Sales of Devotion (還願) have been strong, despite a boycott in China over accusations that the Taiwanese-developed online game includes an image that mocks Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), Chinese-language online media outlet New Talk reported yesterday.
Devotion is a horror-themed, riddle-based game created and developed by Red Candle Games that was released on Tuesday last week. The first-person game depicts the life of a family shadowed by religious belief in a Taiwanese apartment complex in the 1980s.
However, many in China called it a “Taiwanese independence game” and vowed to boycott it after seeing an image in the game that apparently mocks Xi, with the Chinese characters of his name and Winnie the Pooh displayed in ancient calligraphy style on a charm that Taoists believe exorcises ghosts.
Photo: CNA
Online game review Web site Spiel Times reported that “Devotion included a poster that said ‘Xi Jinping Winnie the Pooh moron.’”
The company on Wednesday apologized over the image, saying it had removed images in an updated version.
The names of people and places in the game are fictitious and any relationship to real people is coincidental, the company said in a statement on Facebook.
The controversy stemmed from a company worker using a chunk of words as design elements in the game, which was not made known to other employees, its Chinese publisher, Indievent, or its investor, Winking Entertainment, until complaints were received, the company said on Saturday.
Its collaboration with the publisher and investor has been terminated, while it would shoulder any losses as per its contracts with them, the company said, adding that Devotion has been removed from online game platform Steam’s channel in China.
Despite the controversy, sales have increased, with up to 200,000 downloads worldwide, up from 75,000, Newtalk reported yesterday, citing online data compiled by Steam Spy.
Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Saturday said he supports the Taiwanese-made video game in a post on Facebook.
“Devotion is a good game that is vibrant and creative, and it includes many elements of Taiwanese folklore and customs,” Chen said.
He supports freedom of creation, Chen said.
Additional reporting by Ko Yu-hao and CNA
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said
RSS