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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsWrath of the Lich King: China's version
by Anne Stickney 
Aug 16th 2010 at 1:00PM
China is rejoicing at the release of Wrath of the Lich King (finally!), but the game they will be playing looks a little different from the version everyone else is playing now. Chinagame.178.com, a Bejing-based English site for gaming news has posted an interesting article with some screenshots of just what will be changing in Wrath. Included are shots of the before and after purging of skulls from various items in the game, as well as some surprising model changes.
The censorship issue isn't exactly a new one -- changes have been made to the game dating all the way back to when The9 was handling the property. But it's still interesting to see exactly how an expansion like Wrath, which is centered around a storyline involving the Lich King, master of the undead, has been adapted to make it suitable according to China's requirements. It does make me wonder though -- what's Icecrown Citadel and the final fight against the Lich King himself going to look like? Is China going to miss out on Marrowgar's bonestorms? Check out the full article for screenshots and commentary.
[Thanks, Gabriel!]
The censorship issue isn't exactly a new one -- changes have been made to the game dating all the way back to when The9 was handling the property. But it's still interesting to see exactly how an expansion like Wrath, which is centered around a storyline involving the Lich King, master of the undead, has been adapted to make it suitable according to China's requirements. It does make me wonder though -- what's Icecrown Citadel and the final fight against the Lich King himself going to look like? Is China going to miss out on Marrowgar's bonestorms? Check out the full article for screenshots and commentary.
[Thanks, Gabriel!]
Filed under: News items, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Quark1020 Aug 16th 2010 1:05PM
Congrats, China. Hope you guys enjoy!
Sal Aug 16th 2010 1:06PM
I suppose this is exactly why most Chinese play on TW servers...
Zubasa Aug 16th 2010 2:37PM
And that is what giving me all the lags right now...
Supernerd Aug 16th 2010 1:07PM
So glad I don't live in China..
Dril Aug 16th 2010 2:29PM
Actually, I'd love it if the Forsaken had, you know, flesh. And gryphons. I know that TECHNICALLY a skeletal gryphon is a skeleton but the glowy swirly prettiness looks so much better (and more able to fly :P.)
Muse Aug 16th 2010 5:32PM
It's a bit of a cultural divide. The average Chinese person worries about censorship about as often as the average American worries about the environment. They're aware there's a problem and that it has bad consequences, but other than doing recycling and taking bike to work when possible, it's not something they go around thinking about.
matiaid1 Aug 16th 2010 1:09PM
actually, some of the model changes look cooler. the second on page two and the second and third on page 3 are much more awesome.
though green blood?!
Amy Schley Aug 16th 2010 1:24PM
Apparently the Chinese don't have a problem with killing Vulcans ...
Tinwhisker Aug 16th 2010 1:56PM
The ones you noted as "cooler" are not actually redone, they're just model swaps. You can find that bird sculpture all over Zangarmarsh, it's a BC model.
kayaanaimoonfire Aug 16th 2010 1:11PM
Kinda sad if you are a chinese player going for gladiator or all the ICC Hard mode achievements no cool frostwyrm mount.
feniks9174 Aug 16th 2010 1:30PM
^ That.
Hopefully it was a rush job and the Maly drake is temporary. It would really suck to spend all that time getting something that looks exactly like a drop from 3 tiers ago.
Puntable Aug 16th 2010 1:12PM
I knew that human skeletons were taboo for some reason, but I didn't know that animal skeletons were also frowned upon.
Sunaseni Aug 16th 2010 1:28PM
Imaginary animal skeletons being off-limits is just mind boggling. Apparently, in China, the Lich King put the meat back onto Sindragosa. Somehow.
Elmouth Aug 16th 2010 1:48PM
Coming from the country where skinning live animals in public and then hang them at the local market is A-OK.
Hycoprisy at its finest.
xxxsnowflamexxx Aug 16th 2010 4:25PM
That happens in every country. Also, I don't know what hycoprisy is, but if you meant hypocrisy, then it isn't that either.
In other parts of the world besides America, they are kind of the opposite of us. In America, violence is a part of everyday life in the media, at least. Our movies are a lot more violent, but we are more restrictive about sex. In Europe/Asia, commercials have full nude models in them, and magazine covers have nude photos as well. But Violence is more restricted.
Long story short, They don't want skeletons and blood around because it is violent.
Marcosius Aug 16th 2010 4:26PM
Well, Sindragosa was encased in ice when she died. It'd be rather feasible to assume she'd have some fleshy bits on her still, like the Ice-man Ötzi had almost intact (if rather shriveled) skin.
hawaiiansouljah Aug 16th 2010 4:37PM
Any dragon having to be re-done because of the PRC propaganda machine is explainable. The dragon was a symbol of the Emperor of China but as it stands now, the PRC uses the imagery of a dragon for more practical purposes, culture. A healthy dragon is the symbol of power, strength and good luck. Thus to the fine folks over at the Peoples Republic in China in chage of mind control, a dragon with a skin like Sindy is just plain bad luck.
veil Aug 16th 2010 6:17PM
yep violence is bad, but hey...public executions are a-ok.
Riiya Aug 17th 2010 2:24AM
It's more like, violence is good, but it's just copyrighted by the government
Morbid Aug 16th 2010 1:14PM
Considering how much of Wrath of the Lich King focused on skulls and bones as decor...
That has to be one hell of an editing process. >_>