On December 31, 2014, the state-sponsored Global Times published an article entitled “Video Game World Trapped in Cold War Mindset.” An excerpt:
China's ban on Battlefield 4: China Rising, a recent war simulation game designed by US company Electronic Arts, has stirred up interesting reactions back in the US.This screenshot was taken on December 27, 2013, and shows that Sina Weibo was censoring searches for “Battlefield 4” (占地4).
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It is interesting to compare the Chinese elements in US video games and Hollywood blockbusters. There is an argument that while the US gaming industry, which has not switched focus to the China market, risks offending the Chinese without much hesitance, Hollywood movies like Iron Man 3 already kowtow to Beijing's stupendous box office returns by squeezing in China-related plots. Nonetheless, as China will reportedly lift the ban on sales of video game consoles, along with the launching of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone earlier this year, the US gaming industry will likely follow suit.
