China to Implement Anti-Addiction MMO Registration :: World of Warcraft :: ZAM

China to Implement Anti-Addiction MMO RegistrationJan 17th, 2009 at 8:20 AM by Togikagi

As we all know, MMOs can be highly addictive, with some players spending more time in a virtual world than the real one. In attempt to avoid addiction in its gamers, the Chinese government will soon require MMO players to register their real names when they create their online accounts so their play time can be monitored. Ars Technica has the full story:

Zhang Yijun, director of the General Administration of Press and Publication's technology and digital publication department in China, said this week in Qingdao that the Chinese government will begin taking in personal information from any players who register to play MMO, free or otherwise. Gamers will need to register their names along with the code for their government-issued ID cards.

The program, which will start this year, will be open to the community so parents can check in on the gaming habits of their children. Yijun said Wednesday the operations of four online game companies were suspended because their software didn't have the mandatory anti-addiction system.

Chinese players will not have their in-game actions affected in any way. This program will only be used as a monitoring tool to see how much time each player spends in their MMOs. So what do you think? Is it a good idea or too much like Big Brother from 1984 ?

Tags: News, WorldofWarcraft, China

Comments

Sharing and identifying

# Jan 30 2009 at 8:10 PM Rating: Decent

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4 posts

Sharing and identifying with others who experience the same struggles and
painful daily choices of not returning to old behaviours is the hallmark and
essence of fellowship. Come to share with us, be part of our community http://apps.facebook.com/chat_fb_app

Too Much

# Jan 18 2009 at 10:28 PM Rating: Decent

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China has, over the last few decades, done many things under the guise of "the best interests of the people". It seems that a possible motivation for this control is that on line gamers have the ability to communicate openly with people from all over the world. Is this something that the Chinese government approves of? I sorta doubt it lol. It seems that the government in China is so totally convinced that the people are unable to make decisions for themselves that they feel that it is in "the best interest of the people" to be relieved of that burden. It is high time that they lighten up, let go, and have some faith in the people of China.
I am very sorry for our fellow gamers in China and hope that they prevail.
Hard to do when your own government can drag you from your home and do away with you on the slightest whim. /sigh

Too Much

# Jan 19 2009 at 7:06 AM Rating: Good

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to lighten up, is to lose control; the Chinese government refuses to give up control.

for all those who still think it's about addiction....Google has a separate search page for CHINESE ONLY. it filters out 90% of all negative content on their government

read more: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=chinese+google+censorship&aq=5&oq=Chinese+googl

china is a prime example of why everyone should take an active role in their nation's government; if you don't it becomes power hungry

Registration... or Corruption?

# Jan 18 2009 at 6:06 PM Rating: Decent

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25 posts

I think this could be good or bad depending on what degree China is going to go about this:

Good in the since that parents can monitor what their children are doing and how long they are playing MMOs.

Bad in the since that they call it the "Anti-Addiction" registration. They start with registration, but where is it heading from there? Why would you have to monitor anything in the first place unless they did pull the Big Brother (George Orwell's book "1984") and began to regulate the games and how long you can play in one setting. And why else would they want registration for any reason other than that? It sounds more like a progressing movement to begin restricting other things. China just needs to let people be.

Government monitoring of MMO's

# Jan 18 2009 at 10:54 AM Rating: Good

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1 post

Human Authority can have the best interests of the people at heart but when things get too restrictive, rebellion is fostered. Parents are better served when they provide guidlines to their children and pay attention to their needs. People are intelligent and can learn from their mistakes. Take away their personal choice and responsibility for their actions and you are saying essentially that you know better than they do. This will be tolerated for a while but eventually adults decide to choose for themselves. The transition into adulthood for a child raised under overly restrictive parents can be painful-especially for the parents. If China paid more attention to clean air and food and well-built and run schools, and less attention to how people choose to spend their free time, their government would be better served. This goes for the western governments as well. Just my opinion...

losing control, aye China?

# Jan 18 2009 at 10:41 AM Rating: Default

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it's a well known fact that the population of China is becoming more and more displeased with its government. as more and more of china's people are exposed to "free thinking" nations china loses control. this is just a way for a fastly-fading form of government to maintain a grip on its people.

a solution

# Jan 18 2009 at 8:05 AM Rating: Good

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Here is my thing if this was for the parents, Bliz already have a Parental control option for accounts... but the problem is that mommy and daddy are trying to be nice to the kids and trusting but as we know that trust is misplaced some times and the parents should put there foot down and use what bliz has to set times for there kids.

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/faq/parentalcontrols.xml and here is what most parents should look at if you want to stop addiction.

Be concerned about "solution" rather than monitoring

# Jan 18 2009 at 5:58 AM Rating: Excellent

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Quote:

I personally know people who get so into games that they literally will skip school for weeks on end to stay home and play. They never go outside, never do anything else really.

I too know friends like this, however some of them are adults in their 20's and 30's. Some actually receive government assistance because they are mentally incapable of getting and working a job and living independently. So if this is the sort of thing that is becoming a problem with a large percentage of the population in China, then the government has a right to be concerned about it. Although this does seem like just the first step for them, because to resolve any problem one must study (monitor) it first. Only when China decides to implement some kind of "solution" will we be able to see what their real goals are.

China to Implement Anti-Addiction MMO Registration

# Jan 18 2009 at 12:16 AM Rating: Default

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most of those messages are from korea but a few are chinese and japan. :-P

Government Control

# Jan 17 2009 at 11:11 PM Rating: Decent

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424 posts

This is not so the Chinese can cut off their WoW time, this is to "monitor" their hours of play via the cards as they sign up. Yes this is a bit of a step towards the process of total control to those who take say 4 hours to get anything done, which practically in WoW on average it takes 5 hours to gain one level roughly according to my Titan Panel (that and me being a healadin however I reached 80 over a month ago.) However, aside from my leveling speed which has nothing to do with this, it is suffice to say that China is not going to be the only ones implimenting this in the future if we see an increase in hardcore gamers. The trend shows now that there are two main targets in gaming now, the casual gamer (i.e. Moms, Dads,) and the hardcore gamers (you know who these are).

However, my own personal opinion in the matter is only that China should not rush into things that will cause distrust in the people, they just stepped away from a totally communist government, and seeing as this wouldn't be necessary if this was a smaller number of people, it must be larger than just a few ten thousand players in China. With this being so many people in China, they shouldn't be too controlling on the matter after all it's just a game, but even so we all know it ruins lives.

But so long as this isn't happening in America I don't mind a few less gold farmers popping up on my server and less gold selling messages.

Government Control

# Jan 18 2009 at 11:01 AM Rating: Decent

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You people need to stop talking like you actually know something. I bet none of you know three cities in China must less the structure of their government - much less the structure of our government. Please name me the three branches of our government without looking it up online.

I am flaming because too often we have the masses perpetuating stereotypes and their ignorance when they should just keep quiet.

Government Control

# Jan 18 2009 at 2:54 PM Rating: Excellent

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Can you say anything bad about your government? Can you say "I hate my government. I think all of the officials suck. I want a new government"? Five bucks says you can't unless THEY say you can.

You know what? I can say I hate my government. I can call my government officials any bad name I want. I can tell my country to burn in hell. I can take my flag light it on fire and dance on its cinders shouting "Death to America!" and not get arrested. (not that I ever would...)

Can you say that?

My government doesn't tell me what websites I can visit. They don't block me from visiting ANY website. Heck, I can freely visit and post on websites of my countries sworn enemies. (not to say my government won't be watching me at that point...) Can you do that?

http://www.persecution.com/topStory_shuangShuying.html

Can you even read that? Did you know that website is LITTERED with articles like that about your country? Did you know you'll be hard pressed to find any articles like that about my country? Or any other European/western nation? Even in your own newspapers?

Stereotypes? I think not.

China to Implement Anti-Addiction MMO Registration

# Jan 17 2009 at 10:44 PM Rating: Default

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It looks to me like the chinese want to monitor it's peoples' use of games like wow and not help parents monitor the kids.. Definately not a free society.. we have heard that the japanese and chinese are a proud people.. If they are not working.. and instead playing games.. they are not productive! this is what I think thier govt. is watching.
Just mah 2 cents :-P

China to Implement Anti-Addiction MMO Registration

# Jan 18 2009 at 12:39 PM Rating: Decent

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Quote:

It looks to me like the chinese want to monitor it's peoples' use of games like wow and not help parents monitor the kids.. Definately not a free society.. we have heard that the japanese and chinese are a proud people.. If they are not working.. and instead playing games.. they are not productive! this is what I think thier govt. is watching.
Just mah 2 cents :-P

I think the point was that China's government wanted to monitor the addictiveness of Warcraft, something that can be a real bad problem. Anyone who's played for a while knows it can be just as bad as chemical dependency and what not - I personally know of someone who DID quit his job simply so he could have more time to raid.

China does have its issues, but to say they are otherwise not productive is downright silly. Do some research. Or heck, as a most unfortunate example, look at the items you just bought from Walmart and see where they are "made in."

I would like to know why you keep including the Japanese, however. Seems like you're just using vague Asian stereotypes as filler. :/

Parents would have a larger problem

# Jan 17 2009 at 8:29 PM Rating: Default

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If parents need a gaming company to tell them that their child is playing the game 24/7 then there may be a larger problem going on in that family than the fact that the kid is playing WoW too much.

Parents would have a larger problem

# Jan 17 2009 at 8:50 PM Rating: Decent

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Ever sneak on the computer while your parents were asleep? not at home? I know I did and my parents were good about monitoring my computer time AND I was a good kid.

If the parents are buying WoW for their kids they should be able to control when they play and monitor when they play. By kids I mean those 18 or younger...and even if you're older than 18 and your parents still buy your wow and you still use their computers and Internet connection they still technically have the right to monitor your usage to a degree.

The fact they would use the monitoring tools shows they are [possiblly] responsible parents. The problem is when parents DON'T.

Edited, Jan 17th 2009 11:51pm by ekaterinodar

Will Blizz join Yahoo in squashing dissent?

# Jan 17 2009 at 7:10 PM Rating: Default

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There exists in-game chat.

I suspect this and not parental approval is the real issue here.

I did not let my kids play video games, my kids got me addicted
after they grew up....there are less-dangerous ways for parents to
monitor kids. Like have Grandma keep an eye on them.

I think Blizz should stop recording in-game chat before
this takes effect.

Will Blizz join Yahoo in squashing dissent?

# Jan 17 2009 at 8:08 PM Rating: Excellent

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Blizzard not only has the right to monitor in-game chat, but the obligation to do so. Just like any mall has the right to video tape and record what goes on inside for safety's sake. They don't have someone at Blizzard conitnuaslly reading over chat logs and prying into your private chats. They only look into specific instances of the chat log when an offense is reported. It would cause far more problems to stop monitoring...and a slew of legal problems that'd make your head spin.

With that said, this is China we're talking about. A Communist government that is notorious for restricting and limiting personal and political freedoms. You will never see something like this happen in the Free world (and China is by no means free).

If you have your government monitoring your gaming time you are by no means a free individual nor live in a free society.

It is one thing if my local mall is monitoring me...its another thing if the Federal government started recording how much time I spent in there. Its my right as an individual to decide what is and is not the right amount of time. If I want to ***** up my life because of WoW that is my freedom of choice.

Will Blizz join Yahoo in squashing dissent?

# Jan 18 2009 at 12:52 PM Rating: Default

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Quote:

there are less-dangerous ways for parents to
monitor kids. Like have Grandma keep an eye on them.

I like the idea of In-Game Monitor Grandma, lol. Perhaps a murloc with a curly white wig.

Quote:

With that said, this is China we're talking about. A Communist government that is notorious for restricting and limiting personal and political freedoms. You will never see something like this happen in the Free world (and China is by no means free).

Bad news, but the US monitors quite a bit of your doings. And as for restricting personal freedoms, I would ask that you watch just a few minutes of any reliable news source to see the number pile up. No, it is not to the extent that China dominates its people, but it does happen.

I really don't see why everyone is up in arms about this. Warcraft is an incredibly addictive game, end of story. There are countless examples of people spending way too much of their free time playing it because of said addiction. Yes, there are some parental controls, but many parents either don't know or are not tech savvy enough to really figure it out. Many people, myself included, think about WoW even when not playing, trying to solve that particular puzzle or ways to ramp up the damage. Heck, you're here and reading this, so you at least have some vested interest in the game.

China sees this as a problem. Not a huge surprise considering how many people play the game for excessive amounts of time. The only way to figure out a way to curb the issue is to first study it and think about what can be done. I wish there were more studies done on the game, honestly, but I am alway for more scientific research. (But it really would be an excellent social study and a good guide for making future games.)

At the same time, I do realize that China is a rather "co-dependent" country, if you will, but for now, it seems like the most responsible step to a pretty serious, rising concern.

1984

# Jan 17 2009 at 6:34 PM Rating: Decent

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Big Brother is watching.

maybe?

# Jan 17 2009 at 5:58 PM Rating: Excellent

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If I were to analyze this is context of the big-brother oppressive style of the Chinese government, I would think it's a very bad thing. Objectively, however, I personally know people who get so into games that they literally will skip school for weeks on end to stay home and play. They never go outside, never do anything else really. Granted this is not the typical player, but if a 14 year old is playing a game 24/7, the parent has a right to know.

maybe?

# Jan 17 2009 at 9:15 PM Rating: Decent

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Not that I necessarily disagree with giving parents tools to monitor what is going on, but if parents are so out of touch with what is going on with their kids that they can skip schools for weeks then there is a bigger issue. If a kid is doing ANYTHING 24/7 and the parents don't know about it, something is wrong.

Edited, Jan 18th 2009 12:18am by Ranalyn

maybe?

# Jan 17 2009 at 9:38 PM Rating: Decent

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That is exactly the point I was making. Sure kids could sneak onto the computer from time to time without the parents knowing but if the kid is staying home from school for weeks at a time and playing on the computer 24/7 it would have to be a VERY inattentive parent not to notice that something is going on.

However this whole thing is regarding the Chinese government monitoring people. Somehow I have a sneaking suspicion that it has less to do with concern about people being addicted to the game and more to do with wanting to monitor what people are saying in the game.

In other words, Big Brother is watching. And that is a chilling concept.

maybe?

# Jan 18 2009 at 9:04 PM Rating: Default

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Big Brother should watch. We do some pretty stupid stuff.

It has only to do with monitoring game habits. It is idiotic to think that the Chinese people use WoW to plan something rebellious against their government - like an anti-government group would meet on WoW... There are a million other secure ways to meet.

WoW and video games are bigger in Asia. It could be a horrible problem. They don't want their kids growing up to be the guy in the South Park spoofs. They want a productive and growing society - WoW addiction does not fit into that.

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