Red Tape Blues
Moshi Moshi Everybody. I’m wadding through some red tape at work right now, so I figured this would be as good of a time as any to do an update.
Ever since I started working at GeoPolitical Strategy (Microsoft Corporation) I have been paying closer attention to geopolitical issues in the industry. Just today Gamasutra announced the Ministry Of Culture has a Game Products Censorship Committee which is now rating many of the titles entering China, and recently banned PC strategy game Hearts of Iron for distorting historical facts in describing Manchuria, West Xingjian, and Tibet as independent sovereign countries within the game. Remember folks, all it takes for your product to be banned from a 1.3 billion person market is one mistake on your political map. If you sold a game to 2.5% of China alone, you’d have the best selling video game in history. In contrast The Sims only sold 0.625% the population of China. Getting banned is getting off easy too. Usually there are no grounds for a lawsuit, but there are countries where they will arrest you. These range from using Nazis in France, to acknowledging the existence of the Kurds in the Middle East. Also be aware that your game does not have to be released in a country for people to be offended and raise hell. This should be some food for though for those DigiPen students wanting to make Jesus vs. Mohamed: Maximum Impact.
Love & Peace! =D
-Klad
Ever since I started working at GeoPolitical Strategy (Microsoft Corporation) I have been paying closer attention to geopolitical issues in the industry. Just today Gamasutra announced the Ministry Of Culture has a Game Products Censorship Committee which is now rating many of the titles entering China, and recently banned PC strategy game Hearts of Iron for distorting historical facts in describing Manchuria, West Xingjian, and Tibet as independent sovereign countries within the game. Remember folks, all it takes for your product to be banned from a 1.3 billion person market is one mistake on your political map. If you sold a game to 2.5% of China alone, you’d have the best selling video game in history. In contrast The Sims only sold 0.625% the population of China. Getting banned is getting off easy too. Usually there are no grounds for a lawsuit, but there are countries where they will arrest you. These range from using Nazis in France, to acknowledging the existence of the Kurds in the Middle East. Also be aware that your game does not have to be released in a country for people to be offended and raise hell. This should be some food for though for those DigiPen students wanting to make Jesus vs. Mohamed: Maximum Impact.
Love & Peace! =D
-Klad