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WOW on shaky ground in China News

MMO PC News by Oli Welsh

3 November, 2009

World of Warcraft's rough ride in the crucial Chinese market continues, with reports that the country's General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP) has returned new operator NetEase's application to run the game and ordered it to stop taking money and account registrations.

According to the China Press and Publishing Journal (quoted by JLM Pacific Epoch, via WoW.com), GAPP said that it had only permitted NetEase to begin closed beta testing, and its decision to start charging for the game and taking new players in September was "illegal behaviour".

However, Mobinode suggests that the Chinese government itself doesn't agree with the regulator. It reports that an official from the Ministry of Culture said that GAPP's attempt to suspend WOW was "not appropriate".

Earlier this year, WOW spent two months offline in China as Blizzard switched the game's local provider from The9 to NetEase. The hiatus was officially said to be down to technical difficulties, but it took place in an atmosphere of hostility to foreign involvement in the country's huge gaming market.

One year on from its release, second expansion Wrath of the Lich King has yet to see the light of day in China due to concerns over its content. Both the original game and first expansion The Burning Crusade saw substantial delays and alterations before they could launch in the country.

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Comments: 1-10 of 10 in total

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Kerome
03/11/09 @ 09:11
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Smells of mmo company politics and offcials in search of a large slab of bakshish...
sebsal
03/11/09 @ 09:14
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How have the "Chinese" gold farmers been in the game since the beginning if they've only had on-off access for a year?
Pirotic
03/11/09 @ 09:14
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Pft, that's democracy for you.

.. no wait..
actionfitz
03/11/09 @ 09:43
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"an atmosphere of hostility to foreign involvement in the country's huge gaming market. "

/sigh.
I'd say fuck em and just not release my game in China, screw bending over for a totalitarian regime.
But then I dont run a million dollar games company, and that's probably for the best.
--
edited fior typos.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 03/11/09 @ 09:43
Vertical Stand
03/11/09 @ 10:13
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COuld be worse for Blizzard, they could have local staff arrested as with that mining company down under that rejected a buy out from a Chinese company with ties to the state.
Benno
03/11/09 @ 11:07
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'How have the "Chinese" gold farmers been in the game since the beginning if they've only had on-off access for a year? '

Because they dont have chinese accounts. They have US and EU accounts, hence they can sell stuff to us.
SAMagic
03/11/09 @ 11:32
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Please be aware that the Chinese government isn't united in this - Gamepolitics recently reported that GAPP and the Ministry of Culture are clashing in disagreement over WOW. Hopefully we'll see moderates prevail over the isolationist mindset of certain Chinese government organisations. They can't have their cake and eat it when it comes to the global market.
darkmorgado
03/11/09 @ 11:35
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Hang on, the government of a major country is having internal arguments over World of Warcraft?????

My god, does the madness never end?
Kerome
03/11/09 @ 13:11
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You don't seem to understand the impact of mmo's on China's student population... mmo addiction is rife over there, which is why things like health warnings over time played are compulsory, and the whole field is legislated. It's not just WoW, it's all mmo's which are on the government radar over there.

But WoW's case is particularly interesting, because it's taking money out of China. It's one of the most succesful mmo's over there, and people are actually having to pay for access to a foreign software product, shock horror!
SAMagic
03/11/09 @ 15:51
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@darkmorgado: It's more like a clash between two departments than an enormous schism, apparently based on so-called cultural protectionism against global free market trade, but more likely about power.

Edit: Haha who's voting my comment down? I haven't even stated a remotely strong opinion, just some thoughts!
Gamepolitics has some coverage of the issue: http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/11/03/g...
Looks like the whole thing is going to get worse before it gets better.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 03/11/09 @ 16:42

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