• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Tencent Replaces PUBG With Chinese Made Game Called "Game for Peace"

Kazza

Member
For those that haven't been following, although PUBG was available in China, Tencent wasn't able to get the licence require to enable them to actually start making money from it. Well, now they have a solution, and a new game "Game for Peace" has been released (at the same time PUBG was delisted). The new game was created by the original developers of PUBG (the Korean company formerly known as Bluehole, now called Krafton), and apparently all achievements have been carried over from PUBG. Being more in step with recent government guidelines (which included things such as bans on corpses and blood, references to imperial history and gambling), Game for Peace has more chance of being approved for a licence, and therefore able to be monetised.

According to a reddit user by the name of tingozhu, here are a list of the differences:

So basically, player eliminated would set the crate on the ground and wave hands to say goodbye.

Top 5 players (squads) are now all considered winners of the game. When there are only 5 players (squads) left in a game, a pop-up will ask the player to choose to quit as top 5 or compete for the first place. A birthday cake will appear on the ground for the first place, and a helicopter will come to evacuate the survivors.

No more green blood. Actually no blood AT ALL.

There is a pilot recruiting advertisement of the Chinese Air Force on the loading screen.

Blue zone is now called "non/poor-signal area", players need to use "signal batteries" to survive in "blue zone". There is a separate signal bar. Staying in the "blue zone" will not damage health bar but signal bar, and a player is eliminated if either health or signal is damaged to zero. A countdown clock is offered (and can be turned off) to notify the player how many seconds they can survive in current "blue zone".

A CrossFire (or CS:Go)-like team battle mode is added.

Here's a GIF of the new "death animation":


giphy.gif
 
Last edited:

VertigoOA

Banned
Interesting to see China taking a major anti-violence censorship stance. I wonder if the goal is to pacify the overall population.

Hasn’t stopped Chinese migrants from setting up a dozen whorehouses filled with illegally shipped slaves sold into anlife of prostitution all over my neighborhood.

How’s that cultural reprogramming going? Ever work??
 
Last edited:

Kazza

Member
Do Chinese media not allow guns or something? This seems like an overreaction

You see plenty of guns in TV shows, but I don't remember ever seeing blood. China often says that media needs to abide by "socialist values". Don't get too hung up on the word "socialist", this has nothing to do with displays of wealth or capitalism on TV (it's super common to see super rich characters driving sports cars and having amazing apartments in TV dramas). If you think of it as 90s era American conservative attitudes to gaming (no sex, no violence - think of the whole Night Trap/MOrtal Kombat controversy), then you pretty much have the correct idea. The main difference is that, unlike 90s era conservatives (and 10s era social justice types), the Chinese government actually has the power to enforce these values.


Cheap Chinese gaming ... replaced with cheaper Chinese gaming

Korean actually, by the sounds of it.
 

Pagusas

Elden Member
Hasn’t stopped Chinese migrants from setting up a dozen whorehouses filled with illegally shipped slaves sold into anlife of prostitution all over my neighborhood.

How’s that cultural reprogramming going? Ever work??

The goal of pacifying a population is to make them easier to control from the government perspective.
 
Interesting to see China taking a major anti-violence censorship stance. I wonder if the goal is to pacify the overall population.
I was thinking about the same thing, but from the other side. If video games do cause an increase in aggression, are the Chinese government worried that their particular brand of communist/democracy is susceptible to being overthrown by a billion pissed of civilians, more easily than western installed government?

Maybe "to pacify them" is the same as "to stop them becoming aggressive". I don't know?
 

Alx

Member
I could see the point with the whole "no violence" thing (not that I mind games where people die when you shoot them, but games can be fun even with robots opponents, green blood and confetti explosions). But the "5 last teams win" rule is silly and completely changes the nature of the game. It's a battle royale, the whole purpose is to be the last one standing, even if it's by shooting rainbows and throwing flower bouquets.
 

Pagusas

Elden Member
I was thinking about the same thing, but from the other side. If video games do cause an increase in aggression, are the Chinese government worried that their particular brand of communist/democracy is susceptible to being overthrown by a billion pissed of civilians, more easily than western installed government?

Maybe "to pacify them" is the same as "to stop them becoming aggressive". I don't know?

That’s what I was suggesting... make your population pacif/scared of violence and unwilling to stand up to the government.
 
That’s what I was suggesting... make your population pacif/scared of violence and unwilling to stand up to the government.

It's interesting to see the Chinese government give so much information away (global political picture) by making changes like this.

Or

Are they in fact, correct? Are we in the west the ones who are wrong by allowing such violence on such a large scale to desensitise us?
 

Kazza

Member
are the Chinese government worried that their particular brand of communist/democracy is susceptible to being overthrown by a billion pissed of civilians

I've spent over 2 and half years in mainland China in total, and I just don't see this groundswell of grassroots anger ready to rise up against the party at a moment's notice, however much some Western media outlets would love that to be the case. In fact, young Chinese people seem to be among the worlds most optimistic towards the future.

That being said, no one likes being told what they can and can't watch or play, especially teenagers, so I'm sure this kind of censorship won't be popular.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
天安门广场大屠杀

seems like a great user name for that game <3
 
I've spent over 2 and half years in mainland China in total, and I just don't see this groundswell of grassroots anger ready to rise up against the party at a moment's notice, however much some Western media outlets would love that to be the case. In fact, young Chinese people seem to be among the worlds most optimistic towards the future.

That being said, no one likes being told what they can and can't watch or play, especially teenagers, so I'm sure this kind of censorship won't be popular.

Interesting.

Then I lean towards the West being incorrect. If Chinese people are so optimistic, maybe it is because they are censored from whatever factor causes the West to be so pessimistic and reliant on drugs/alcohol/vices to get through the week.

Anyway, sorry to derail the thread.

I would like to see this more fun/light-hearted death animations in games.
 

Croatoan

They/Them A-10 Warthog
It's interesting to see the Chinese government give so much information away (global political picture) by making changes like this.

Or

Are they in fact, correct? Are we in the west the ones who are wrong by allowing such violence on such a large scale to desensitise us?
Do you believe in science? Because it is science that says there is no correlation between video game violence and real world violence.
 

Handy Fake

Member
Should be a real life death aswell. When you cop a bullet, just respectfully pull your wooden box out of your pants and wave farewell.

The family friendly answer to #metoo and war casualties.
I reckon they should pull out an umbrella and fly off into the sunset like Mary Poppins.
 

Kazza

Member
Then I lean towards the West being incorrect. If Chinese people are so optimistic, maybe it is because they are censored from whatever factor causes the West to be so pessimistic and reliant on drugs/alcohol/vices to get through the week.

Anyway, sorry to derail the thread.

Could be. Another likely reason is that China really has got materially better since the 80s. Most probably see that their parents did better than their grandparents, and that they will in turn have a better standard of living than their parents. Many young people in the West don't feel the same way (although young Chinese people are beginning to suffer from problems similar to their counterparts in the West, for example unaffordable housing).
 

Pagusas

Elden Member
Interesting.

Then I lean towards the West being incorrect. If Chinese people are so optimistic, maybe it is because they are censored from whatever factor causes the West to be so pessimistic and reliant on drugs/alcohol/vices to get through the week.

Anyway, sorry to derail the thread.

I would like to see this more fun/light-hearted death animations in games.

They are optimistic because their economy is in rocket stage and they are seeing mass migrations from poor to middle class. Every 1st world country goes through it. Think of it as sorta equivalent to golden age America, the 1950’s.

Basically to use a sports term: Winning fixes everything. So long as you keep winning, all flaws and faults are forgivable. The day you stop winning though, is the day everyone gets angry and demands heads. Look at the Green Bay Packers over the last 10 years. Playoff appearances every single year, super bowl win, several championship games. But lose just a little bit, and bam, head coach is fired, everyone is calling Rodgers old and losing his game, controversy popping up everywhere. If the team starts winning again no one will care.
 
Last edited:
essentially desensitizing their youth to violence and making them more resistant to PTSD for WWIII



So basically its either:

30fjdc.jpg


or:

30fjdc2rket.jpg


or:

VRm5bzF.png


Depending how much you want to comply with China.

Also footage of the animation in action (Jump to 3:30 if it does not happen instantly):


get these in the monthly meme thread!
 
Last edited:

lock2k

Banned
Interesting.

Then I lean towards the West being incorrect. If Chinese people are so optimistic, maybe it is because they are censored from whatever factor causes the West to be so pessimistic and reliant on drugs/alcohol/vices to get through the week.

Anyway, sorry to derail the thread.

I would like to see this more fun/light-hearted death animations in games.

I'll take doom and gloom any day over being censored for being optimistic. Freedom over all.
 
I've spent over 2 and half years in mainland China in total, and I just don't see this groundswell of grassroots anger ready to rise up against the party at a moment's notice, however much some Western media outlets would love that to be the case. In fact, young Chinese people seem to be among the worlds most optimistic towards the future.

That being said, no one likes being told what they can and can't watch or play, especially teenagers, so I'm sure this kind of censorship won't be popular.

as to chinas internet censorship, i've read about how their youth feels regarding it. essentially they don't care about the government censoring things, because they dont know anything different. Theres never a good time to introduce new and more extreme censorship, (i mean, maybe when the country is being extremely successful) but my point is you always need to wait for the next generation of youth to kick in so the censorship is the new norm to them and forever after.
 
This could work well with games that have sexual content in them. Exposed breasts and penises could be replaced by waving hands.
 

Skyfox

Member
I actually find the waving and disappearing more disturbing than just falling down.

God help those living there.
 

Bullet Club

Member
No Chicken? Tencent's PUBG Stand-In Leaves Gamers Fuming

Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s latest hit set a string of revenue records right out of the gate. But the newest title from the world’s largest gaming company has already hit a snag.

Game For Peace, the highly touted Battle Royale-style shooter trotted out last week, is starting to rile players just a few days in. More than 80% of reviews on Apple’s Chinese app store have been negative since the title’s debut on May 8, Sensor Tower judges. That compares with just 35% for PUBG Mobile -- the game it replaced in the country. Thousands of infuriated gamers have lashed out online against everything from weird sound effects and fawning Chinese patriotism to the white-washing of violence, according to reviews compiled by the firm.

“Even though it’s playable, it feels so weird for us veteran gamers,” one online commentator wrote. “Give me back the excitement,” another said. “Trash. Delete,” wrote a third.

Following a 2018 crackdown on money-making licenses, Tencent pulled popular but gory PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds last week and swapped it out for the toned-down Game for Peace, developed in-house. But the Chinese company tweaked details to ensure a family-friendly game that would fly with regulators: no blood; nationalistic banners; victims blithely wave rather than die (typically in sensational fashion). Five winners can share the final glory, instead of one lone survivor.

Investors are counting on Game For Peace, known also as Peacekeeper Elite, to help arrest Tencent’s growth slowdown: on Wednesday, the social media titan reported its slowest pace of revenue expansion on record. Yet the rising tide of complaints suggests the jury’s still out on its latest effort. The title debuts just as Epic Games Inc., developer of the similar Fortnite, rolled out local servers Monday that offer Chinese thrill-seekers a rival Battle Royale experience, albeit only on a desktop or laptop computer for now.

To be sure, the negative reviews aren’t putting off all gamers. The title currently ranks as the second-highest grossing app in China, the world’s biggest mobile gaming market, Sensor Tower said. It earned $20 million in its first five days, compared with $465,000 for PUBG Mobile and $2 million for Fortnite over comparable periods. Those latter two games are barred from earning revenue in China. Jane Yip, a spokeswoman for Tencent, didn’t respond to an emailed query.

“It’s not good news, especially since what people are unhappy about are things that Tencent can’t change,” said David Dai, an analyst with Bernstein. “After censoring so many aspects, the game was bound to suffer some setbacks.”

Tencent has struggled to revitalize its gaming business. A nine-months freeze in approvals hampered its ability to make money off PUBG last year, though the mobile game itself took China by storm. The company rolled out Game For Peace only after winning the green light to host in-app purchases, marking its arrival finally in the lucrative duel-to-the-death arena. The new title mimics PUBG’s play: Users downloading Game For Peace even found it automatically replaced the earlier title.

“Chinese players do tend to prefer more realistic military elements in their shooters,” said Randy Nelson, head of mobile insights at Sensor Tower. “This can also explain the sharp downturn in user sentiment when Tencent upgraded players to the less realistic Game for Peace.”

While the game’s launch suggests approvals are back on track, newly instated content curbs can lead to unusual modifications. PUBG’s tongue-in-cheek chicken dinner -- awarded to the last person standing --- has become frosted cake in Tencent’s world.

“We can’t even eat chicken anymore. Deleted the game out of rage. Made myself some roast chicken for a late-night snack instead,” a fourth user wrote.

Source: Bloomberg
 
Would NOT play that game.

So no fps games allowed in china without crazy censorship to the point of mockery of devs ?
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom