Research Colloquium Prof. Dr. Lars de Wildt (University of Groningen, The Netherlands): "Global Gaming’s Reorientation to China"

On October 23, 2024, the research colloquium by Prof. Dr. Lars de Wildt (University of Groningen, The Netherlands) on “Global Gaming’s Reorientation to China” will take place at the ZeMKI.

Abstract:

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.