Hello, China! Enjoying your World of Warcraft? Between the switch from operators (The9 to Netease), subsequent banning, delay of The Burning Crusade expansion (yes, I said Burning Crusade), reopening under a test phase (no new registrations), and subsequent rebanning, it is unlikely anyone in China did much enjoying of World of Warcraft. China’s General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) has required that Blizzard and Netease change some content in the game, not specifying what. Certain content already altered in WoW China includes piles of bones being changed to piles of sacks, and the undead showing less bone and more skin. Players do not leave corpses, but leave behind gravestones. Players and monsters also spew green and black blood.
More after the break…
The worst news of all (I mean aside from WoW China not having Burning Crusade yet) is that this is the result of a power struggle between separate institutions of the government. The Ministry of Culture and GAPP. The Ministry of Culture has the power to overturn GAPP, as they have several times, and now the MoC is claiming that the GAPP doesn’t have the authority to review WoW, and is reviewing it themselves.
There is a bit of a good ending to this chapter in the ongoing WoW China saga: There has been a deal struck, and Netease’s punishment will be announced this month. The way they are talking, however, it appears Netease may be looking at a beating or a swift execution. At best, Netease will be dealt a financial blow, at worst they will be required to stop operating World of Warcraft completely, meaning Blizzard will have to hunt down new landowners in China.
More on China, World of Warcraft, and Netease as it appears.
MMO Fallout 