Cracking China, the world’s largest video games market, is an enticing challenge for overseas developers. But capturing a share of $24bn in annual revenues means surmounting censorship obstacles, such as objections to lead characters in standard shoot-’em-up roles being killers for hire.打进世界上仅次于电子游戏市场中国,对海外开发商而言是一个诱人的挑战。但是,在240亿美元的年度营收中分一杯羹,意味著要解决审查障碍,比如标准枪战游戏中的主角无法是被雇用的刺客。“The main character should not be an assassin, we would suggest a law enforcement officer or military personnel being more appropriate,” said China’s top censorship body about one game recently, according to Henry Fong of Yodo1, a games “localising” company that converts overseas titles in China. The body also requested the censorship of locations in China and Taiwan, among other “very specific” requirements, Mr Fong said.游道易(Yodo1)的方志航(Henry Fong)称之为,不久前中国最低审查机构在谈到一个游戏时回应,“主要角色不应当是一个刺客,我们建议主角是执法人员官员或军事人员更加适合。
”游道易是一家把海外游戏推展至中国国内的游戏“本地化”公司。他说道,除了其他一些“十分明确的”拒绝,该机构还拒绝对中国大陆和台湾境内的地点展开审查。
As with films, all games released in China require approval from the culture ministry and the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) — a requirement that has proved to be a barrier to market access and was extended to cover the fast-growing mobile sector last year.跟电影一样,所有在中国公布的游戏必需获得国家新闻出版广电总局的审核——这一拒绝已被证明是转入中国市场的壁垒,并在去年伸延至飞速发展的手机游戏领域。While a ban on the sale of consoles such as Sony’s PlayStation was lifted to much fanfare in 2013, since then, fewer than 100 console games have been approved. Andrew House, chief executive of Sony’s interactive entertainment unit, has said the “challenging censorship regime” in China has dented PlayStation sales. Restrictions on violent content keep out top-selling titles such as Bloodborne and the God of War and Grand Theft Auto franchises.尽管在2013年,国内不得销售索尼(Sony) PlayStation等电子游戏机的禁令被中止,引发一片震撼,但自那以来,准许销售的游戏机游戏将近100种。索尼对话娱乐(Sony Interactive Entertainment)首席执行官安德鲁?豪斯(Andrew House)回应,中国“具备挑战性的审查体制”巩固了PlayStation的销量。对暴力内容的容许,把《血源》(Bloodborne)、《战神》(God of War)和《侠盗猎车手》(Grand Theft Auto)等最畅销游戏拒之门外。
Other vague requirements have lengthened approval processes, which can extend for more than six months, deterring some companies from trying to launch their titles, according to Daniel Ahmad of Niko Partners, a consultancy. Content that “threatens China’s national unity, sovereignty, or territorial integrity” is forbidden, along with anything that “harms the nation’s reputation, security, or interests, public ethics or China’s culture and traditions,” SAPPRFT says.咨询公司Niko Partners的丹尼尔?艾哈迈德(Daniel Ahmad)回应,其他模棱两可拒绝拖长了审核流程(有可能多达6个月),使一些公司萌生了尝试在中国公布游戏的念头。国家新闻出版广电总局回应,“危害国家统一、主权和领土完整”的内容,以及任何“危害国家安全性,或者伤害国家荣誉和利益,危害社会公德或者民族杰出文化传统”的内容,都是被禁令的。
A female employee at a Chinese online games company, who did not wish to give her name, said that characters could not be shown in short skirts. “There can’t be any sight of blood, so we make it black. There can’t be words like ‘kill’ or ‘die’, and use of English is banned,” she added.中国一家在线游戏公司的一位不愿明示的女性员工回应,游戏人物无法以穿着短裙的形象示人。她还说道:“游戏中无法经常出现一点点血,所以我们把血制成黑色的。游戏里无法经常出现‘杀死’或‘杀’的字样,不得用于英语。
”In some cases, local laws extend to the virtual world: “The regulators require the birth system in our games to meet the regulations of birth-control policies,” Xu Youzhen, chairman of Guangzhou-based Duoyi Network Technology, said in 2015 of the country’s then “one child” restrictions. “Which means if players have a second child in the game, we must impose virtual social-compensation fees on them.”在有些情况下,现实世界的法律伸延到了虚拟世界:“管理部门拒绝我们:游戏里的生子系统,要符合国家计划生育的有关规定,”广州多益网络(Duoyi Network Technology)董事长徐宥箴在2015年谈及中国那时的“独生子女”政策容许时说,“也就是说玩家在游戏里生二胎,我们得决定对他们征税虚拟世界的社会抚养费。”Foreign developers have “open lines of communication with regulators so that they can get a sense of what may or may not be sensitive content,” said a Beijing-based games industry lawyer, who did not wish to be named. Chinese fans of the latest instalment of Japan’s Final Fantasy role-playing series noted in November that one fairy-like character came with added clothing for modesty’s sake.北京一位不愿明示的游戏行业律师说道,外国开发商有“跟管理部门交流的公开发表渠道,以便理解什么有可能是脆弱内容,什么不是。
”日本《最终幻想》(Final Fantasy)角色扮演系列游戏的近期一版的中国粉丝在去年11月认为,为了端庄起见,仙女模样的人物减少了衣服。Yodo1’s Mr Fong says inquiries from foreign developers are still strong, but they are preparing for local censorship “at an earlier stage of their games development than before”.游道易的方志航回应,目前来自外国开发商的告知仍很多,但他们开始打算“在游戏研发中比以往早的阶段”拒绝接受国内审查。Analysts and developers say that, as with films, game censorship stifles local companies wanting to export their titles. Recent tightening comes amid a boom in small independent Chinese developers attempting to make inroads overseas. Last month, Chinese indie title Candleman became available overseas on the Xbox. China-developed League of Angels has won overseas awards and has hundreds of thousands of fans on Facebook.分析师和开发商回应,跟电影一样,游戏审查压制了想出口游戏的国内公司。
审查不久前放宽之际,正值企图进占海外市场的中国小型独立国家游戏开发商大量兴起。上月,中国公司独立国家制作的《蜡烛人》(Candleman)已登岸海外的Xbox。
中国研发的《女神联盟》(League of Angels)已夺得多个国际奖项,在Facebook下有了数十万粉丝。Chen Yu of Shanghai-based Jufu Internet Technology last year penned an angry open letter to China’s premier Li Keqiang and the country’s State Council, protesting against the censorship of mobile games. He complained small developers would be driven out of business.去年,上海巨斧网络科技有限公司的陈宇写出了一封气愤的公开信给中国总理李克强和国务院,就手机游戏审查提出抗议。
他责怪称之为,中小游戏开发者的经营受到严重影响。“There are higher barriers to entry, plus the extra time and money. Any one of those alone would be enough to knock out a small company,” he says, adding that the rules had already had a “big impact” on the sector. As for the letter, he says: “I’m still waiting for a response.”他说道:“(《网络出版发行服务管理规定》和《关于移动游戏出版发行服务管理的通报》)大幅提高了中小企业和个人开发者的经营成本,提升了管理制度门槛。
这些容许似乎近于有可能将专门从事游戏研发的中小企业和个人回避在市场之外。”他接着说道,这些规定已对行业产生了“严重影响”。至于公开信,他说道:“我仍在等候恢复。
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