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Chinese Gamers Say Plants Versus Zombies 2 Is Ripping Them Off
Since it was released in China almost two weeks ago, PopCap’s latest Zombie versus vegetation tower defense game, Plants versus Zombies 2: It’s About Time has been well received. Despite that, many of PopCap’s Chinese fans are upset, claiming they feel “gouged” by the games in-app purchasing. PopCap’s original PvZ was a big hit in…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku East
Apple Stores in China Don’t Actually Require Scalped Tickets
Last week, 9to5 Macran a piece from the Beijing Evening News about Apple store scalpers selling Genius Bar reservations. In their article, the Beijing Evening News claims that it’s impossible to make an appointment at the Genius Bar without purchasing one from a scalper. But is it really? Scalpers in China are old news: they’re…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku East
China’s First-Person Military Shooter Has a Terrible Message
At first, I was intrigued by the idea of a game about the Chinese military, the People’s Liberation Army. But now after spending a weekend with the Glorious Mission Online’ s public release, the novelty has worn off. Originally slated to be a People’s Liberation Army training game akin to America’s Army, Glorious Mission Online…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku East
Wife “Steals” Car To Get Husband To Stop Gaming
Forgetting to lock your house door while at home isn’t that heinous a mistake, but to forget to lock your car, now that might be a big mistake; particularly if your wife has an agenda. First reported by Qian Jiang Evening Post, in east China’s Jiangsu province, one man busy enjoying his gaming marathon forgot…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku East
Money, Exploitation, and Booth Models in China
Behind the glitz and glamour of China Joy allegedly lies a deep dark world of exploitation. The models that light up the booths and the cameras on the exhibition floor are both exploiting themselves and are being exploited by a system that is propagated by the very people that China Joy is for: the fans.…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku East
Geeks, Games, and Extremely Bored Booth Companions at China Joy 2013
For the last 11 years, the yearly China Digital Entertainment Expo has been “entertaining” China and the world’s gamers. Commonly known as China Joy, the show is usually known more for its booth companions—in fact, this year’s China Joy was more about the gamers and geeks taking photos of young women. Over 200,000 people attended…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku East
Opinion: Lifting China’s Console Ban Won’t Matter
Thirteen years ago, China banned video game console sales in the country. Now, it seems like the ban is coming to end, and while that is good, the reality of it all is that the lifting of the ban means literally phooey to China, the world, and video games. Now before I begin my tirade,…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku East
This is 300 Heroes, The Most Incredible League Of Legends Clone
Last month, Luke brought us this little nugget of gold from the interwebs called 300 Heroes—a shameless League of Legends clone that offers users a chance to play as “over 300” different heroes from various intellectual properties. Despite the fact that it’s such a terrible case of copyright infringement and possible theft, the game is…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku East
Game Programmer Quits Job To Sell Street Food, Doubles Salary
On the streets of China, street vendors sell a delicious flatbread called “shaobing”. This wonder of creation is incredibly cheap and incredibly filling—they come in all sizes and shapes as well as a with a variety of fillings. These little flatbreads have also helped change the life of one Chinese game programer. First reported by…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku East
Internet Cafe Bombed in Inner Mongolia, 12 Suspects Detained
On Thursday last week, a bomb was detonated inside an internet cafe in Inner Mongolia’s Bayan Nur. Eight people were injured in the explosion. Chinese public security has ruled out terrorism or racial tensions and have detained twelve suspects. China News reports that the bombing may have been a result of a personal feud between…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku East
Rumor: The Former Face Of Onimusha Is Giving Up Video Games
Asian Superstar actor Takeshi Kaneshiro is supposedly giving up video games for good, according to an article by the Apple Daily News in Taiwan. Kaneshiro, who is best known for his movie roles in the Red Cliff, Fallen Angels, Chungking Express and the House of Flying Daggers, has been doing what many other famous people…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku East
Man Impersonates Chinese Police To Retrieve Game Account
Losing account credentials is a hassle, but no matter how annoying it is to get them back, one should never impersonate the authorities. Unfortunately, one man in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, after losing access to one of his favourite online games, decided to impersonate public security. Now, he’s facing prison time. According to Wenzhou Online, 24…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku East
How to Sign Up for Chinese Online Games
Recently, there have been more and more interesting online games coming out in China. With Monster Hunter Onlineand Call of Duty Online, there will be two top tier free-to-play games in the middle kingdom. While these games are only available in China, that doesn’t mean enterprising players abroad can’t play them. Playing Chinese games abroad…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku East
Man’s Online “Girlfriend” Turns Out To Be Part of a Pyramid Scheme
In this day and age of technology and the internet, online dating is becoming more and more “normal.” Unfortunately, every now and again online relationships tend cause problems with one party being untruthful to the other. Well, for one Chinese man, his digital girlfriend turned out to be more than just a scammer. Originally reported…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku East
Chinese Military Police’s Secret Training Involves Video Games
Normally, playing video games at work in China is frowned upon. Unless you’re working in the games industry or covering the games industry, gaming at work can lead to trouble. However, for one branch of China’s military, video games are just a part of their daily training regimen. Much like the armed forces in the…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku East
Video Games Almost Blamed As Anti-Japanese Vandal Gets Just Deserts
Last year, Sin0-Japanese relations hit an all-time low. Protests that bordered on the brink of riots broke out in China over China and Japan’s tug-o-war over a little speckle of islands, called Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan. During the worst of these protests, vandals and misguided people took advantage of the situation to…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku EastChina Thinks Cartoons Need Ratings
Chinese television is pretty bad, being mostly propaganda mixed with some weird socially obnoxious reality shows, revisionist historical dramas and terribly butchered movies. But what seems to have drawn the ire of the Chinese State media this time around is the state of animation in China. Recently, China Central Television, AKACCTV (poor abbreviation choice or…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku East
Game Tournament Company Helps Chinese Owners Into University
To the mindset of some parents and many Asian parents, video games are a terrible hobby. However, that might change now with the story of Lou Kehao and Carlos Xu, two young Chinese men who have used video games to gain admittance into two of the world’s most prestigious universities. Originally reported by the Sing…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku East
18 Year-old Male Sells Kidney In China, Video Games Get Blamed.
Earlier this month, a criminal gang was arrested by Shijiazhuang police in Hebei province, China. The gang was arrested for dealing in black market organs. One of those organs supposedly belonged to a Chinese gamer. You might know the story of the Chinese boy from Anhui province who sold one of his kidneys (most of…
By Eric Jou -
Kotaku East
New College Grads Get Together To Cosplay Their Favorite Game
Summer’s here, and for Chinese college students this means two things: summer vacation and/ or graduation! To celebrate their graduation and their friendship, a group of graduating students got together to cosplay their favorite characters from the first person shooter Cross Fire This group of students, eight in number, are part of the graduating class…
By Eric Jou
Eric Jou
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