The9 changes WoW in China to appease censors
Hoping to stay ahead of the Chinese censors, The9 (which handles operation of World of Warcraft in China) has tweaked the visual apperance of the Undead race in the game in hopes of allowing the game to pass the new Chinese censorship review. As anyone who's played the game for long knows, the Undead models are part flesh and part skeleton, with bones sticking out in various places. The9 has modified Undead models to show no skeleton, thus making the race less scary and more likely to pass review. I know plenty of Undead players in the US who would love their toons not to have such a bony appearence -- but as a cosmetic issue rather than an issue of the Undead being scary.
What do you think -- are the Undead just too scary?
[Via Razorwire]
Update: Added an image linked by commenter Zhun.
What do you think -- are the Undead just too scary?
[Via Razorwire]
Update: Added an image linked by commenter Zhun.


















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
7-03-2007 @ 7:30PM
James said...
Yep, we'll poison your pets with pet food containing plastic, poison your kids with toothpaste containing anti-freeze, and we have no problems preventing free speech, free press or freedom of religion. But we draw the line at skeleton parts sticking out of characters in a videogame. Good to see the People's Republic has their priorities in the right place.
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7-03-2007 @ 7:38PM
Hahaha said...
you mean the gold farmers pay attention to that level of detail?
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7-03-2007 @ 7:42PM
tizravis said...
The Undead models are by no means scary. They just look cool.
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7-03-2007 @ 7:43PM
epsilon343 said...
Wow, despite my opinions of the US government, can't say I'd want to live anywhere else after I read things like that.
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7-03-2007 @ 7:51PM
gokufencer said...
Anyone have any pics of the current Chinese Undead?
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7-03-2007 @ 7:51PM
marvel said...
not too scary, just too ugly
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7-03-2007 @ 7:52PM
Zhun said...
Here's a couple screenshots of the undead models in China
http://bbs.wowchina.com/wow/download.aspx?type=1&file=20070622/2007062220065785492365_1024_768_11.jpg
http://bbs.ngacn.com/attachment/mon_200706/22/7_306693.jpg
http://bbs.ngacn.com/attachment/mon_200706/22/7_306690.jpg
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7-03-2007 @ 8:03PM
Coherent said...
I don't think it's a matter of the models being "too scary". I think it has more to do with fitting the preconceptions of the censors.
The9 is eager to get a quick rubber-stamp approval so that the censors won't have an excuse to nitpick this or that, delay the game and 'investigate' it further, which would keep it in front of the censor board that much longer.
Any delay before the censor board could be very costly in terms of additional bribes and market opportunity lost. The longer the censors look at it, the more fault they could find, necessitating extraordinary effort (serious money bribes) to get it off of the censor docket and back on the market.
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7-03-2007 @ 8:04PM
Coherent said...
They just want to make everything just right so that a minimal amount of $$ lubrication will get it through the system and approved.
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7-03-2007 @ 8:06PM
scholargipsy said...
@#1: Well said.
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7-03-2007 @ 8:08PM
FRANKL said...
Playing Devil's Advocate here, but it may be cultural, not political.
This is off the top of my head (no time for research), but I believe that the Chinese revere their dead. I don't believe that they have the concept of the "living dead", zombies, or anything like that. It may be an affront to many to think in those terms.
Anyone who knows better, please correct me.
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7-03-2007 @ 8:20PM
Terrant said...
The fleshy Forsaken look kinda cool, but I think that's just because they're different! Months of staring at the same models gets to ya.
Are abominations or other undead being revised as well, or is it only aberrant for people-controlled characters to be bony corpses?
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7-03-2007 @ 8:21PM
IKT said...
@4. there are lots of cool places around the world, just because China and North Korea are screwed up doesn't mean every country is..
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7-03-2007 @ 8:43PM
Mats said...
I must say, Fleshy Undead FTW. Also the fact that the armor did not look like old rags after you put it on is a good thing. I'd like a option to pick that sort of undead from my character selection screen.
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7-03-2007 @ 9:17PM
muirA said...
#11 is correct, its not that they're too scary, it's just that the Chinese government doesn't allow the depiction of skeletons in most media, since they do indeed have a respect for the dead. It may seem strange and inconsequential to us, but that is they're beliefs.
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7-03-2007 @ 9:55PM
Nick said...
Myself, I find the fleshy Undead model scarier than the old one...first pic looks anorexic...
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7-03-2007 @ 10:23PM
epsilon343 said...
@13
I didn't mean to imply that I think the US is a bastion of uncensored media. It just seems like we see games banned in European countries or elsewhere that make it to the US with no problems. Can't remember the one I'm thinking of but it was recent.
I'm still glad that I don't live in countries like that.
As for the topic. It's interesting that that is something they chose to change. I actually kinda liked being dead (silly curses on my Draenei) and thought it was kinda neat.
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7-03-2007 @ 10:27PM
Voevoduul said...
I lived in China for 3 years.
There isn't any cultural apprehension about zombies or skeletons. Don't be ignorant. Not insulting you, but making a statement like that without knowing the culture is just ignorant.
Anyways, it's really all about what others have already said :
The quicker they can get approval, the less money they'll have to spend on bribes.
And believe me, after living there for years, most of the 'important' decisions there are made based on the amount of your bribe.
It's really that simple.
Also : Yeah, 'recent Undead' models do look pretty cool. If we could get a combo of the regular Undead model, flesh on/ off the torso, flesh on/off the legs, just a bit more detailed, and left up to us, the players, that would be awesome :D
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7-03-2007 @ 10:41PM
Pzychotix said...
@18. 3 years of living in a country is hardly a glimpse into Chinese culture. Don't kid yourself.
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7-03-2007 @ 10:59PM
Preston said...
"I know plenty of Undead players in the US who would love their toons not to have such a bony appearence -- but as a cosmetic issue rather than an issue of the Undead being scary."
I know plenty of people who want the term "toon" to die a bloody, torturous death.
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