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Animal Crossing pulled from Chinese platforms after Hong Kong protest

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman

A Nintendo Switch video game has been pulled off China’s grey market e-commerce platforms, Reuters’ checks show, after Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong used the game to protest against Beijing’s rule of the Chinese territory.

The game, “Animal Crossing: New Horizons”, is a colourful social simulator in which players can decorate their own island and invite others to visit. It became an instant hit after its launch last month and has been used by many players to interact and simulate real-life scenarios while they are stuck at home because of measures to curb the coronavirus outbreak.

Joshua Wong, a Hong Kong democracy activist, took his protests to the game last week and on Twitter posted a screenshot of his island decorated with a banner saying: “Free Hong Kong, revolution now.”

China has stringent rules on content from everything from video games to movies and music, censoring anything it believes violates core socialist values. Gaming companies must also seek licences for the games they want to publish.

Nintendo launched console sales in China with tech giant Tencent in December, but players in China can only access multiplayer connections for games such as Animal Crossing via foreign editions available on the grey market via platforms such as Pinduoduo and Taobao.

However, since Joshua Wong’s Twitter post, searches for “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” have showed no results on Pinduoduo. On Alibaba’s Taobao, some vendors are trying to circumvent the crackdown by directing potential buyers towards listings that sell the game without using its title in the description.

Some Animal Crossing players in China have created scenarios that mirror the real world, with temperature check points and avatars wearing face masks.

Joshua Wong has since shared pictures of his island showing portraits of Chinese President Xi Jinping and World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom at a funeral simulation with a sign saying “Wuhan pneumonia”.

“This is what we do in #AnimalCrossing ... maybe it’s why these people are so anxious to go back to the game!!” he said on Twitter.

It is not clear whether the pulling of the game is a directive from China’s content regulator or a voluntary act by politically sensitive e-commerce platforms.

Alibaba and Pinduoduo representatives were not immediately available for comment on Friday afternoon.

 
Have to admit this is getting scary and this is just about one particular videogame

They just lockdown the entire game and ignore the rights of other player just because they dont like one certain users action

Imagine if China government rules every electronic, gadgets and software and have control and access over your life

Welcome to the new world, the big brothers is watching you
 
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I feel bad for the next generation of Chinese. Their nation peaked 15 years ago and they don't even know it. Now it's just a matter of how regressed the nation will become and how long it'll take them to climb back out.
 

Airbus Jr

Banned
Control everything..get rid of everyone you dont like...real nasty...

Im still curious what happened to that wistleblower doctors who leaked the virus in china?

Did he ended up in a bodybag now or something like that?

I have a bad feeling about this

Something bad will happened to this hong kong player

Im really concerned of his safety
 
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Bitmap Frogs

Mr. Community
Chinese twitter is harrassing one of the honk kong guys who is doing this, calling him all sorts of shit lol. Heck someone even made an island that's a portrait of winnie the poh and all the people in the island are sheep. Taiwan got into the action, the president relased a statement that taiwan is a democracy and everyone is free to use AC or any other medium to speak against him or his government.

The world is fucking weird boys. An atomic superpower getting their panties in a bunch over a nintendo game. I wish they had been this diligent when it comes to covid lul.
 

Airbus Jr

Banned
Chinese twitter is harrassing one of the honk kong guys who is doing this, calling him all sorts of shit lol. Heck someone even made an island that's a portrait of winnie the poh and all the people in the island are sheep. Taiwan got into the action, the president relased a statement that taiwan is a democracy and everyone is free to use AC or any other medium to speak against him or his government.

The world is fucking weird boys. An atomic superpower getting their panties in a bunch over a nintendo game. I wish they had been this diligent when it comes to covid lul.

Man that sounds terible...
 

frogger

Member
Its one thing that leads to another

Communism always leads to dictatorship

Your freedom will be restricted and limited

It's true that communism leads to dictatorship. Not saying it is any good, or even plausible. There are plenty other countries with dictatorship but not communism that can pull the same anti freedom policy.
 
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Airbus Jr

Banned
It's true that communism leads to dictatorship. Not saying it is any good, or even plausible. There are plenty other countries with dictatorship but not communism that can pull the same anti freedom policy.

Understood

Thanks
 
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Bitmap Frogs

Mr. Community
The image in my head is hilarious. Are there even enough sheep villagers to make a full island?

winnie.jpg


Also the tweetstorm at the HK dude:

 

GymWolf

Gold Member
imagine if china was so proactive and aggressive against covid like they are with a game with fucking stuffed animals...

having the right priorities doesn't look like their stronger suit...
 
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I do not agree with the HK protests (propaganda for biased Westerners and identity crisis HKers...), but they sure are good at trolling and rallying up the gullible kids. :messenger_poop:
 
S

SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
Imagine playing a game made for distraction purposes and bringing up politics in it.
I feel bad for the next generation of Chinese. Their nation peaked 15 years ago and they don't even know it. Now it's just a matter of how regressed the nation will become and how long it'll take them to climb back out.
I don't. The world is fucked because of their country until who knows when.
 
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Xavier2337

Neo Member
Control everything..get rid of everyone you dont like...real nasty...

Im still curious what happened to that wistleblower doctors who leaked the virus in china?

Did he ended up in a bodybag now or something like that?

I have a bad feeling about this

Something bad will happened to this hong kong player

Im really concerned of his safety

one of the first whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang 李文亮 is already dead in February because of the virus.

Anyway, as a response, the Premier of The Executive Department of Taiwan posted this pic only fb:
92732297_10157314997676270_1691946961181081600_o_KmcG5_1200x0.jpg

(Please cherish Taiwan where you can play games freely.)

Damn clever response from Taiwan if you ask me lol
 

The Shepard

Member
China decided to punish all animal crossing player in their country just because of one Hong Kong guy pull a anti government banner in his game?

This is so ridiculous and fked up

This is why i hate communism

There's more to hate on that when it comes to communism but yea, it's ridiculous.
 

rnlval

Member

A Nintendo Switch video game has been pulled off China’s grey market e-commerce platforms, Reuters’ checks show, after Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong used the game to protest against Beijing’s rule of the Chinese territory.

The game, “Animal Crossing: New Horizons”, is a colourful social simulator in which players can decorate their own island and invite others to visit. It became an instant hit after its launch last month and has been used by many players to interact and simulate real-life scenarios while they are stuck at home because of measures to curb the coronavirus outbreak.

Joshua Wong, a Hong Kong democracy activist, took his protests to the game last week and on Twitter posted a screenshot of his island decorated with a banner saying: “Free Hong Kong, revolution now.”

China has stringent rules on content from everything from video games to movies and music, censoring anything it believes violates core socialist values. Gaming companies must also seek licences for the games they want to publish.

Nintendo launched console sales in China with tech giant Tencent in December, but players in China can only access multiplayer connections for games such as Animal Crossing via foreign editions available on the grey market via platforms such as Pinduoduo and Taobao.

However, since Joshua Wong’s Twitter post, searches for “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” have showed no results on Pinduoduo. On Alibaba’s Taobao, some vendors are trying to circumvent the crackdown by directing potential buyers towards listings that sell the game without using its title in the description.

Some Animal Crossing players in China have created scenarios that mirror the real world, with temperature check points and avatars wearing face masks.

Joshua Wong has since shared pictures of his island showing portraits of Chinese President Xi Jinping and World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom at a funeral simulation with a sign saying “Wuhan pneumonia”.

“This is what we do in #AnimalCrossing ... maybe it’s why these people are so anxious to go back to the game!!” he said on Twitter.

It is not clear whether the pulling of the game is a directive from China’s content regulator or a voluntary act by politically sensitive e-commerce platforms.

Alibaba and Pinduoduo representatives were not immediately available for comment on Friday afternoon.


#FreeTaiwan :messenger_tongue:
 

Thurible

Member
If there wasn't enough reason already to dislike the Chinese government oligarchy like their various human rights abuses, they have to control and censor any medium that could be used to simply express distate for their regime. It doesn't matter if the game itself has nothing to do with said protest, all it takes apparently is for an individual to simply EXPRESS their thoughts through a video game for it to be banned. Hey, why not ban paper while they are at it? After all, paper could be used to write a pro Hong Kong message and we don't want that spread around. Paper itself could be used for many different reasons, but if one person writes a message we don't like we should stop them and anyone else who might use such a medium
 

MagnesG

Banned
Only 3 Nintendo games had passed their screenings thus officially licensed and looks like Animal Crossing is out indefinitely.
 
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