Cute simulator Animal Crossing: New Horizons not officially sold in China, but gamers could buy it through intermediaries. However, today the game was removed from the Chinese site. Taobao (similar to eBay). Why? Probably because Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been turned into a platform for political expression.
Not least because of the coronavirus, users began to create political content in the game, and since Animal Crossing: New Horizons is very popular, the news spread quickly. Among the statements: slogans Freedom to Hong Kong and jokes over the government.
This is how #hongkong ppl spend our time during coronavirus lockdown – villain hitting in #animalcrossing, the villain is #CarrieLam, the worst governor in #hongkong history.#AnimalCrossingNewHorizons#StandWithHK pic.twitter.com/K5AbOTl9tD
– Studio Incendo (@studioincendo) April 1, 2023
As the analyst notes Daniel AhmadRegulators do not directly indicate that the reason for the ban lies in virtual political actions – they simply refer to the 2017 government decree that prohibits the sale of imported copies of games in China. Namely, imported copies of Animal Crossing: New Horizons have been distributed in the country to this day.
Typically, regulators did not closely monitor the gray market and turned to the mentioned resolution only in exceptional cases: when the game that failed the censor check became extremely popular (and it was difficult to miss it) or when the game contains too cruel or offensive content (or allows users to create one , and they write a lot about it). Animal Crossing is an “intruder” on two points at once. Political statements that are contrary to party politics are perceived by Chinese regulatory authorities exclusively as offensive.
Obtaining approval for the sale of a game in China is a complex and lengthy process. Since the December launch of Switch, regulators have allowed the release of only three projects for the console: New Super Mario Bros. U deluxe, Super mario odyssey and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Now, experts say, there is a risk that the authorities will not issue Nintendo and Tencent official permission to sell the Chinese version of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, since the game has already “stained itself”.
However, once in a similar situation Minecraftbut in the end it was allowed to sell in the country.
The Chinese have already bought a foreign copy of the game in no way limited – Animal Crossing: New Horizons still works on the imported Nintendo Switch in online and offline mode. Also, the project and related paraphernalia are still being sold in many retail stores in China, but this may soon come to an end. On Taobao, a search no longer offers a single query.
Read also: A new and potentially last hero for Overwatch will appear in the game on April 14 – Blizzard.
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