This is precisely the kind of “soft power” Beijing has long sought but failed to achieve. Whether it was the promotion of Confucianism and Confucius Institutes, film collaborations with Hollywood, or the rapid and large-scale global expansion of its state-run news media services, the results have all been disappointing, if not failures.
That's great Black Myth: Goku is now a global success, and hopefully many more successes to come, but it's also a learning opportunity.
So what can the great Son Goku teach us? One thing is clear: Black Myth: Goku As we all hope, your overseas fans will rush to your defence when you are attacked and tormented by the usual biased reporting from the Western mainstream media. And in this day and age, the chorus of social media influencers with large followings in their respective cultural fields overwhelmingly outweighs the waning influence of most traditional media.
Take, for example, the pseudo-debate that the BBC tries to make us think in its headline has “divided the internet.”
There's no disagreeing. Ten million people bought the game in the first three days after its release, reportedly the fastest debut in industry history, but a handful of people on YouTube didn't like it. The BBC quoted two of them. It's true.
This is apparently related to some ill-advised advice the game's creators sent to some of its early users, which included warning them not to discuss “feminist propaganda, fetishism, or other content that promotes negative discourse,” as well as not discussing “politics, COVID-19, or China's video game industry policies.”
So, as you might imagine, major news media are reporting that the Chinese Communist Party's censorship is spreading around the world.
Of course, whenever something from China catches the world's attention, the negative coverage from the West comes swiftly and furiously.
However, these advisories are issued periodically to early gamers, preferential customers, and mainland Chinese critics and reviewers when new games are released, primarily to satisfy domestic regulators. In other words, they are mandatory, but few actually pay attention to them.
The only difference is that this monkey game has gone global. Yes, what an oversight. Gamer developers Game Science and their publishers Hero Games, take this to heart and do it better and smarter next time. You guys are doing great right now.
But in the end, the bad press isn't the issue. Firstly, no one outside of China is taking the warnings seriously, and it makes you wonder how many people inside China are taking them seriously.
Additionally, many international fans have defended the game. Take a look at some of the YouTube headlines:
“Black Myth: Wukong Haters Rage After Big Launch | Woke Gamers and Journalists Panic” by Ryan Kinnell, 318K subscribers.
“Woke” culture now primarily represents what was once called political correctness.
“Woke Sweet Baby Advocates Demand Not to Buy Black Mythology Goku. Boycott Fails, Feminists Outraged,” ENDYMIONtv, 267,000 subscribers.
“There's not enough hate towards games journalists,” says Asmongold Clips, which boasts 879,000 subscribers.
The host was referring to an article in the influential gaming magazine IGN, Black Myth: Goku The criticism is that it lacks “diversity” and “inclusion” i.e. it's not LGBTQ, or that all people working in Game Science are sexist pigs, etc. Well, maybe that's true, maybe not. I don't know.
But here's Asmongold Clips' response to the IGN article:
“Female journalists have criticised the game for having no female characters and for the lack of diversity among the monkeys,” the presenter said.
“She then attacked the developer. [with] False accusations… But this isn't about providing insight so consumers can make an informed decision. This is about pushing an agenda and trying to get others to follow that agenda… We're very happy that this game is coming out and that it's going to be a huge success, and we don't want anyone to be confused by this.”
The quotes go on and on, but I think you get the gist.
Some will be fans and some will be haters. Don't get angry, yelling back won't help you. Let your fans defend you because they recognize your true value and worth.