WoW shutdown by government in China

[TheNiceGuy]

Story here:
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6238638.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Again? Does this mean we'll finally stop being spammed by gold sellers?

We already kind of discussed this in the main WOW thread, BTW.

 

[OCNewbie]

Again? Does this mean we'll finally stop being spammed by gold sellers?

We already kind of discussed this in the main WOW thread, BTW.

I don't visit the WoW thread, but I do find this bit of news quite interesting.

 

[Dark4ng3l]

The gold farmers don't play on chinese realms so it really won't affect them. It's just the regular guys playing the game on their realms that are going to lose.

 

[blurredvision]

Ya, from what I read, this didn't seem like it'd change much of anything.

 

[RallyMaster]

Good riddance, I say.

 

[Zkal]

Most good Chinese players are on the Taiwanese realms anyways so won't change a thing overall. Except less money to ActiBlizz of course

 

[gorcorps]

Good riddance, I say.

And you play on the Chinese realm enough to notice?

 

[RallyMaster]

And you play on the Chinese realm enough to notice?

No, but I know enough kids in China who could be doing better in life without WoW.

 

[coloumb]

Oh man..now what am I going to do on my business trip to China next month?

 

[lupi]

Just as amazingly a boring story when it was posted yesterday.

 

[Nik]

Oh man..now what am I going to do on my business trip to China next month?

Do you regularly play on a Chinese server?

 

[magomago]

I wonder if they will take the step to block connections to US/Taiwanese servers, and if they'll block google search results for WOW

I'm sure its the government trying to get their way in something...whether it is more control or more money.

For all our shitty government, atleast we don't like in a police state.

 

[RallyMaster]

I wonder if they will take the step to block connections to US/Taiwanese servers, and if they'll block google search results for WOW

I'm sure its the government trying to get their way in something...whether it is more control or more money.

For all our shitty government, atleast we don't like in a police state.

It's not as bad as the Americans think it is and it's also worse than what the Americans know depending on how you look at it. I don't think the US would be much different if it had 1.3 billion people of 56 cultural backgrounds each with their own thoughts on how the country should treat them within in its borders. The government can't please everybody, so they have to please the majority at the expense of others.

 

[coloumb]

Do you regularly play on a Chinese server?

Naw..I don't play WoW anymore

 

[Genx87]

So what does that drop the WoW population down to? 5 million?

 

[exar333]

It's not as bad as the Americans think it is and it's also worse than what the Americans know depending on how you look at it. I don't think the US would be much different if it had 1.3 billion people of 56 cultural backgrounds each with their own thoughts on how the country should treat them within in its borders. The government can't please everybody, so they have to please the majority at the expense of others.

Definitely. It's very nice that the US doesn't have a number of culteral backgrounds and different races that believe differently. It's much easier this way because our government always pleases everyone and always makes the right decision...:\

 

[exar333]

Story here:
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6238638.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1

I can't follow the link; did they give a reason for why this was shut down?

 

[n7]

Great country they've got there...

 

[Sureshot324]

I'm surprised the government doesn't block access to all other realms from China. Considering they blocked google it doesn't seem too much of a stretch.

 

[Stas]

Maybe they should compromise... say, you go work for the military on making more nukes, once you fulfill the quota, you get to play some WoW. Nah, unlikely. Their government will probably just threaten the people with guns and make them work for free.
God bless the USA...

 

[I Saw OJ]

I can't follow the link; did they give a reason for why this was shut down?

After spending much of 2009 offline, the Chinese version of World of Warcraft has found itself in limbo once again. According to Reuters, the authoritarian nation's General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) has revoked the permit needed to operate the game from Blizzard Entertainment's localization partner, NetEase.

"I'm sorry sir, but that sword just isn't regulation size."

Regulators reportedly claimed that NetEase, which landed the localization contract for the massively multiplayer role-playing game in April, had committed "gross violations" of Chinese law. As a result, GAPP officials ordered NetEase to stop charging players of the game in China and cease accepting any new registrations. It also reportedly rejected the company's application to localize the first WOW expansion, The Burning Crusade.

As a result of the GAPP's move, NetEase saw its shares fall 2.4 percent on the NASDAQ stock exchange to close the day at $37.69. (Shares were down an additional 1.38 percent in after-hours trading.) Reps for the company told Reuters they believe they are in full compliance with the GAPP regulations and were seeking "clarification" as to what exact violations were committed.

Roth Capital Partners analyst Adam Krejcik blamed the sudden revocation on behind-the-scenes jockeying for power by the GAPP and China's powerful Ministry of Culture, which has been leading a crackdown on online gaming all year. "These guys are essentially stuck in the middle of this power struggle," Krejcik said of NetEase.

If World of Warcraft is shut down in China permanently, it will have an adverse effect on the earnings of Blizzard's parent company, Activision Blizzard. Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey told Reuters that $0.05 could be lopped off the megapublisher's per share earnings, which are expected to be $0.65 for the 2009 fiscal year.