China Reveals Censorship Critera for Console Games

[marurder]

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.

As the expression goes; there are no 'laws' in China, only 'policies'. That is to say, the law is never used (road rules for example) unless it suits the interests of the CCP. And this is pretty much the same with other media policies.
Laws in China are always very vague specifically so they can be manipulated to allow or prevent a desired result from the CCP.

I am not surprised by this at all. Recent developments have been to allow Chinese console developments and prevent [legitimate] foreign sales in the country.

 

[marurder]

neither are are the Chinese.
they don't need to focus their peoples attention (even if they had that power which they don't) because for the most part Chinese consider "it's a great time to be Chinese" which btw is exactly how you'd feel about your nation if you nation had been seeing double digit economic growth for decades (economic growth that's been entirely deliberately managed for the benefit of the country and it's people btw) and for another they don't have to convince people to vote for them...

I agree with everything else you said except this, there is blatant manipulation of the media in China (which is totally government regulated). But I will limit myself to news.
There are three sections to the news in China;
1 - Good things happening in China (bad reports aren't mentioned unless they are severe or caused by non-Chinese)
2 - Bad things happening in the rest of the world
3 - Weather report

There ARE riots and protests daily in China of course (big country) and these are quickly suppressed and never reported on at any level. An example I have seen was a group of children at a school were poisoned because the school bought poor quality rice from military surplus. Parents got (understandably) upset and had a peaceful protest in the city square. Police surrounded them and they were forced to disperse.
Nationalism is how the govt uses the media to control the population. By creating a larger outside threat (usually Japan or the US) it directs the 'negative energy' away from more local issues (like govt corruption).

 

[Elvaril]

- Anything that instigates racial/ethnic hatred, or harms ethnic traditions and cultures.
- Anything that harms public ethics or China's culture and traditions.

The Chinese government is already the worst offender in regards to both of these points. The government has spent decades attempting to suppress traditional Han culture and the amount of hatred of the Japanese that the Chinese government ingrains into the people is almost unbelievable.

 

[Mr C]

This will have no effect on console gamers here as everyone can buy Hong Kong versions in shops, technically an import, very easily. Plus, China's version of ebay, called Taobao, is full of retailers selling video games officially released in SE Asia, Japan and the North America. Really, this changes nothing, except to show the CCP are a bunch of control freaks, which we already know.

 

[Nieroshai]

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.

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 systematically subjugated your own people under force of arms...and penises...

also if the government truly "ferment that hate at every opportunity" they wouldn't be the two biggest two way trading partners in the world.

Chinese people covet and buy Japanese goods. so do Koreans. the people don't hate.

doesn't change the fact that yes, Japan were bastards during the war and for the most part have no shame about it.

It was clever espionage and incompetent foes that prevented an invasion from the Mexican border before it could even begin. Sure part of the US advantage has to do with not being close to the enemy (who was just as far away from us), but to some extent you can't rag on how someone doesn't know how much losing hurts when they had the skill to not get hurt.

 

[ExtraDebit]

You guys don't get it........those laws are set to give the government power, which means they can greenlight and ban any games they want just like everything else. It have nothing to do with "chinese", the general wants of the citizens and wants of the government hardly ever coincide, so don't think for a second this is what "chinese" want.

What this really means is whoever want to publish a game they will have to first bribe the right people.

It's all about bribery, the only real red lights in china is bad mouthing the government and something involve taiwan......that's it! everything else can be interpret in your favor depending on the bribes you pay.

Even captain america showed in chinese cinemas, all two of them, so did cloud atlas with the whole revolution part intact. China is a hypocritic country but it's also greedy, therefore what they lack in integrity they made up for in greed. I should know, I'm there now.

 

[Glaice]

Ok then China, feel free to lose out on income gained via taxes through game purchased of about 80-90% of games out there!

 

[Mr C]

W

Chinese people covet and buy Japanese goods. so do Koreans. the people don't hate.

Reading your comments gives me the impression you live in China or have done. However,I'm not sure I agree with the final sentence above. I have encountered a great deal of hatred towards the Japanese from many people in China. I am pleased that this seems to be diminishing with each passing generation, but people my age (30's) and a little younger can be fueled with animosity, and I believe the way the government chooses to represent Japan is a big part of that. The Japanese government of course, does not help itself.

I do agree that trade is helpful, as is the younger generations love of anime!!!

 

[Erik Zarkov]

First off, consoles and their games have been available for sale even before the ban on consoles was lifted. You just had to go to the shopping area for teens, with the shops of cute stuff for girls, the anime shop filled with figures, and look for the shops that had TVs and couches where people were playing on a PS3 or XBox 360. Plunk your money down and walk away with a hacked 360 pre-loaded with a crap ton of games. Didn't get the game you want, go through the bin of pirated stuff and buy one for just a few American dollars.

None of these shops are selling the consoles or games legally. But because nobody can be bothered to actually enforce the laws, they just open up a shop in the right area (teen shopping area) and sell the stuff out in the open. So the only thing these laws will do is stop the games from being sold legitimately at any of the major stores in their electronic sections.

Second, if you still want a legit copy, the folks in Shenzhen can just hop the border to Hong Kong whenever they want, buy a copy there and come back. One marked up sale on TaoBao and you've got yourself a legit copy.

Third, if you don't want to bother with getting a hacked console unit and worry that pirated games might ruin your system, and just can't wait for your buddy to do a HK border run for you, then just go down to the many many many game clubs. These folks rent out an apartment, set it up as a place for people to play games. Pay your fee and drop by to play on their PS unit with whatever games they have in their library. When I was in Changsha, a 20 story building I was in had 2 to 3 of these game clubs on every floor from the fifth floor on up. No one ever coming by to close them all down for their illegal consoles even though they're all in the same damn building.

Last, these rules aren't meant to protect the Chinese people from the evils of these games. They're ignoring the laws and playing these games because again, nobody enforces them. Instead, it is to keep Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony out of the country by making it too hard for them to compete legally, so that when the Chinese companies roll out their consoles, they have no legal competition. That is the real reason for these censorship laws, a cover to keep foreign games out so Chinese games don't have to compete with them when they get released. They all know that they won't be able to compete if the playing field were even.

 

[ExtraDebit]

First off, consoles and their games have been available for sale even before the ban on consoles was lifted. You just had to go to the shopping area for teens, with the shops of cute stuff for girls, the anime shop filled with figures, and look for the shops that had TVs and couches where people were playing on a PS3 or XBox 360. Plunk your money down and walk away with a hacked 360 pre-loaded with a crap ton of games. Didn't get the game you want, go through the bin of pirated stuff and buy one for just a few American dollars.

None of these shops are selling the consoles or games legally. But because nobody can be bothered to actually enforce the laws, they just open up a shop in the right area (teen shopping area) and sell the stuff out in the open. So the only thing these laws will do is stop the games from being sold legitimately at any of the major stores in their electronic sections.

Second, if you still want a legit copy, the folks in Shenzhen can just hop the border to Hong Kong whenever they want, buy a copy there and come back. One marked up sale on TaoBao and you've got yourself a legit copy.

Third, if you don't want to bother with getting a hacked console unit and worry that pirated games might ruin your system, and just can't wait for your buddy to do a HK border run for you, then just go down to the many many many game clubs. These folks rent out an apartment, set it up as a place for people to play games. Pay your fee and drop by to play on their PS unit with whatever games they have in their library. When I was in Changsha, a 20 story building I was in had 2 to 3 of these game clubs on every floor from the fifth floor on up. No one ever coming by to close them all down for their illegal consoles even though they're all in the same damn building.

Last, these rules aren't meant to protect the Chinese people from the evils of these games. They're ignoring the laws and playing these games because again, nobody enforces them. Instead, it is to keep Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony out of the country by making it too hard for them to compete legally, so that when the Chinese companies roll out their consoles, they have no legal competition. That is the real reason for these censorship laws, a cover to keep foreign games out so Chinese games don't have to compete with them when they get released. They all know that they won't be able to compete if the playing field were even.

We don't even need to go to HK, all we do is go online like everyone else and buy it there delivered the next day. I got my copy of titanfall for 320rmb ($50) and got it the next day.

 

[Erik Zarkov]

We don't even need to go to HK, all we do is go online like everyone else and buy it there delivered the next day. I got my copy of titanfall for 320rmb ($50) and got it the next day.

You using Taobao or some other service? The office where I'm at has a PS4, curious what other options there are aside from it.

 

[ExtraDebit]

We don't even need to go to HK, all we do is go online like everyone else and buy it there delivered the next day. I got my copy of titanfall for 320rmb ($50) and got it the next day.

You using Taobao or some other service? The office where I'm at has a PS4, curious what other options there are aside from it.

I don't have a credit card so I usually just go to the game store next to my company and have them order it for me, pay them 10rmb fee as a commission. But I reckon they probably used taobao and had it deliver by SF(fastest delivery in china). Legit Console games isn't hard to get in china almost any game stores carries them now, it's the pc games that's the problem.

Legit pc games is almost nonexistant here and only available through online purchase.

 

[Erik Zarkov]

I don't have a credit card so I usually just go to the game store next to my company and have them order it for me, pay them 10rmb fee as a commission. But I reckon they probably used taobao and had it deliver by SF(fastest delivery in china). Legit Console games isn't hard to get in china almost any game stores carries them now, it's the pc games that's the problem.

Legit pc games is almost nonexistant here and only available through online purchase.

Ah, for PC I just use Steam and a VPN. Usually have to set my computer to download things overnight just because it takes so long though.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

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.

Some will no doubt try to, the possible market is too big to ignore.

Of course once they realize that any product created to pass those particular guidelines probably won't sell anywhere else combined with jack console penetration and China being literally counterfeit heaven will mean that those products won't exactly take off.

 

[saltyanon]

Gambling Gambling-related content or game features.

This is good. No, this is great. Fuck free to play games with Gashapons in them. Fuck RNG in crafting and weapon upgrading.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well that is a list of suggestions, what will actually be censored after that is anyone's guess.
PC games have for example been under those rules the entire time and the one example I know is Crysis switching it's "foreign evil people whom brave Americans must shoot" from Chinese to Korean once told their game won't fly there.

 

[Strazdas]

so basically they made the laws in a way they can easily bend it any way they want and also would be an easy excuse to ban any game they want. why am i not surprised