Interfax posted this story this morning:
PowerNet Technology, a Chinese online gaming firm, has developed a new online game in cooperation with the China Communist Youth League (CCYL) named “Anti-Japan War Online,” which will begin commercial operation by the end of 2005, a PowerNet official said Tuesday.
“The game will allow players, especially younger players, to learn from history. They will get a patriotic feeling when fighting invaders to safeguard their motherland,” a PowerNet Project Manager, surnamed Liu, told Interfax.
The background for “Anti-Japan War Online” is the Japanese invasion of China during World War II, from 1937 through 1945. Players are able to play simulations of key battles, but will only be able to play as the Chinese side. Players will also not be allowed to kill other players in the game. In addition, fighting in the game between Japanese and Chinese soldiers will be shown only in miniature, so as to reduce the violence level of the game, Liu said.
The new massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) will begin internal testing later this August, with commercial launch of the game expected in 2005. The online game is based on PowerNet’s self-developed game engine.
The CCLY said in statement that few games on the Chinese market today generate a “national spirit” that can educate young players. As a result, the CCYL will actively partner with online gaming companies to jointly develop “patriotic” online games.
“‘Anti-Japan War Online’ is a patriotic online game that is both interesting and instructive, and can attract and guide young players,” Chen Xiao, the CCLY official in charge of partnerships with online gaming firms, told Interfax. “We will pay close attention to the authenticity of historical facts in the game.”
Interesting, anti-Japanese protests are not allowed anymore, but a game like this is sponsored by the government! I wonder how many people will play this game. Would they play it because they are patriotic? Or only if the game is as good as they other online games they normallly play? I guess the last reason is more important for the younger generation.