World of Warcraft shutting down in China?

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Nov 2, 2009 5:00 pm PT

Citing "gross violations," regulator revokes NetEase's permit to operate game in authoritarian nation; internal government power struggle blamed.

After spending much of 2009 offline, the Chinese version of World of Warcraft has found itself in limbo once again. According to Reuters, the authoritarian nation's General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) has revoked the permit needed to operate the game from Blizzard Entertainment's localization partner, NetEase.

"I'm sorry sir, but that sword just isn't regulation size."

Regulators reportedly claimed that NetEase, which landed the localization contract for the massively multiplayer role-playing game in April, had committed "gross violations" of Chinese law. As a result, GAPP officials ordered NetEase to stop charging players of the game in China and cease accepting any new registrations. It also reportedly rejected the company's application to localize the first WOW expansion, The Burning Crusade.

As a result of the GAPP's move, NetEase saw its shares fall 2.4 percent on the NASDAQ stock exchange to close the day at $37.69. (Shares were down an additional 1.38 percent in after-hours trading.) Reps for the company told Reuters they believe they are in full compliance with the GAPP regulations and were seeking "clarification" as to what exact violations were committed.

Roth Capital Partners analyst Adam Krejcik blamed the sudden revocation on behind-the-scenes jockeying for power by the GAPP and China's powerful Ministry of Culture, which has been leading a crackdown on online gaming all year. "These guys are essentially stuck in the middle of this power struggle," Krejcik said of NetEase.

If World of Warcraft is shut down in China permanently, it will have an adverse effect on the earnings of Blizzard's parent company, Activision Blizzard. Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey told Reuters that $0.05 could be lopped off the megapublisher's per share earnings, which are expected to be $0.65 for the 2009 fiscal year.

475 Comments

  • fenriswolf77

    Posted Jan 7, 2010 8:42 pm PT

    Yboucher, once again the conclusions you draw from the points I made are simplistic and puzzling. You conclude "I don't want anyone to get rich" because it might blind them to the plight of the poor. If I was saying anything on that topic it would be that the rich should strive not to be so blinded, and show some basic human generosity. China DOES need a finger pointed at it, as does the US, as do many of the worlds countries. All of these countries are oligarchies, run by a small minority of self-serving plutocrats who by far, in general, care more about the size of their purse than they do the fate of their countrymen. This is regardless of whether their mask proclaims them as democratic or communist, etc. Though it is true, despite all the corruption, that some countries have more basic human rights, liberties, and general quality of life than others. The U.S. certainly does not top this list, though I do expect, from the evidence I have seen, it ranks somewhat higher than China. (cont.)

  • fenriswolf77

    Posted Jan 7, 2010 8:42 pm PT

    cont.) And you are wrong. History is very instructive here, and historic examples can be very useful for understanding the present. The Roman example is telling for the state the U.S. is in, on many different levels. And you are also wrong that people are not stupid. Or if stupid is a strong word, then let's say that many, if not a majority, of people are very easily mis-lead. They believe what they are told with very little questioning. If their parents, schools, society tells them it is so, then it is. They are lazy thinkers and don't investigate truths for themselves. Finally, you rather simplistically say I don't know much about China if I mention lead in toys. What you fail to grasp from my previous comments was that "lead in toys" is indicative of the larger problem I was trying to illustrate in China, where an industrial revolution is currently exploding and sadly showing the same lack of restraint, lack of safety standards, and lack of worker rights as the one in Europe did 120 years ago. But you are right, a Gamespot forum is not the place for such a detailed debate, as it stretches beyond the desire and, though it sounds elitist, it is nonetheless true, the intellectual grasp (from the comment I have read) of many people here. Thanks yboucher for the intellectual sparring. I appreciate debating with someone with some deeper insights. But I will waste no more time with this.

  • insanitycheck10

    Posted Dec 2, 2009 3:48 pm PT

    cool

  • ancalimonungol

    Posted Nov 30, 2009 8:34 pm PT

    I bet the violation of law was that someone asked a Chinese why his government still keeps invading and enslaving other nations.

  • firemyth

    Posted Nov 8, 2009 5:22 pm PT

    Goatboy is a fruit of the highest order. Like Bananas. :-P

    Cause getting your point across through religious zealotry has always worked before - goatboy

    Honestly, get a clue.

  • Elma007

    Posted Nov 7, 2009 7:16 pm PT

    Could the people in China simply play the US version of WOW or would the US version of WOW have country IP blocks in place? I mean if it is just IP blocks couldn't the US version remove it so the people in China can play the US version and therefore not lose so much money over it (provided of course the Chinese people are comfortable with an English version). Or assuming say Hong Kong or Taiwan has their own version and the mainlanders are fine with Traditional Characters then they could possibly play those versions instead? Unless of course the infamous "great firewall of China" blocks them from playing foreign versions of the game.

  • thcloco

    Posted Nov 7, 2009 9:40 am PT

    Yes, Blizzard is the devil and goatboy is a prophet and he has seen the truth in the trailer for movie 2012

  • KingXerxes

    Posted Nov 5, 2009 3:01 pm PT

    Be not concerned.
    One day, WoW will be bigger than China.

  • SaurabhAV

    Posted Nov 5, 2009 1:06 pm PT

    @ hobobobo00

    Ncsoft is a Korean company lol and Aion is an overpriced grind fest, no thanks. And if anything the Chinese government is doing their citizens a favor my saving them from a virtual addiction. Good job GAPP, now your country can slave even harder to make us our Nike shoes, instead of our WoW gold.

  • Heshertonfist

    Posted Nov 5, 2009 12:32 pm PT

    @Walord_Irochi

    I agree that living in a democratic nation is certainly better than living in a communist regime country. However this is a video game which is just entertainment. Plus I wasn't complaining, I was merely commenting on the fact the conversation went to so many things that have nothing to do with WOW, Blizzard, Activision, NetEase or even China.

  • marc5477

    Posted Nov 5, 2009 10:50 am PT

    @Comment1

    You are correct that the US is the biggest importer of the world (which is why the world is so dependant on the US), but you are incorrect in assuming that factories dont already exist in the US. They do! Most companies started in the US and already have factories in the US but they have simply shrunk their operations in favor of cheap outsourcing. None of the big manufacturers have completely shut down their US operations (that would be grossly irresponsible and no shareholder would let them get away with it). I will bet you my house that if given a choice, those companies would all rather be producing in their home country (US) than in a foreign nation. The only driving factor to outsourcing is money. If money is no longer a factor (dollar continues to decline) then you can bet your backside that they will all be back in the US asap. There are other pressures to moving jobs back to the US as well but money is what drives companies and ultimately if the dollar stays weak or gets weaker, China will ultimately be hit the hardest in the world.

  • prioritymail

    Posted Nov 5, 2009 9:59 am PT

    Oh no! Where will we buy our farmed gold now?

  • MajorGamer531

    Posted Nov 5, 2009 6:47 am PT

    They only did this to the localization company, Blizzard just has to come up with how they will end their deals with NetEase and get localized with another company.

  • aura_enchanted

    Posted Nov 5, 2009 2:47 am PT

    also 0.05 per share that means roughly china makes uo 15% of there earnings !!

  • aura_enchanted

    Posted Nov 5, 2009 2:43 am PT

    @ charliefubar

    naw when that happens there will be a war in your own back yards to kill the gamers.. wich we will win with our superiorly dexterous fingers..

  • hobobobo00

    Posted Nov 4, 2009 10:04 pm PT

    i bet NCsoft bribed them to do this so that everyone would play aion instead

  • cloudstrife75

    Posted Nov 4, 2009 9:26 pm PT

    Why did China get the Olympics again?

  • clqtte

    Posted Nov 4, 2009 9:02 pm PT

    I think Blizzar forgot to donate some big buck to some red big guy in Beijing..That's why this happen...

  • yboucher

    Posted Nov 4, 2009 6:22 pm PT

    @bloodyrooster I'm sorry, how do you know this again? A "federal offense" ? No. It's a case of WoW being caught up in a battle between a Ministry, and a censorship agency, over who controls online games. WoW is the highest profile case, but it is NOT the only one here, and there are other publishers, and other players in the industry over here altogether that have been caught up in this political battle, including GDC China.

    There are absolutely NO laws being broken or "federal offenses" being commited here. Just political rambling, and companies and products being held hostage in the middle. I've been working in the industry in Shanghai for a few years now, trust me, this is how it works.

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