Hoping to stay ahead of the Chinese censors, The9 (which handles operation of
World of Warcraft in China) has
tweaked the visual apperance of the Undead race in the game in hopes of allowing the game to pass the new Chinese censorship review. As anyone who's played the game for long knows, the Undead models are part flesh and part skeleton, with bones sticking out in various places. The9 has modified Undead models to show no skeleton, thus making the race less scary and more likely to pass review. I know plenty of Undead players in the US who would love their toons not to have such a bony appearence -- but as a cosmetic issue rather than an issue of the Undead being scary.
What do you think -- are the Undead just too scary?
[Via
Razorwire]
Update: Added an image linked by commenter Zhun.
Tags: censor, censorship, china, the9, undead, world of warcraft, world of warcraft china, WorldOfWarcraft, WorldOfWarcraftChina, wow
Filed under: Undead, Odds and ends
Jul 3rd 2007 at 7:20PM 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
James Jul 3rd 2007 7:30PM
Yep, we'll poison your pets with pet food containing plastic, poison your kids with toothpaste containing anti-freeze, and we have no problems preventing free speech, free press or freedom of religion. But we draw the line at skeleton parts sticking out of characters in a videogame. Good to see the People's Republic has their priorities in the right place.
Hahaha Jul 3rd 2007 7:38PM
you mean the gold farmers pay attention to that level of detail?
tizravis Jul 3rd 2007 7:42PM
The Undead models are by no means scary. They just look cool.
epsilon343 Jul 3rd 2007 7:43PM
Wow, despite my opinions of the US government, can't say I'd want to live anywhere else after I read things like that.
gokufencer Jul 3rd 2007 7:51PM
Anyone have any pics of the current Chinese Undead?
marvel Jul 3rd 2007 7:51PM
not too scary, just too ugly
Zhun Jul 3rd 2007 7:52PM
Here's a couple screenshots of the undead models in China
http://bbs.wowchina.com/wow/download.aspx?type=1&file=20070622/2007062220065785492365_1024_768_11.jpg
http://bbs.ngacn.com/attachment/mon_200706/22/7_306693.jpg
http://bbs.ngacn.com/attachment/mon_200706/22/7_306690.jpg
Coherent Jul 3rd 2007 8:03PM
I don't think it's a matter of the models being "too scary". I think it has more to do with fitting the preconceptions of the censors.
The9 is eager to get a quick rubber-stamp approval so that the censors won't have an excuse to nitpick this or that, delay the game and 'investigate' it further, which would keep it in front of the censor board that much longer.
Any delay before the censor board could be very costly in terms of additional bribes and market opportunity lost. The longer the censors look at it, the more fault they could find, necessitating extraordinary effort (serious money bribes) to get it off of the censor docket and back on the market.
Coherent Jul 3rd 2007 8:04PM
They just want to make everything just right so that a minimal amount of $$ lubrication will get it through the system and approved.
scholargipsy Jul 3rd 2007 8:06PM
@#1: Well said.
FRANKL Jul 3rd 2007 8:08PM
Playing Devil's Advocate here, but it may be cultural, not political.
This is off the top of my head (no time for research), but I believe that the Chinese revere their dead. I don't believe that they have the concept of the "living dead", zombies, or anything like that. It may be an affront to many to think in those terms.
Anyone who knows better, please correct me.
IKT Jul 3rd 2007 8:21PM
@4. there are lots of cool places around the world, just because China and North Korea are screwed up doesn't mean every country is..
Terrant Jul 3rd 2007 8:20PM
The fleshy Forsaken look kinda cool, but I think that's just because they're different! Months of staring at the same models gets to ya.
Are abominations or other undead being revised as well, or is it only aberrant for people-controlled characters to be bony corpses?
Mats Jul 3rd 2007 8:43PM
I must say, Fleshy Undead FTW. Also the fact that the armor did not look like old rags after you put it on is a good thing. I'd like a option to pick that sort of undead from my character selection screen.
muirA Jul 3rd 2007 9:17PM
#11 is correct, its not that they're too scary, it's just that the Chinese government doesn't allow the depiction of skeletons in most media, since they do indeed have a respect for the dead. It may seem strange and inconsequential to us, but that is they're beliefs.
$thisName Jul 4th 2007 2:21AM
I can see it now...some chinese kid is playing the game and uses Noggenfogger Elixir and turns into a skeleton fiend....his mom or dad walks in and sees him running around. Could cause a big issue.
Nick Jul 3rd 2007 9:55PM
Myself, I find the fleshy Undead model scarier than the old one...first pic looks anorexic...
epsilon343 Jul 3rd 2007 10:23PM
@13
I didn't mean to imply that I think the US is a bastion of uncensored media. It just seems like we see games banned in European countries or elsewhere that make it to the US with no problems. Can't remember the one I'm thinking of but it was recent.
I'm still glad that I don't live in countries like that.
As for the topic. It's interesting that that is something they chose to change. I actually kinda liked being dead (silly curses on my Draenei) and thought it was kinda neat.
Voevoduul Jul 3rd 2007 10:27PM
I lived in China for 3 years.
There isn't any cultural apprehension about zombies or skeletons. Don't be ignorant. Not insulting you, but making a statement like that without knowing the culture is just ignorant.
Anyways, it's really all about what others have already said :
The quicker they can get approval, the less money they'll have to spend on bribes.
And believe me, after living there for years, most of the 'important' decisions there are made based on the amount of your bribe.
It's really that simple.
Also : Yeah, 'recent Undead' models do look pretty cool. If we could get a combo of the regular Undead model, flesh on/ off the torso, flesh on/off the legs, just a bit more detailed, and left up to us, the players, that would be awesome :D
Pzychotix Jul 3rd 2007 10:41PM
@18. 3 years of living in a country is hardly a glimpse into Chinese culture. Don't kid yourself.