GGL Wire

Mar

GGL community wants StarCraft, CoD4 for Digital Games

Filed under: call of duty, China, Digital Games, Shanghai, starcraft

Last week, we asked GGL members what games they want to see at the Digital Games in Shanghai this summer. The response was overwhelming, so I decided to check out the suggested games and see which ones the GGL community really wants.

As of last Friday, with 336 comments, the winner by a slender margin was Call of Duty 4, which just eked past StarCraft to take the top spot.

Quake 3/4, Warcraft III and Counter-Strike 1.6 rounded out the top five suggestions. Continued…

10 Comments

Digital Games

Mar

Blizzard assists with Guitar Hero III expansion, builds for China, Korea

Filed under: Activision, Activision Blizzard, blizzard, China, Guitar Hero III, Korea, massively multiplayer online role playing game, mmo, PC bang, rhythm game, RPG, starcraft

Yes, that’s the correct headline.

As a result of the Activision/Vivendi merger, Blizzard (soon to be Activision-Blizzard) will be working on the Guitar Hero III expansion pack, helping bring the game to internet cafes in Korea and China.

The PC bang culture that birthed the professional StarCraft scene is going to get a dose of rhythm game action.

CEO Bobby Kotick also opened the door for a Guitar Hero MMO, something that could go over very well in Asian markets. Typically, Asian MMOs are free, but items, outfits, and other gear is bought on a microtransaction level–exactly the kind of thing you’d see a virtual rockstar doing.

Source: Shacknews

ClanBase’s Kincaid submitted this report.

Feb

China’s government decides what games its children should play?

Filed under: call of duty, CB, Chess, China, ClanBase, CoD, Counter Strike, CS, government censorship, massively multiplayer online role playing game, MMORPG, role playing game, RPG, Sun Jiazheng, World of Warcraft, WoW

Personal choice and civil liberties for gamers took another bashing as China’s Ministry of Culture published details of ten games it deems “suitable” for minors.

In an effort to “purify the ‘on-line environment,” ten games have been selected by the ministry’s on-line games censorship committee, that are deemed healthy and can “enhance intelligence.” The games are all domestic products so you won’t see the likes of World of Warcraft, Counter-Strike or Call of Duty on the list.

Instead they are made up of five role playing games, four recreational/chess games and one educational game.

This isn’t the first time though - in 2005 People’s Daily Online published an article relating to the Culture Minister’s 15 clean online games. Another list was collated again in January 2006. Continued…

Feb

Chinese TV uses WoW map in military documentary

Filed under: China, tv, WoW

From the WTFWTT deaprtment:

China’s military TV channel broadcasted a documentary about recent war exercises.

Compare this map graphic of Turkey, Iraq and Iran…

…to this map of the Arathi Highlands in World of Warcraft: (below fold) Continued…

News

GGL’s Reid Landeen translated this GGL China article.

World of Warcraft had a tumultuous 2007 in China, with the release of The Burning Crusade expansion and addition of many new players. Here’s a journal-style rundown of the year for TBC in China and around the world.

Jan. 16, 2007
World of Warcraft’s first expansion, The Burning Crusade, ships to North America and Europe.

March 8, 2007
Blizzard Entertainment announced today that WoW’s expansion (The Burning Crusade) has already sold more than 3.5 million copies in North America. In the first 24 hours of release, it sold more than 2.4 million copies, which is more than any PC game has ever sold in a single month. Blizzard’s President, Mike Morhaime explained, “The passion that gamers have for The Burning Crusade makes us feel really excited.” At this time, Chinese gamers did not know when The Burning Crusade would be released in China.
Continued…

Be sure to read part one!

Features, News, E-Sports

Reid Landeen

Dec

Worst year ever: videogaming’s 11 worst for 2007 part 2

Filed under: artard, cheating, China, epilepsy, eve online, Jack Thompson, microsoft, microtransactions, nintendo, politics, Red Ring of Death, Taiwan, Virginia Tech, WCG, Wii, xbox 360

5. Cheating in EVE Online

Within the world of EVE Online, it’s perfectly acceptable to lie, cheat and steal. So why cheat in the game itself? Continued…

3 Comments

Features, Opinion

Nov

World of Warcraft hits 9.3 million subscribers

Filed under: China, World of Warcraft, WoW

Vivendi’s eye-popping third quarter sales stats, a 19% increase worth €216m/$315.2m and +30 damage against Undead, included a little tidbit about World of Warcraft reaching 9.3 million subscribers worldwide.

The mega-publisher attributes the sales and subscriber increase to the Chinese release of The Burning Crusade expansion in the third quarter of 2007, as well as sales of World in Conflict.

The Chinese are certainly rabid about their WoW, as they displayed at World Series of Video Games stop in Wuhan, China earlier this year. The crush of people trying to get in amazed worldwide fans, because the WoW competitions at other WSVG events

Read: Vivendi Q3 Sales Up 19%, WoW Userbase Hits 9.3m

Oct

Championship Gaming Series heads to Wuhan

Filed under: cgs, Championship Gaming Series, Chao Ma, China, Wuhan

China’s first CGS franchise has a name and a home. The CGS announced today the formation of the Wuhan Dragon, led by former wNv manager Chao Ma.

Ma’s background is heavily weighted toward Counter-Strike, as he led his wNv team to many championships over the course of his tenure there. Here’s the Wuhan Dragon’s roster lineup:

Counter-Strike: Source: Team wNv
FIFA 07: Jun Li
Dead or Alive 4: Jian Li (male), Beisi Xiong (female)
Project Gotham Racing 3: Mi Li, Nan Gao

Wuhan Dragon will see their first action against Seoul, Dubai, Singapore, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur at the CGS Pan-Asian Final, Oct. 15-18 in Kuala Lumpur. The top four teams from this event will advance to Los Angeles for the World Championships.

1 Comment

Sep

Chinese MMO bans male players with female avatars

Filed under: Aurora Technology, China, Draenei, fantasy, gender, homosexuality, King of the World, MMORPG, sex

Badunk badunk. I always play a female character in RPGs and MMOs. If I’m going to spend hundreds of hours staring at a character’s ass, I want it to be a hot female ass.

Have you seen the badunk badunks on those Draenei chicks? Niiiiice.

But Chinese MMORPG King of the World has instituted a policy banning male players from playing female characters. Gender character restrictions aren’t new — popular Korean isometric MMO Ragnarok Online insists that players play their own gender, although it’s an easy rule to get around. But King of the World’s publisher, Aurora Technology, has apparently frozen the accounts of all male players with female characters.

Now, any player who wishes to roll a female character will have to submit to a webcam interview. Supposedly to show off her boobies. Continued…

4 Comments

News

Sep

Chinese WoW player hits level 70, 24 hours after Burning Crusade launch

Filed under: blizzard, Burning Crusade, China, launch, leveling, MMORPG, skeletons, World of Warcraft

That Which Has No Life A Chinese World of Warcraft player called SilverDragon leveled to 70 just 24 hours after the Burning Crusade expansion debuted in the People’s Republic.

He is the first player to max out at 70 in China’s heavily-monitored version of the MMORPG.

When Burning Crusade first launched in January, a French player named Gullerbone hit 70 just 28 hours later.

Perhaps it’s easier to level in the Chinese version of WoW because there are no skeletons. Continued…

News