The item, in the China Daily, also notes that four online game companies had their operations suspended because they did not have "the mandatory anti-addiction system," installed in their software.

Gaming addiction is a pretty big deal over in the People's Republic, and last week a guy said to be gaming-addicted tried to commit suicide by swallowing saw blades. So I'm sensing a garden-variety crackdown in response to all this bad publicity.

Unfortunately, that's all we've got to go on. Just two paragraphs in the China Daily. But the idea of an "anti-addiction system," what the hell? Is that like, play for four hours, then a mandatory two hours of Guitar Praise? It'd cure me.

Online Gamers Have to Give Real Names [China Daily]

I've heard the Christian rock industry in the US is worth millions. (Pause for irony to sink in). You'd think, then, they could have spared more than a couple of bucks on the production values for this Guitar Praise trailer. Or spared more than a couple of bucks on the production values for Guitar Praise.

“Our customers have been begging us to create console games,” Digital Praise CEO Tom Bean told MTV Multiplayer, "We’d like to be able to go there but we’ll see.”

The company has been putting a lot of time and energy into expansion packs for the game - including some Stryper tracks out in 2009 - but Bean indicated that a move to multi-instrumental gameplay was being considered.

“That’s definitely been part of our discussions," he said, "[...] if it’s compelling then we’ll consider our next steps in that direction.”

Whatever happens with Digital Praise's plans, there is still no credible Christian or Religious DLC for the two main music franchises. Surely Mad Catz could bang out a church organ or a Tibetan Buddhist singing bowl controller for Rock Band? Talk about missed opportunities...

Christian ‘Guitar Hero’ Game Maker Says Demand Is High, Hints At Full Band Game [MTV Multiplayer]

And while Christian targeted games are nothing new — see Left Behind: Eternal Forces, Bible Adventures and Catechumen — there are some genres that escape its influence. The sandbox style crime spree, for example, popularized by Grand Theft Auto.

MTV Multiplayer asked the CEO of Digital Praise Tom Bean just how feasible a project that might be.

"It comes down to what kind of things do you want to do in that world," Bean says, noting that the developer has designs on such a thing, "But creating those kinds of games is not inexpensive." We say go for it, Tom, but lets do this Crusades-style. Keep it fun.

‘Guitar Praise’ Developer Ponders Christian ‘Grand Theft Auto’ [MTV Multiplayer]

Yet even after flaming out in the mainstream shortly after 1986's "To Hell With the Devil," Stryper remains the top-of-mind brand for Christian rock. Curious, then, that the band wasn't in the first release of Guitar Praise, the Christian rock Guitar Hero clone which we've covered lavishly and smirkily since its release in September.

Well, guess what, just like its Satan-worshippin' brothers at Activision and Harmonix, Guitar Praise has DLC. And MTV Multiplayer (and sometime Kotaku guest editor) Stephen Totillo reports that all you rapture-ready rockers can get your Stryper on in a spring '09 expansion pack. Yup. MTV confirmed it with the band's manager, who said Stryper wasn't in the original release only because of some tight deadlines to get legal clearance for some songs. A publicist for Guitar Praise backs it all up. Hossannah and hallelujah!

Christian Metal Band Stryper Coming to Christian Clone of 'Guitar Hero' [MTV Multiplayer]

When religions engage in this kind of spin it always feels a little insidious and it’s this that the wider world objects to when they hear of products such as Guitar Praise and Zoo Race. Indeed, the following text, used at the end of the Zoo Race shareware demo, demonstrates just this:

“Buy the fun game that the big name publishers refused to finance or even show you. Why wait? You can do it, because you are a fun loving creation of God.”

Post Passion of the Christ, big name publishers are only too happy to publish and promote ‘Christian’-targeted content if there's enough money to be made. In the case of Zoo Race big name publishers refuse to finance it not on ideological grounds but simply because it’s awful.

As games writer Kieron Gillen pointed out at the time: “F**king big name publishers. We hate those guys too. Clearly, it couldn’t have anything to do with the glitchy animation, complete lack of physics, my-first-Quake-level geometry and the fact the whole thing is completely batshit insane.”

Considering religions have provided the inspiration for some of the greatest artistic works the world over — Christianity is no exception here — it's a little baffling that game designers wishing to cater to the Christian game consuming public can't do much better than knockoffs of big secular titles and/or something like Zoo Race. I suspect the (often hilarious) lack of quality or clearly 'borrowing' from big AAA titles is what gets most people's hackles up, and that it doesn't matter if it's a secular or religious game.

Guitar Hero Praise: What’s Wrong With The ‘Christian’ Videogame? [GameSetWatch]