steven36 Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 A panel of censors set up to vet mobile video games in China has signalled 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". There has been a clampdown on new video game releases in the country since March. The authorities have voiced concerns about the violent nature of some titles as well as worries about the activity being addictive. President Xi Jinping has also called for more to be done to tackle a rise in near-sightedness among the young - something that the country's ministry of education has linked to children playing video games at the cost of spending time on outdoor pastimes. 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. Games backlog Until an announcement by China's Communist Party's central committee on Friday, the online video games review panel's existence had not been made public. 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. Nor was there any hint of when the freeze on new releases might end. The Wall Street Journal suggested publishers might have to wait until at least March after the next annual meeting of parliament. Analysts appear split over how to interpret the latest development. A research note from the US-based Jefferies Financial Group described the move as being "progressive" and speculated that a timetable for approved video games releases would soon follow. But South Korea's Kiwoom Securities said the committee's existence indicated that the Chinese government intended to tighten regulation of the industry. One industry-watcher observed there was a big backlog to clear, meaning it could be a long while before matters settled down. "China is the biggest games market globally - there had always been some stiffness of regulation around certain games but the mobile space had been relatively unscathed from that and there seemed to be a lot more freedom for smartphone titles," said Piers Harding-Rolls, research company IHS Markit's games expert. "But you now have a new organisation and what sounds like more stringent criteria. "There will be a learning process involved in that for publishers and I think we could be waiting six to 12 months before things return to some sort of normality." Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 China forms game ethics committee, rejects almost half of first 20 titles it reviews (updated) And wants "moral hazard" content removed from 11 others What just happened? China’s government has always had a strained relationship with the video games industry, and it’s got worse this year. Now, the country has formed an Online Games Ethics Committee, which objected to the first 20 titles it reviewed. According to the state-run China Central Television, via the South China Morning Post, the recently formed committee rejected nine games for publication outright, while asking for “controversial content” to be removed from the other 11, thereby eliminating “moral hazard.” China’s State Administration of Radio and Television, which is in charge of monitoring games, has not issued licenses to any new titles since March 28 of this year, slowing growth in China’s game industry to single figures for the first time in a decade. Back in August, Tencent stopped selling the PC version of Monster Hunter: World just days after launch following demands from regulators. China's government, which is already known for censoring what its citizens see on the internet, has been clamping down on the online gaming industry, whose 500 million users make it the largest in the world. Concerns over violent content along with addiction and myopia among young people have led to more restrictions, as well as in-game spending and time limits placed on younger players. Additionally, Ubisoft recently altered parts of Rainbow Six: Siege to get it past the Chinese censors. As China tightens its controls over online games, the companies behind them are feeling the effects. Tencent has seen its value drop by more than 20 percent this year, while shares in NetEase are down by 30 percent. Update: Although there is no official public list of the 20 games reviewed by the new "game ethics" committee, a thread on Reddit is documenting the process and has translated information divulged on Chinese forums. Take this as a rumor, but we found it worthy enough to be shared here: Game Cause Recommended Action Arena of Valor (Tencent) Overly revealing female characters, rewards given based on rank, distorted concepts of history and culture. Corrective action League of Legends (Riot) Overly revealing female characters, rewards given based on rank, inharmonious chatroom. Corrective action Blade & Soul (NCSOFT) Overly revealing female characters, inharmonious chatroom. Corrective action Chu Liu Xiang (NetEase) Overly revealing female characters, inharmonious chatroom, game missions include fraud. Corrective action Overwatch (Blizzard) Game visuals promote incorrect values, inharmonious chatroom. Corrective action Diablo (Blizzard) Inharmonious chat, game missions include fraud. Corrective action World of Warcraft (Blizzard) Overly revealing female characters, inharmonious chatroom. Corrective action Westward Journey (NetEase) Overly revealing female characters, inharmonious chatroom, distorted concepts of history and culture. Corrective action Code: Eva (Tencent) Rewards given based on rank, distorted concepts of history and culture. Corrective action The Legent of Mir 3 (WeMade) Inharmonious chatroom. Corrective action Swords of Legends Online (Aurogon) Inharmonious chatroom. Corrective action PlayerUnknown's Battleground (Bluehole) Blood and gore. Prohibited/Withdraw Fortnite (Epic) Blood and gore, vulgar content. Prohibited/Withdraw H1Z1 (Daybreak) Blood and gore, vulgar content. Prohibited/Withdraw Alliance of Valiant Arms (Red Duck) Blood and gore, vulgar content. Prohibited/Withdraw Ring of Elysium (Tencent) Blood and gore, vulgar content. Prohibited/Withdraw Paladins (Hi-Rez) Overly revealing female characters, blood and gore, vulgar content. Prohibited/Withdraw Free Fire Battlegrounds (Garena) Overly revealing female characters, blood and gore, vulgar content. Prohibited/Withdraw Knives Out (NetEase) Overly revealing female characters, blood and gore, vulgar content. Prohibited/Withdraw Quantum Matrix (NetEase) Blood and gore, vulgar content, inharmonious chat Prohibited/Withdraw Original Article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.