China Reveals Censorship Critera for Console Games

[StewShearerOld]

China Reveals Censorship Critera for Console Games

The Chinese government has released a list of censorship worthy offenses that pretty much gives it the power to ban any console game it wants.

Back in January the Chinese government lifted <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/131078-China-Lifts-Ban-on-Sale-and-Production-of-Consoles>a 14-year old ban on the sale of foreign game consoles that would open the country's market to the likes of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo for the first time in years. That being the case, people looking on the ban's end as a positive step forward may want to curb their optimism in the light of recently revealed restrictions Chinese state censors intend to place on console games entering the country.

According to a translated government release, video games entering the country will be subject to a long list of standards that they'll have to meet to be sold inside Chinese borders. The list of censor-worthy offenses includes the following:

Gambling Gambling-related content or game features.
Anything that violates China's constitution.
Anything that threatens China's national unity, sovereignty, or territorial integrity.
Anything that harms the nation's reputation, security, or interests.
Anything that instigates racial/ethnic hatred, or harms ethnic traditions and cultures.
Anything that violates China's policy on religion by promoting cults or superstitions.
Anything that promotes or incites obscenity, drug use, violence, or gambling.
Anything that harms public ethics or China's culture and traditions.
Anything that insults, slanders, or violates the rights of others.
Other content that violates the law.

In other words the Chinese government will have the ability to censor pretty much every popular game currently on the market. Granted, it might not actually hold every game strictly up to these standards. That said, the broad and vague nature of the state's criteria makes it very clear that it wants to have the power and ability to ban whatever it wants whenever it feels like it.

Source: Games in Asia



Permalink

 

[Pyrian]

Anything that insults, slanders, or violates the rights of others.

Oh, China? I think your censorships laws are in violation of your censorship laws. XD

 

[MCerberus]

In other words, EVERYTHING.
Well actually, I think puzzle games may have a 1/50 chance of making it through.

Wait no, "the game hates me" is a superstition.

 

[Alcom1]

Seems like effective law making to me. Make it broad and vague enough as to be manipulated in favor of any whim or plan.

 

[Kenjitsuka]

After "Anything that harms the nation's [...] interests." you really don't need anything else.
Because if you are in the goverment you can always yell: this runs against our interests!!! and no one can really say anything against that...

Second captcha that really works super well with my comment within 3 minutes!
"Ultimate power"

 

[Kenjitsuka]

In other words, EVERYTHING.
Well actually, I think puzzle games may have a 1/50 chance of making it through.

Wait no, "the game hates me" is a superstition.

It's religion, really:
http://diablo.incgamers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/RNG-283x220.jpg

XD

 

[MCerberus]

In other words, EVERYTHING.
Well actually, I think puzzle games may have a 1/50 chance of making it through.

Wait no, "the game hates me" is a superstition.

It's religion, really:
http://diablo.incgamers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/RNG-283x220.jpg

XD

Praise be RNGesus

 

[Orks da best]

So they lifted a ban on foreign games being sold. To only replace with the ability to censor pretty much anything they see fit.

Yea I doubt many, if any, game companies will even try to sell in China.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

Well, small steps I guess...

 

[Brian Tams]

Basically Nintendo's entire library of First-Party games are good to go, no questions asked.

 

[snekadid]

Welp, with this they can censor ANYTHING. Seriously. I'm talking thomas was alone being bannable levels of shit.

It makes U.S. obscenity laws look lawful and wholesome, and those are some really unethical laws.

I mean think about it, if you really want to, checkers and chess could be censored due to number 5.

 

[snekadid]

-snip-

I would agree more, but China's focus, the government, not the people, has been on information suppression and public subjugation. I get the feeling that a majority of games will not get through, just because of the way China operates. They wouldn't want anything related to human rights and such getting in there.

 

[medv4380]

The problem with censorship in this case is the same problem with alcohol consumption. They will have made many games taboo, as they currently are, and people will pirate all the banned, and censored versions like moonshine across the US.

These are too broad, and will be too liberally implemented.

 

[lSHaDoW-FoXl]

"Gambling Gambling-related content or game features.
Anything that violates China's constitution.
Anything that threatens China's national unity, sovereignty, or territorial integrity.
Anything that harms the nation's reputation, security, or interests.
Anything that instigates racial/ethnic hatred, or harms ethnic traditions and cultures.
Anything that violates China's policy on religion by promoting cults or superstitions.
Anything that promotes or incites obscenity, drug use, violence, or gambling.
Anything that harms public ethics or China's culture and traditions.
Anything that insults, slanders, or violates the rights of others.
Other content that violates the law"

So I guess playing Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires with the intent of taking over China as a custom made Japanese faction would be gigantic no-no?

"Anything that harms public ethics or China's culture and traditions."
"Anything that harms the nation's reputation, security, or interests."

Joy. I guess in that case I'll also make sure to execute every single officer I can in the game too. Well, you know, except for the ones I like.

'y'know if you go the most shocking thing is actually how much it is like America.'

Well, if we're being technical I can totally shoot Americans in basically any first person shooter that has multiplayer. And if we're talking about people that aren't half as polite as I am, we can also throw in teabagging, shooting up their dead corpse with bullets, and then calling them a ton of colorful names

 

[EiMitch]

Basically Nintendo's entire library of First-Party games are good to go, no questions asked.

Oh, really?

Anything that promotes or incites obscenity, drug use, violence, or gambling.

So much for Mario using super mushrooms and stomping enemies. Or Pokemon battles. Or using Samus Aran's powersuit. Or swinging Link's sword...

Anything that violates China's policy on religion by promoting cults or superstitions.

...or the rest of the Legend of **censored**

I never played Animal Crossing, so that might be okay, I dunno.

 

[Gary Thompson]

So everything besides games specifically made to be communist propaganda?

 

[Gary Thompson]

do you think these games (and such gameplay) doesn't already exist in China for some reason ?

FPSs are not indigenous to consoles y'know.

however i will concede your very unlikely to see many games involving Japanese mowing down Chinese.

something are just a bit too close to the historical mark...

No, but I'm sure China would greenlight any game involving the player committing genocide against the Japanese, like they do with movies.

Hell, they'd probably publicly endorse the game.

 

[Gary Thompson]

We nuked them and fire bombed half their cities; in which we purposefully targeted civilians, and Japan doesn't hate us or childishly talks about how evil we are all the time.

They probably should hate us, but their government doesn't ferment that hate at every opportunity, like the PRC does.

And it was generations ago, most everyone involved in WW2 is dead.

 

[Gary Thompson]

if you think the Japanese are all happy joy joy peaceful people you haven't been playing close enough attention.

Japan "respects" the US partly because they were beaten by them.

the Chinese they viewed and treated as "sub human".

i might also add that the only part of the US that ever saw war was that harbour in Hawaii.

i suspect you might feel very different if they had invaded as far as say...the Rocky Mountain Line...and subjugated your own people under force of arms.

Uh, that's just not true, our capital was burnt down by the British in the War of 1812 and we had a civil war, not to mention the countless Indian wars.
US soil has seen its fair share of war.

Also, I wouldn't hold much of a grudge, because it was generations ago.
Hardly anyone in WW2 is alive anymore.

You think the Polish hate the Germans that much? Or the Greeks the Italians?
No, because their governments aren't wacko communist dictatorships that need to focus the people's hate on some foreign other so they wont view the government that's killed tens of millions of it's own citizens as their enemy.

The whole trade thing is irrelevant because the CCP is full of hypocrisy and contradictions, it only makes sense that they'd talk about how much they hate their trading partners.

 

[inzesky]

Uh, that's just not true, our capital was burnt down by the British in the War of 1812 and we had a civil war, not to mention the countless Indian wars.
US soil has seen its fair share of war.

The Second Sino-Japanese War was a conflict that began in mid 1937 and lasted for 8 years. The total casualties, most of which civilian, were greater than those suffered in the First World War. So yeah, there is a difference in scale here.

Also, I wouldn't hold much of a grudge, because it was generations ago.
Hardly anyone in WW2 is alive anymore.

You think the Polish hate the Germans that much? Or the Greeks the Italians?

Not a fair comparison. Both Italian and German post-war governments have apologized numerous times for any atrocities committed by their previous ruling parties. The Japanese government has never done so, in fact they more or less act as if nothing has ever happened and this is not a good policy to keep if you want friendly relationships with a neighbouring state.