dear god someone help[/sub]

Censorship saves no-one - kids will ALWAYS want what they can't have.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Well, trust China to be the ones who bring down the hammer...

I see what you did there.

But, we can't have pictures of students getting run over by tanks, for instance.

/deep_black_humour

 

[cheese_wizington]

Well this isn't very fun.

China is like the ignorant douche bag at the party who takes a shit in the fish tank then passes out.

 

[Sixties Spidey]

Well, trust China to be the ones who bring down the hammer...

I see what you did there.

But, we can't have pictures of students getting run over by tanks, for instance.

/deep_black_humour

Neither can we get pictures of students eating toys with lead-based paint.

/deeper_black_humor

 

[Flamezdudes]

Ya know, i never understood the hate cults get by some people. They're just smaller religions really. Anyway, this seems slightly justified i think but... i dunno.

 

[Atmos Duality]

The Chinese Government once again shows the rest of the world how not to do things.
Of course, the Party only employs communism as long as it suits them. They're greedy capitalists like everyone else.

This is little more than a public demonstration of power.

 

[AngryMongoose]

I bet the decide that all games are for children, thus, removing all games.

 

[Therumancer]

Well, trust China to be the ones who bring down the hammer...although, I cant blame them from wanting to protect kids, as long as it dosnt turn into censorship...again

It already is censorship, and what's more this is an extension of some things that have already been going on down there. I look at the differances between the Chinese version of World Of Warcraft, and that the rest of the world plays where they apparently removed or changed things like the undead player race due to goverment policies.

The thing here is that they are pretty much creating a no-win scenario for the industry by putting the responsibility for enforcement in their hands, rather than that of parents. What's more they are also being intentionally vague in the terminology, "superstitious" content could be viewed a lot of differant ways for example, and looking at things like how the "Forsaken" were allegedly changed, this could easily be a way of making pretty much all fantasy games illegal. After all people once believed that wizards, witches, alchemists and other groups wielded magical powers but such superstitions went away.... put magic or fantasy into your fantasy game, along with mythological creatures and such, and it seems like the goverment could arrest you for it given the vague definitions involved.


Generally speaking I blame this, and similar things all over the globe, on our current left wing goverment to an extent. In general it's been the US that has been championing free speech and expression as a fundemental human right around the world. However right now we have a lot of big wheels in our goverment trying to attack video games and other forms of expression. You'll also notice that China is quick to invoke "health issues" as a reason for wanting to police video games and the internet, which seems to be a spectre of Obama's own claims to justify the same things. I mean how can we officially criticize them when they can turn around and point to the US President saying the same thing they are. When it comes to content and "protecting the children" from it, well this comes pretty close to what Hillary Clinton has been all about, and she's currently a presidential appointee.

A lot of people don't like to believe that what I've been saying for a while now is right, largely due to political partisanship. The Republican/Democrat rivalry being more important than any of the specific issues and what might be going on. The idea that anyone who criticizes a politician is by definition lying, overreacting, or supporting a power grab (and that applies to both sides).

To an extent I see what China doing as a sort of dark mirror of the US. The arguements being made are identical to the ones in the US. The differane being that the Chinese goverment can simply choose to act without having to worry about the people much, and the kinds of political divide/oppositions you see here don't exist on the same level. Truthfully it's a slow, painful process for US leaders to try and impose things like this, where China can just do it. However in looking at this you can see pretty much exactly where the statements being made by our current policians are going.

Game/Internet/General censorship is not totally exclusive to one party, as it does go accross the line, but mostly it's been a left wing issue in recent years (they are the ones promoting it seriously and trying to take action, as opposed to more or less blowing smoke). With the current leadership we're rapidly losing the moral high ground in defending free speech and expression when our own leaders mention that they should be these kinds of exceptions.

 

[JediMB]

The Chinese Government once again shows the rest of the world how not to do things.
Of course, the Party only employs communism as long as it suits them. They're greedy capitalists like everyone else.

This is little more than a public demonstration of power.

There's obviously nothing more wholesome than a dictatorship posing as a communism.

 

[Ashendarei]

The Chinese Government once again shows the rest of the world how not to do things.

Competing with Australia for the title of "Worst Ideas Ever In Government" award

 

[Fox242]

Ah, isn't censorship grand?

Yes it is, especially when it involves those loveable Chinese communists. Don't they just run the best government ever?

 

[Atmos Duality]

There's obviously nothing more wholesome than a dictatorship posing as a communism.

*OM NOM NOM* Yum. Civil liberties..so tasty..so wholesome.