Events Prof. Dr. Lars de Wildt (University of Groningen, The Netherlands): "Global Gaming’s Reorientation to China" Research Colloquium Datum: 29. January 2025Time: 16:15Location: via ZoomRoom: https://uni-bremen.zoom-x.de/j/64390003368?pwd=bj9Yaa8Qig8SwsCS32KPCL7wNOpZEd.1 via Zoom A spectre is haunting the global game industry. While 660 million Chinese players have come to represent 25% of global gaming revenue, the People’s Republic of China allows only few foreign games into its market—and only if they adapt to China’s “core social values.” What will this mean for the production, content and consumption of gaming, globally? In this research seminar, Lars de Wildt argues that it is unlikely that the global game industry will keep treating the Chinese market as an exception. So far, the strategy has been to develop separate Chinese versions of games such as Call of Duty or World of Warcraft, but this approach is unlikely to remain cost-effective. This seminar explores how political economy, rather than political ideology, shapes media. As game studios across the world reorient toward Chinese players’ preferences and their state’s policies, videogames come to serve as a canary in the coalmine for how the established worldviews of global media will be challenged. PDF to download Bio: Lars de Wildt [魏来] is assistant professor in media and cultural industries at the Centre for Media and Journalism Studies, at the University of Groningen, in Netherlands. He studies worldviews in videogame production, content and consumption. His first book, The Pop Theology of Videogames (on how Western game developers sold religion to secular audiences) was published with Amsterdam University Press. His NWO-funded project Reorienting Global Gaming (on how Western games will adapt to Chinese worldviews), will take place from 2025–2029.
