China Ministry of Culture Will Restrict "Hostile" Console Games

[StewShearerOld]

China Ministry of Culture Will Restrict "Hostile" Console Games

Cai Wu, head of the Chinese Ministry of Culture, says that games "hostile" to China or "not in conformity" with its government will be restricted.

China recently made gaming headlines when its government announced that it would be <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/131078-China-Lifts-Ban-on-Sale-and-Production-of-Consoles>lifting its ban on the sale and production of consoles, potentially opening the region up to hardware makers like Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft. While this was definitely good news, it also came with numerous caveats. For one, it was described as being "temporary." The government also reserved the right to restrict consoles and games as it deemed necessary. In another recent statement the Ministry of Culture provided some hints as to what that might entail.

"Things that are hostile to China, or not in conformity with the outlook of China's government, won't be allowed," said Cai Wu, head of the Ministry of Culture. "We want to open the window a crack to get some fresh air, but we still need a screen to block the flies and mosquitoes." Wu promised that more specific guidelines are on the way, but just from this one statement we think already we can the gist of what these guidelines will probably be like. For instance, we can only imagine things like <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/130738-Battlefield-4s-a-New-Form-of-Cultural-Aggression-Says-Chinese-State-Media>Battlefield 4's China Rising DLC will be no-no's in the future.

This is, of course, not the best news for the potential console market in China. Then again, we're not altogether too surprised. The fact that console's have been banned up to this point should be a pretty good sign that government policies weren't going to be particularly free and open when it came to content. Even so, it's hard for us to look at the lifting of this ban as being anything other than positive. Some games are better than no games and, in the least, we can always hope that this move to "open the window" could potentially lead to something less restrictive in the future. Maybe. Someday.

Source: <a href=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-01-13-china-hints-at-new-console-guidelines>GamesIndustry International





Permalink

 

[james.sponge]

This is great news for Nintendo.... and I guess Sony? since their games library provide a mixture child-friendly/neutral/colourful games and gritty titles promoting rotten decadent lifestyle

Bad news for MS and EA and Activision it seems

 

[Casual Shinji]

This is great news for Nintendo.... and I guess Sony? since their games library provide a mixture child-friendly/neutral/colourful games and gritty titles promoting rotten decadent lifestyle

Bad news for MS and EA and Activision it seems

You never know how that wacky Chinese government is going to interpret some of these games. For all you know they'll think Mario stomping on Bowser is somehow critical toward China.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

im gathering the fallout games wont be legally available with the whole nuclear war angle

I dunno, They've been pretty evenhanded from what I've gathered from the Canon, Hell, if anything, America in that series is like 100 times worse then China.

 

[omega 616]

Basically, take a game, make China the good guys and America the bad guys and the game will get the Chinese seal of approval!

The only time I can think of that happening is playing as China against America in command on conquer Generals. I bet other examples exist though.

I didn't realize China was so strict, though I am not interested in world affairs.

 

[Hoplon]

In other news the sun came up today and the sky was blue.

 

[O maestre]

Basically, take a game, make China the good guys and America the bad guys and the game will get the Chinese seal of approval!
.

You know that is not a bad financial strategy 400 million potential customers, that have not experienced other gaming platforms but the PC, and the majority being their parents only child that are probably "spoiled" in comparison to the previous multi child families.

It is a very sizable untapped market with a lot of potential. If this window remains open it's a great investment.

In other news the sun came up today and the sky was blue.

Really, you are not surprised that China has actually opened up, I think you misread the article. This isn't an existing market being closed upon, but rather a new market emerging albeit with restriction, I actually think this is big news.

 

[Hoplon]

In other news the sun came up today and the sky was blue.

Really, you are not surprised that China has actually opened up, I think you misread the article. This isn't an existing market being closed upon, but rather a new market emerging albeit with restriction, I actually think this is big news.

No i think China saying be anti Chinese or anti totalitarian government and we will shut you down faster than a rib shack in Israel isn't news.

Also consoles and games have been legal in Hong Kong the whole time. this isn't china opening up, it's more or less what was in place before but now with legal marketing.

 

[tangoprime]

As I said in the previous article, prepare for AAA games to get even more same-y with no risks taken, as big publishers decide China is where the market is and the rest of the world is so used to dealing with sanitized garbage that they won't notice much of a difference anyway.

Just like the movies that make a shot at being shown in China, where an opening weekend could eclipse a US opening due to population size- Red Dawn, all prepared to have a remake of a classic with an interesting and plausible change to bring it up to modern times. Nah, let's digitally alter it in post to have different flags on all the Chinese military equipment so we can say the DPRK were the bad guys with the technology to pull this off, so that we can cash in on maybe opening this movie in China.

Here comes the Chinese Government Appeasement era of AAA gaming.

 

[O maestre]

In other news the sun came up today and the sky was blue.

Really, you are not surprised that China has actually opened up, I think you misread the article. This isn't an existing market being closed upon, but rather a new market emerging albeit with restriction, I actually think this is big news.

No i think China saying be anti Chinese or anti totalitarian government and we will shut you down faster than a rib shack in Israel isn't news.

Also consoles and games have been legal in Hong Kong the whole time. this isn't china opening up, it's more or less what was in place before but now with legal marketing.

Hong Kong is not mainland china, very different rules apply talking about special regions in the PRC, Just like Macau, Hong Kong is an autonomous city with its own rules and government.

In the rest of China there has been a 14 year old ban in place on foreign games and consoles. So this is pretty big news that they are allowing Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony into the country.

Now I have no knowledge of whether or nor smuggling has occurred between the autonomous regions and the rest of the country but this is the first time in 14 years where foreign console and game manufacturers can penetrate the market in the mainland.


It will be interesting if this ban will remain lifted or they will kick the foreigners out again, like they did with Google.

 

[marurder]

Wu promised that more specific guidelines are on the way...

Don't hold your breath. And the wording of the guidelines will be so vague that it can be used to slap any game/content whether it warrants it or not. There has been cases of the Chinese govt' punishing movies because of 'guilt by association'. The movie itself was fine, but it was affiliated with a publisher who did something to upset the govt that was completely unrelated to the film.

 

[Hoplon]

Hong Kong is not mainland china, very different rules apply talking about special regions in the PRC, Just like Macau, Hong Kong is an autonomous city with its own rules and government.

In the rest of China there has been a 14 year old ban in place on foreign games and consoles. So this is pretty big news that they are allowing Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony into the country.

Now I have no knowledge of whether or nor smuggling has occurred between the autonomous regions and the rest of the country but this is the first time in 14 years where foreign console and game manufacturers can penetrate the market in the mainland.


It will be interesting if this ban will remain lifted or they will kick the foreigners out again, like they did with Google.

SHOCKING NEWS.

Games and consoles are on open sale in most of china, smuggling wasn't and isn't necessary.

 

[O maestre]

Hong Kong is not mainland china, very different rules apply talking about special regions in the PRC, Just like Macau, Hong Kong is an autonomous city with its own rules and government.

In the rest of China there has been a 14 year old ban in place on foreign games and consoles. So this is pretty big news that they are allowing Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony into the country.

Now I have no knowledge of whether or nor smuggling has occurred between the autonomous regions and the rest of the country but this is the first time in 14 years where foreign console and game manufacturers can penetrate the market in the mainland.


It will be interesting if this ban will remain lifted or they will kick the foreigners out again, like they did with Google.

SHOCKING NEWS.

Games and consoles are on open sale in most of china, smuggling wasn't and isn't necessary.

?? how can they be on open sale when there has been a 14 year ban on foreign game companies? The games and consoles within China have all been local companies. International products have not been allowed to be present until now.

I don't get you dude, you are acting as if there never was a ban.

 

[FightingFurball]

Can't believe anyone hasn't brought up how good a name like "Cai Wu" would make for a villain in a Dynasty Warriors game! Someone needs to get on this now, let's get Jim Sterling in on it too!

Well as a Wu, he is certainly not Shu but far from Wei!

 

[Micalas]

This is great news for Nintendo.... and I guess Sony? since their games library provide a mixture child-friendly/neutral/colourful games and gritty titles promoting rotten decadent lifestyle

Bad news for MS and EA and Activision it seems

You never know how that wacky Chinese government is going to interpret some of these games. For all you know they'll think Mario stomping on Bowser is somehow critical toward China.

It actually could be. Mario is an agent of the aristocracy. He represents the bourgeoisie of the Mushroom Kingdom. His job is to stop the uprising of the proletariat masses, i.e. the Goombas and their charismatic revolutionary leader, Bowser.


I off to go write a thesis on the paralells of Bowser and Chairman Mao.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

As I said in the previous article, prepare for AAA games to get even more same-y with no risks taken, as big publishers decide China is where the market is and the rest of the world is so used to dealing with sanitized garbage that they won't notice much of a difference anyway.

Just like the movies that make a shot at being shown in China, where an opening weekend could eclipse a US opening due to population size- Red Dawn, all prepared to have a remake of a classic with an interesting and plausible change to bring it up to modern times. Nah, let's digitally alter it in post to have different flags on all the Chinese military equipment so we can say the DPRK were the bad guys with the technology to pull this off, so that we can cash in on maybe opening this movie in China.

Here comes the Chinese Government Appeasement era of AAA gaming.

I know. I can't wait for an era of blandness where a country in real life can barely feed its people and has aging Soviet surplus equipment that soldiers barely know how to use somehow is the global military juggernaut that we should fear. At least some game could go off and make that premise silly as hell and extremely entertaining, but we know all too well that's too much of a financial risk to the big publishing execs.

I say someone start a kickstarter to send balloons or rockets that drop modded copies of games and movies like Homefront and Red Dawn 2012 where China is edited back in as the villains or just Battlefield 4. Maybe that will get the Chinese government to reinstate the ban so we can go back to plausible stories in modern media.

 

[Yan007]

Hong Kong is not mainland china, very different rules apply talking about special regions in the PRC, Just like Macau, Hong Kong is an autonomous city with its own rules and government.

In the rest of China there has been a 14 year old ban in place on foreign games and consoles. So this is pretty big news that they are allowing Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony into the country.

Now I have no knowledge of whether or nor smuggling has occurred between the autonomous regions and the rest of the country but this is the first time in 14 years where foreign console and game manufacturers can penetrate the market in the mainland.


It will be interesting if this ban will remain lifted or they will kick the foreigners out again, like they did with Google.

SHOCKING NEWS.

Games and consoles are on open sale in most of china, smuggling wasn't and isn't necessary.

?? how can they be on open sale when there has been a 14 year ban on foreign game companies? The games and consoles within China have all been local companies. International products have not been allowed to be present until now.

I don't get you dude, you are acting as if there never was a ban.

Big giant sigh.

I currently am in China. Have been for 3 years. What you have to understand is that China seems like it has a lot of laws and it applies them strictly, while the contrary is true. China may have a lot of laws, but once you're inside it's like an old far west movie: as lawless as it gets and if you have some money anyone can buy cops to looks the other way and so on.

I bought a 360, 3ds, XBone, PS4 here.