Video Game Wars (part 2)

Video game wars have changed. They're no longer merely about consoles, ideologies, or regions. They're an endless series of digital battles, fought by developers and machines. War, and its consumption of life, has become a well-funded machine. War has changed. ID tagged gamers use virtual weapons, use  microtransaction-purchased gear. Adderall/caffeine inside their bodies enhance and regulate their abilities. Attention control. Advertising control. Mental control. Gaming control. Everything is monitored, and kept under control. War has changed. The age of console wars has become the age of control. All in the name of averting catastrophe from games of mass destruction. And he who controls the gaming industry, controls history. War has changed. When the gaming world is under total control, war... becomes routine.

All credit goes to Old/Solid Snake's original opening lines in Metal Gear Solid 4, which comment on how war in the future is fully controlled by an AI network. Originally released in 2008, Metal Gear Solid 4 provides a bleak outlook on the year 2014. 

2020 in real life seems a lot worse. 

That's why we should look back and remember the good ol' days when video game graphics were substantially worse and console wars were still a thing.

Generation 6: Enter Microsoft, Sony Wins Again - PS2 vs. Gamecube vs. Xbox

157.68 million sales for the PlayStation 2. No other home console has even come close, though the PS4 and Switch may have a shot at breaking the record. Maybe.

Why was the PS2 so successful? Well, it had a DVD player, and DVDs, the precursor to Blu-Ray discs, were the most commonly used disc-based media format for movies and video games at the time. Everyone wanted, everyone needed, a DVD player. And it just so happened that the PS2 could play DVDs. 

Then there is PS2's amazing library of games, which built on the original PlayStation's massive success. Devil May Cry and God of War made its debut on the PS2. You had Grand Theft Auto III, San Andreas, and Vice City, Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3, Jak and Daxter, Sly Cooper,  Ratchet and Clank, Hitman, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy X, Ico, and Shadow of the Colossus... so many amazing games that made Nintendo's lunchbox, the Gamecube, look like a silly toy. 

The PS2 was also backwards compatible, allowing it to play PlayStation One games. Truly, you needed no other machine if you wanted to play video games and watch movies. Unless you wanted to play Nintendo games.

GameCube still had Smash Bros. Melee, Metroid Prime, and two amazing Zelda games: Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. The GameBoy Advance also performed very well.

Of course, Microsoft entered the fray when it launched the original Xbox. For a new console that only found success in the western market, the Xbox had a respectable debut, so long as we ignore its first ginormous and unwieldy controller. 

Microsoft had Halo, the quintessential first-person shooter that remains the Xbox's flagship title. Then there was Fable, Knights of the Old Republic, and Elder Scrolls Morrowind. And I absolutely love Ninja Gaiden Black.

The GameCube and Xbox sold 22 and 24 million units respectively. The PS2 utterly destroyed them. Its game library was much more robust, and it could play DVDs without the need for additional software. The PS2 easily won this war.

Generation 7: Sony's Hubris, Microsoft's Red Ring of Death, and Nintendo Wants to "Play" - Xbox 360 vs. PS3 vs. Wii

The generation of HD graphics and motion controls. God damn motion controls.

E3 2006. An event that will forever live in infamy. The PS3 would have a launch price of $500 and $600 for the 20 and 60 GB models respectively. That's a very expensive machine. 

If you watch this video, you will understand why E3 2006 and the PS3 launch was the greatest mistake that Sony ever made:

Risks were taken, but rewards were not reaped (but still much respect for Kaz Hirai). Giant enemy crabs were not present in Feudal Japan. 2006-2009 were unfortunate years for Sony.

I do not need to spend time to discuss the Wii, as I already have in sufficient depth in previous posts. Nintendo's marketing was very effective; the quote "We would like to play" began every Wii commercial. Clever. They targeted the casual audience. Smart. Everyone wanted a Wii at one point to play tennis, and it was always sold out from 2006 to 2009. It had a few great titles, but its graphics sucked and motion controls were idiotically stupid. Doesn't matter though - Nintendo still made tons of money. Now over 100 million Wiis are collecting dust in closets and attics across the world.

Performance and value wise, the Xbox 360 may have been the best overall console of this generation, had it not been for the dreaded red ring of death. To recap, more than half of owners of the original Xbox 360 model (54% according to a Game Informer survey) one day saw their beloved machine's power indicator ring give off a menacing, unceasing red light. 

Due to a design defect prevalent in the original Xbox 360 models, this red ring signified a console's death. Microsoft offered repair services, but many individuals experienced the same problem on multiple occasions. The entire mess cost Microsoft over a billion dollars. That's a lot of money.

Also, this generation was marked by an obsession with motion controls. No, Nintendo was not the only one forcing motion controls down our throats. Microsoft had Kinect, and Sony had PlayStation Move. No one uses Wiimotes and Nunchuks, Kinect, or PlayStation move controllers anymore. Motion controls were not just a fad; they were an abomination to the gaming industry. They made games worse. Having just finished playing Super Mario Galaxy again recently, I am reminded of this fact. 

However, this generation was also a renaissance for the video games industry. Video games truly became mainstream, and practically everyone had at least one or several of these consoles. Even if the PS3 never recovered from its terrible launch, the release of the PS3 Slim with its reduced price helped save Sony.

In terms of units sold, the Wii ranks first at 101.63 million, and the PS3 and Xbox 360 are nearly tied at 87.4 million and 86 million. These are all very impressive numbers.

In the end, everyone turned out a winner in their own right. But I imagine that the Xbox 360 owners who suffered from the red ring of death didn't feel like winners. Nor did Wii owners who flailed their arms around or injured themselves or others trying to play Skyward Sword or some other Wii game with stupidly idiotic motion controls. And we had to endure some extremely mind-numbingly stupid and disappointing E3 presentations during these years.

Nevertheless, the competition was truly healthy, and gamers will always fondly recall this generation and the countless amazing titles it provided. 

On the Wii, we had Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Zelda Skyward Sword (Twilight Princess is a GameCube game, you fools), Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby's Return to Dreamland, Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, Monster Hunter Tri, and an amazing Virtual Console library.

The PS3 had Uncharted 1-3, Metal Gear Solid 4, God of War III, and the Last of Us, whereas the Xbox 360 had the Gears of War trilogy and Halo (duh). I can't forget to mention the stellar third-party titles released on both PS3 and Xbox 360 that are among the best of all time: Mass Effect trilogy, Batman Arkham Asylum and City, Assassin's Creed, Bioshock, Portal 1 and 2, Red Dead Redemption, and Dark Souls. Too bad the Wii didn't get these games because its graphical capabilities were too weak and its motion controls sucked ass.

Generation 8: We Are Gamers - PS4 vs. Xbox One vs Switch

Thus began the second era of modern gaming. Of course, "modern" is always a relative term. Ten or twenty years from now, who is to say how much further video games will evolve? 

Technically, this generation isn't over. It's not over yet, not yet, as Liquid Snake is known to say. 

You know what else is stupid, besides motion controls?

Microsoft first announcing that the Xbox One would require a constant online connection, that people could not allow their friends to borrow their games, and that the console would sell for $500. It came bundled with Kinect, too. Essentially, Microsoft wanted to do everything they could to become the undisputed loser of this generation. And they succeeded. 50 million Xbox Ones sold is respectable nonetheless, but when the Switch has already sold over 61 million units after having only been out for three years, and the PS4 is standing at over 112 million units and rising... it sucks to be Microsoft in this generation.

However, Microsoft still has billions and billions more dollars than Sony and Nintendo do. So no worries?

The PS4 is by far my preferred console of choice. The quality and quantity of the PS4's first-party games make me feel absolutely spoiled. After finishing Final Fantasy VII Remake and Ghost of Tsushima this year, I'm so happy that I have my PS4. Even if Sony botched the PS3 launch, it certainly learned from its mistakes and recaptured its former glory.

Sony announced the PS4's launch price of $399 and automatically won the war for this generation. It was very reminiscent of how the original PlayStation killed the Sega Saturn. But Microsoft isn't dead; it has far too much money. 

Nintendo had an unusual life cycle for its consoles for this generation. Or rather, the lifespans of the PS3 and Xbox 360 were so long, that Nintendo felt the pressure to release a new console in 2012.

The Wii U was an absolute failure, as much as I "liked" it. But more on that later. Now even Nintendo pretends that the Wii U never existed, with most of its games being re-released on the Switch.

The Switch.

You know what the Switch is: a hybrid handheld and home console. You have one, or you want one.

This could be Nintendo's greatest console ever. It continues to sell like crazy. Since everyone has been stuck at home due to the pandemic, millions of people have jumped on the Animal Crossing bandwagon. Bums.

Breath of the Wild, Mario Odyssey, Smash Ultimate, Octopath Traveler, Fire Emblem Three Houses...

But the PS4 has Bloodborne, Uncharted 4, God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Persona 5...

It's hard to say which console I love more... only because I need a Nintendo console to play Zelda. 

Gaming only keeps getting better.

Generation 9 Into the Future - Xbox Series X/S vs. PS5 vs. Switch

The video game wars continue, but no longer are they fought simply through hardware. Console exclusives still remain powerful weapons, and Sony and Nintendo have always flexed their IPs to ensure that gamers felt the absolute need to buy their consoles. However, Microsoft just announced that it has purchased Bethesda, the publisher of Elder Scrolls, Fall Out, Doom, and Wolfenstein, for $7.5 billion dollars. Like I said before, Microsoft has a lot of money. 

When it comes to online gaming services, Xbox has always been the winner. Xbox Live launched on the original Xbox, and since then Sony and Nintendo attempted to copy Microsoft by offering their own online subscription services. Now it has become mandatory to be subscribed to Xbox Live, Playstation Plus, and/or Switch Online to play most console games online. As we all know, Nintendo has always been an incompetent bungler when it comes to online services. 

Looking to solidify its dominance in the online subscription battlefront, Microsoft cares less about the number of consoles they sell and moreso about the number of new subscribers to Xbox Game Pass they can gain. And by god is Xbox Game Pass an amazing deal. $10-$15 a month and over 100 games, including new releases. Add that to their xCloud streaming service, and Microsoft is well-positioned to dominate, or at least perform well, this next generation. Though I've somehow managed to forgo buying an Xbox 360 and Xbox One up until now, I'm highly tempted to eventually purchase an Xbox Series S and subscribe to Xbox Game Pass just so I can add dozens of games to my already excessive backlog of hundreds. But seriously, Microsoft, please come up with better names for your consoles. 

Xbox and Xbox 360 < These names are OK.

Xbox One < Huh?

Xbox One S and Xbox One X < What?

Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S < ...

And now that Microsoft owns Bethesda, we can anticipate what will happen next...

Bugs!!!!!!!! Massive single-player role-playing games that everyone loves but are buggy as hell at launch! Fall Out 76 will make a come back and piss off even more people! Skyrim will never stop being re-released!!! And yeah, Skyrim, Fall Out, and Doom are still in my backlog... still... 

... 

Metroid Prime 4 and The Breath of the Wild sequel are on the horizon, or at least in the distant future.

The announcement of God of War Ragnarok means I won't be able to delay purchasing a PS5 for very long.

Pre-orders for the PS5 and Xbox Series X and S have been a complete shit show thanks to scalpers and bots. I'm glad that I'm okay with not having either console at launch.

I look forward to the future.

Now that I've finished chronicling (though it was more commentary than chronicle) the video game wars, there are still some final topics I would like to briefly cover. I may discuss them more thoroughly in future posts.

PC Master Race

Honestly, though I myself am not a PC gamer, I have to admit that gaming on the PC is simply just better than gaming on consoles. The performance on a well-built PC will always surpass any home console. The level of customization and mods one can apply, and the fact that games often go on sale for such cheap prices on Steam, make PC gaming a true paradise. But Sony's and Nintendo's exclusives keep me tied to their respective consoles. 

The ability to update your hardware and graphics card without having to purchase an entirely new machine is enticing. And for PC gamers, there is increasing access to traditionally console-exclusive titles such as Octopath Traveler, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Persona 4 Golden. The past, present, and future of gaming has truly always been with PC.

Pre-orders of Nvidia's new RTX graphics cards were also a complete shit show, again thanks to scalpers and bots. And these cards already make the PS5 and Xbox Series X seem outdated.

Nintendo Always Wins with Handhelds

Sony did a decent job with the PSP. I enjoyed playing Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles, Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker, Final Fantasy Tactics War of the Lions, and Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep on my PSP very much.

But the Vita? Hahah. Check below for console failures.

The fact that no other non-Nintendo handheld system is really worth mentioning (unless you like the Sega Game Gear and the six AA batteries it required) further attests to the fact that Nintendo always wins when it comes to handheld consoles. 

The Gameboy, including the Pocket and Color variations, had Pokemon. 118.69 million units sold. 

The Gameboy Advance was basically a portable Super Nintendo with far worse sound. So many great games on the GBA, including many re-releases. 81.51 million units sold.

The Nintendo DS. Before everyone wanted a smartphone, they wanted a DS. The second-best selling console of all time at 154. 9 million units sold. Touch screen controls weren't as stupid as motion controls. And of course, the DS had a lot of Pokemon games.

The 3DS. Nintendo recently announced that the 3DS and 2DS have been discontinued. They had a good run. Stereoscopic 3D technology was always stupid, though. $250 for a handheld was stupid. Nintendo messed up the 3DS's launch with the hefty price tag and sparse lineup of games. Like the PS3, the 3DS later made an amazing comeback as its game library (Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, Smash Bros, Zelda Link Between Worlds, and Fire Emblem Awakening, Fates, and Echoes to name a few) continued to grow. 75.77 million units is not bad, considering the 3DS's terrible launch.

And now we have the Switch.

Give Me More Money - Epic Games vs. Apple and Google

This is a fascinating story that is still developing. Epic Games, owner of the Unreal Engine and Fortnite,  caused a ruckus a couple years ago when it launched its Epic Games Store to challenge Steam's monopoly. Now it is challenging Apple and Google in regards to 30% cut that developers have to provide to Apple and Google when selling their apps on the App Store and Google Play. Everything started when Epic Games updated Fortnite on these platforms with the option to purchase V-bucks at a 20% discount if users purchased the V-bucks directly from Epic. As a result, Apple and Google subsequently took down Fortnite from their stores. Apparently anticipating this response, Epic Games launched the pre-emptive strike when it sued Apple and Google for "antitrust and anticompetitive behavior."

The legal battle between Epic Games and Apple is particularly worthy of attention. Epic Games even made this video parody of 1984. Looks like they planned ahead.

 

Earlier this month, Apple counter-sued Epic Games, citing a breach of contract. There has been a lot of debate regarding access to the Unreal Engine, which many iOS developers rely on to create their games. Apple terminated Epic Games' developer account, seeking to force Epic Games to comply with Apple's App Store guidelines, with potential ramifications of hurting other developers who depend on Unreal Engine. Thankfully, a temporary restraining order against Apple has been filed to prevent developers from getting caught in the crossfire of litigation. Epic Games has even gotten Microsoft to provide its support. Alliances have been formed, and battle lines have been drawn. Things have already gotten pretty ugly. In the end, both companies primarily care about making more money for themselves. We'll see how this game plays out.

Pure Evil - The World vs. Tencent

Tencent made WeChat, and it sends people's private data and personal messages to the Chinese Communist Party upon request. 

Tencent owns a 40% stake in Epic Games, maker of Fortnite.

Tencent owns Riot Games, maker of League of Legends.

Tencent, in partnership with Nintendo, is making a League of Legends-style Pokemon game. Tencent also helps Nintendo sell Switches in China.

Tencent has partnerships with Activision and Bluehole to develop and market mobile versions of Call of Duty and PUBG in China. 

Every fact listed here is proof of Tencent's pure evil.  

Tencent is the enemy of the world. 

Their eventual and inevitable destruction is necessary to save and liberate the world of gaming, and the Chinese people as a whole, whose dependence on Tencent have fueled its profits, monopolies, and utter control over the Chinese masses.

Beloved Console Failures 

Virtual Boy: The biggest loser of them all, with only 770,000 units sold. The first console with stereoscopic 3D graphics, released 16 years before the 3DS. Red. Painful, bloody, red.

Atari 5200, Lynx, and Jaguar: Yes, Atari still made consoles up until 1993. No one cares, except some weird collectors. 

Nintendo 64DD: The Nintendo 64 was supposed to have a disc-drive add-on, just like how the PlayStation was originally supposed to be a disc-drive add-on for the Super Nintendo. Nintendo just never understood how to handle disc drives prior to the GameCube and Wii. 

Sega Saturn and Dreamcast: Sega's last consoles had some good games, and to this day many people still love the Saturn and Dreamcast. Unfortunately, their poor timing, low sales, and tragic fates ensured their demise. 

PS Vita: The console that was supposed to offer PS3 level experiences on a handheld device. Had Sony provided more support for the Vita, offered more games, and didn't force us to buy their overpriced proprietary memory cards, perhaps the Vita could have sold more than 15 million units. At least it's a decent console to play PS One games?

Wii U: The failure lies in the name. Many people didn't even know that it was an entirely new console, nor that it even existed. The Wii U had a great library of first-party titles, but most of them have since been re-released on the Switch, making the Wii U's obsolescence all the more absolute. At 13.56 million units sold, the Wii U was Nintendo's worst performing home console barring the Virtual Boy. Tis' unfortunate, since the Wii U did have some great games. 

Recently I hooked up my Wii U again to play Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. It's been 2 years since I last turned it on. I was astounded by how much space it takes up - the console's body, the external hard drive it's connected to, the size of the tablet controller, the console's power adapter with its giant grey brick, and the other power adapter to charge the tablet controller's measly battery life... 

At least all the flaws and failures of the Wii U predicated the ultimate success of the Switch. Learning from failure truly does lead to success.

Video Game Wars (part 1)

The Xbox Series X and PS5 are looming on the horizon. Switch consoles are still sold out since everyone wants one. Epic Games has begun a war with Apple and Google.  Oh how times have changed.

We used to call these types of conflicts "console wars," but these wars are no longer restricted to simply marketing one console over the other. 

Before, the wars were all about how "Genesis does what Nintendon't," which consoles had better graphics, how CDs could store more data than cartridges could despite the horrendous loading times, which consoles had better first party games and third party support, which controllers didn't suck, which consoles got red or yellow rings of death, and how motion controls were stupid despite them being shoved down our throats.  

Let's briefly recount the various video game and console wars that have occurred throughout history. 

Generations 1 and 2: Atari vs. Itself and too many other consoles 

Everything began with Pong and the Atari 2600... which is not true; the Magnavox Odyssey came out first in 1972, but nobody remembers that. The Atari 2600 is the first major video game console that truly found success with the American market. There were way too many other consoles released during this time, and I'll not bother listing any of them. All you need to know is that Atari essentially committed suicide and nearly destroyed the entire video game industry. Now if it weren't for Atari, video games would never have become a legitimate or lucrative business, but Atari also nearly brought about the extinction of video games after releasing to many shitty games. Pac-Man on the Atari 2600, E.T., the Video Game Crash of 1983, and the rest is history. 

 

Generation 3: Nintendo the Savior

R.O.B. and the Nintendo Entertainment system (or Famicom in Japan) saved the video games industry. Of course, the NES was not marketed as a video game console; no one would have bought it if that were the case. It was a "home entertainment system" that included a toy robot and gun. You need to know what the kids like, after all. Sega released the Master System, but few people care about that. No wars happened during this time; it was a golden era of peace and prosperity. There were also a lot of golden Zelda cartridges. 

Nintendo was a savior that later became an evil overlord.

 

Generation 4: The 16-Bit Wars - Sega Genesis vs. Super Nintendo 

The 90s were when the real wars began. Both the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo were brilliant consoles with gorgeous 16-bit graphics. The Sega Genesis had Sonic, Golden Axe, Phantasy Star, Streets of Rage, Gunstar Heroes, Shining Force, Comix Zone, Ecco the Dolphin, and a bunch of other weird and cool games. The Super Nintendo had Super Mario World, Link to the Past, Super Metroid, Star Fox, Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, Donkey Kong Country, Kirby, Yoshi's Island, Mega Man X, Secret of Mana, and Earthbound. All masterpieces.

It was a true war. Watch this old Sega Genesis commercial, and you will understand:

The Sega Genesis had the better, uncensored version of Mortal Kombat. Aladdin for Sega Genesis allowed you to use a sword, so therefore the Sega Genesis was better. If you liked Nintendo more, you were uncool. You were sad and pathetic. You were a child, a baby, playing baby games like Mario. Or you played the game in which Yoshi carried baby Mario on his back.

But, in fact, the Super Nintendo was actually better. There were more better games. The Super Nintendo had A Link to the Past, Final Fantasy IV-VI, Mega Man X, and Chrono Trigger. Therefore, the Super Nintendo was better. 49.1 million consoles sold for Super Nintendo vs. 35 million sold for Sega Genesis. The numbers speak for themselves. Nintendo smoked Sega. Genesis did not have a lot of the amazing games that the Super Nintendo had. Nintendo also released the Game Boy line of consoles... and Pokemon... so I guess Nintendo is the clear winner of this war.

But the Sega Genesis had Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 and Knuckles. Therefore, the Sega Genesis is the best. 

In truth, the Super Nintendo is my favorite console of all time.

Sega fans were insecure ignoramuses pretending that they were cooler and more mature because they had edgier games with blood, all because Sega marketed to an older demographic. And then there's Night Trap. Sega also looked like a fool during the 1993 congressional hearings on video games.

But Nintendo fans were babies who refused to grow up. They clung to their innocence and remained blind Nintendo fanboys/fangirls even as they aged and became "adults." Now they, together with the fake/non-fans and bandwagoners, play Animal Crossing on their Switches or pretend that they know all the characters in Smash Ultimate. They probably still don't even know how many Links there are across all the canonical Zelda games.

Bums, posers, and phonies, the lot of them!

Generation 5: How Sony Defeated the Evil, Beloved Overlord Nintendo - Nintendo 64 vs. PlayStation vs. Sega Saturn

Video games jumped into the third dimension.

Consumers were presented with difficult questions: Cartridges or CDs? Want to buy a memory card?

Thank you, Nintendo, for spurning Sony. I wrote in another article how the falling out between Nintendo and Sony resulted in the birth of the PlayStation, thereby requiring me to buy multiple consoles every generation since I can't have all the games I want on just one console for some reason. 

I also believe this is the generation when Nintendo began to fully embrace its identity as a sinful, evil overlord that enslaves its fans by taking advantage of their love for and addiction to its phenomenal first-party games. I believe I've talked about this topic already.

Sega made a grave error, then lost this war before it even began. No one cared about their advertisements that targeted a more mature audience. No matter how hard Sega tried, it couldn't catch lightning in a bottle for the second time. They released their console too early with too few games, for $399.

All Sony had to do was say "$299." Then they won the war. 

The Nintendo 64 continued Nintendo's tradition of obstinacy and relying on first-party games to sell its console. This didn't work that well, or I suppose it worked to an extent. 

Mario 64, Star Fox 64, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Pokemon Snap, Smash Bros., Golden Eye, Perfect Dark, Banjo Kazooie, Mario Party and Mario Kart 64. These games were damn good.

But...

PlayStation

had

Final Fantasy VII-IX, Final Fantasy Tactics, Resident Evil 1-3, Tomb Raider 1-3, Crash Bandicoot 1-3, Spyro, Xenogears, Vagrant Story, Chrono Cross, Suikoden II, PaRappa the Rapper, Tekken 3, Castlevania Symphony of the Night, Mega Man Legends...

And

Fucking

Metal Gear Solid.

I hear someone shout, "Numbers please!"

Over 100 million consoles sold for the PlayStation. Less than 33% of that for the Nintendo 64. Less than 10% for the Sega Saturn.

Too bad these games haven't aged well graphically. Too bad that the PlayStation Classic is trash since it's missing almost all of the games I mentioned. 

But the Nintendo 64 had some damn good games. The PlayStation just had more. This trend will continue.

In part 2:

Generation 6: PS2 vs. Gamecube vs. Xbox

Generation 7: Xbox 360 vs. PS3 vs. Wii

Generation 8: PS4 vs. Xbox One vs Switch 

PC Master Race

Nintendo always wins with handhelds

Epic Games vs. Apple and Google

The world vs. Tencent

And the beloved console "failures."

What a Mess

A co-worker said something to me today,

"Smash didn't make pedophiles. Pedophiles made Smash."

A literal interpretation is unwarranted. Though humorous, maybe inaccurate, I believe it strikes at the heart of the problem.

Japanese culture, Anime culture, video game culture. They all silently condone, advocate, and even commercialize pedophilia. I used to be an Anime fan. I still am a video game fan. I used to attend Anime conventions, and though I never got involved in anything particularly raunchy, I was aware of the situations that people could find themselves in, and the situations that people were actively seeking out.

Look at how Nintendo put together Palutena's reveal trailer for Smash 4. Look at the increase in chest size they gave to Peach. Look at Zero Suit Samus. Nintendo cannot say it has not objectified women, even if it has only done so subtly.

The fact that the term "waifu" exists, that many Anime and video game fans have been subliminally encouraged to become pedophiles, that Smash is advertised as a "party" and "kid-friendly" game, which encourages minors to attend events, expose their vulnerability, and stay at hotels filled with horny, malodorous, and loud male nerds in their early to late twenties...

The fact that the competitive Smash scene has always been grass roots, unregulated, and filled with toxic individuals who felt empowered by their positions to show no restraint, even at the expense of the victims they abused.

The fact that Nintendo never supported competitive Smash, thereby leading to the development of such a noxious community and culture filled with toxicity, abuse, and malevolence.

The victims who suffered, the victims who were falsely accused, and those who have yet to speak out. Everything is unfolding, and the curtain has drawn back. Who knows if competitive Smash will survive?

Everything that's been happening recently, all the news and allegations, and the resulting disillusionment... It's been a while since I've felt disillusionment so heavy. Ironically, my primary reasons for never attending Smash Bros. tournaments were 1. I still wanted to get better with a real main before putting myself out there and 2. There were too many young people.

I'm an OAF. Old as fuck. Two people who have gone to tournaments have beaten me in Smash. And they were my students no less. But I also beat them a few times.

I've always wondered what it would have been like to be a part of the competitive Smash scene. I've always heard about its toxicity, but it wasn't until Smash Ultimate that I started considered myself a "competitive" player. And I really was considering going to tournaments.

None of what has happened surprises me, but with the extent and severity of the incidents... I'm perturbed to say the least. I'm really depressed that this has been the true reality of the competitive Smash community, or a significant part of it. 

I was up until 1 AM reading the most notable Twitlongers, Jisu's Google document with all the compiled screenshots, and ZeRo's apology and announcement that he was withdrawing from, well, everything. I watched Mew2King's, Leffen's, and Hungrybox's response videos. I'm currently watching the Sky House stream while I'm writing this post.

I was watching ZeRo's content almost everyday up until the revelations. Though he's my junior by seven years, I admired his tenacity and forthrightness, persevering through all the hatred directed toward him throughout his life and decisively proving that he was best player in Smash 4, and I appreciated his humor. For a man who repeatedly states that he's still a virgin in public, his allegations and the resulting fallout have shocked me the most.

I'm not surprised that he made advances to under-aged girls online. Teenage girls and boys often don't realize how easily they invite and, at times, encourage the advances of older men, whether intentional or not. They're young; they're naive.

I also don't overlook the traumatic past that ZeRo shared with us. Though he claims he did not share his story to garner sympathy, the real purpose behind his story is clear. To explain, provide context, and garner sympathy.

It's easy to say that "I was young and didn't know what I was doing." This applies to both the perpetrators and the victims. The immense trauma and suffering that has resulted, however, is more than evident.

I will need more time to process all of this. It has affected me and brought down my mood more than I expected. But I still choose to face the reality and will continue to look into the individual cases.

I pity Nairo, though this my no means condones his decisions to allow the sexual encounters to occur with a minor. His accuser was under-age, but still guilty of making advances, performing fellatio on Nairo on more than one occasion, then revealing the truth publicly after being paid and asking for more money to attend an event (?). Or perhaps I'm not reading his chat-log and text screenshots correctly? To me, they were superfluous and pitiful (and not in the way you might think). But because he was a minor and Nairo an adult, we deem Nairo guilty based on our laws and ethics.

Jisu is a talented artist, who independently built her respectable career despite the malicious Peach player who manipulated, extorted, tormented, and I can't even bring myself to write about what he has done. After reading Choe's 2018 post, I can't put into words how terrible I feel that anyone had to suffer and be manipulated, neglected, and spurned to such a degree by those whom they trusted and loved. I commend and thank her for her bravery, and I hope she can eventually find solace.

I'm still watching Sky's video. I notice that it's scripted. And poorly prepared.

It's always easy to say "I should have done more."

How about we just do more and do better? I'm hoping that one day I don't need to feel ashamed of my gender due to the continued existence of so many cruel and pathetic men.

Had Nintendo supported and helped monitor the competitive Smash community, at least as far as sexual misconduct goes, perhaps things could have turned out better. Or maybe I'm just a fool.

If this is the death of the current competitive Smash scene, so be it. Let's rebuild it into something better.

And how the fuck do 20+ people live in the same house?

Final Fantasy VII Remake: Mastering Fate

Spoiler Warning.

Fate, or destiny, is an overused word. Discussed excessively in literature and philosophy. Questioned, defied, or embraced by countless fictional and actual individuals.

Fate is a topic I personally find simultaneously banal yet fascinating. To what extent do people have control over the outcomes in their lives? Undeniably, there are certain forces that are simply beyond our control, but where do we draw the line drawn between actions produced by free well and actions dictated by fate?

Classical Western tragedies (Greek, Shakespearean...) pose questions regarding fate in practically every story. Characters are told prophecies, the audience witnesses scenes of epic foreshadowing, and the name of a play, typically the same as that of the protagonist, already provides a spoiler. Antigone, Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear... if their name is in the title, they're gonna die.

However, we don't know exactly what's going to happen with the plot of Final Fantasy VII Remake. There are. So many. Questions.

Let's begin with two assumptions:

- Everything that occurs in the plot of original Final Fantasy VII can be seen as "what is meant to happen" as determined by fate.

- Whispers are manifestations of the Lifestream, the planet's life energy, that control fate and influence the course of events in the Remake.

In the original game, Aerith dies, Sephiroth summons Meteor, Cloud and company defeat Sephiroth and save the world. Let's not discuss Advent Children or Dirge of Cerberus.

And even before the events of FFVII, we have Crisis Core, in which Zack and the Soldier trinity of Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth endure sad times. Zack also dies.

But at the end of Final Fantasy VII Remake, the player kills the Whisper Harbinger, which we can assume is the source of all the Whispers that serve as "arbiters of fate." Throughout the Remake, these Whispers attempt to ensure that the events of the game line up with the plot of the original FFVII.

Supposedly, this is why they don't allow Aerith to stay around too long when she first meets Cloud. This is why they don't allow Hojo to tell Cloud that he's actually a Sephiroth clone. There are numerous examples of the characters' words and actions deviating from the original game's script, but the Whispers, as the planet's and fate's agents, prevent the plot from deviating too far from the original story.

This still doesn't explain things very well. There are too many plot holes and arbitrary occurrences when Whispers show up without clear reason. If their role is to make sure the Remake's plot stays the same as the original's, then they really suck at their job.

Final Fantasy VII's plot should be more complicated, is what no one ever said.

Speculation. It appears that Sephiroth wishes to challenge fate, or destroy it rather, and then absorb its powers (which is kind of his thing). The Whispers have little to no influence over him (since he's too cool and powerful), and after Cloud and the gang defeat the Whisper Harbinger, Sephiroth appears and seems to absorb its life energy. Maybe that's what happens.

Sephiroth also suggests that he desires to save the planet and prevent the inevitable end of its existence. He asks Cloud to join him in defying fate. Cloud says no (of course). Sephiroth is pretty crazy, after all.

Earlier, Sephiroth also stabs Barret, an event that never occurs in the original game. In fact, a lot of things in the Remake don't happen in the original game. More evidence that the Whispers are are bad at their job. At least the Whispers heal Barret and make sure he doesn't die.

Barret isn't allowed to die; this is not his fate, as decided by the course of events in the original game. But, according to "Whisper logic," certain characters (Biggs, Jessie, Wedge, President Shinra) -have to die.- That is their fate.

Therefore, Aerith will have to die. Again.

How does fate, or the planet rather, decide who should die and who shouldn't? Why would the planet want Aerith to die when she is the one most responsible for saving it? Just to maintain the same course of events? Makes no sense.

However, the Whispers are gone now. The Whisper Harbinger, an entity that represents fate itself, has been destroyed.

In the Remake's ending, we see in what appears to be an alternate timeline, Zack survives his confrontation with the Shinra army. Cool, but what does this mean?

Different timelines. Fate mumbo jumbo. I'm getting Kingdom Hearts flashbacks. What's wrong with Tetsuya Nomura, or whoever in Square Enix is/are responsible for this nonsense?

Whenever people discuss fate, ultimately more questions remain. The proof lies in the second paragraph of this essay. A common conclusion is that fate simply does not exist. Then less thinking is necessary. But Square Enix just -had- to include fate as a major plot element in FFVII Remake's revised story. Or did they?

Now that fate is no longer in control, how will the FFVII Remake's story end? How much will stay the same, how much will be different?

Was there any point to include the Whispers, or such a heavy emphasis on fate, in the Remake?

Leading up to FFVII Remake's release, my greatest concern was the possibility of Square Enix making too many changes that would ruin the story. However, I see a lot of potential for alternate endings and player choices impacting the plot, similar to Mass Effect, in the future episodes of the FFVII Remake, now that fate is out of the equation. Imagine if we can prevent Aerith's death. Wishful thinking on my part.

Recently, Yoshinori Kitase, the original director of Final Fantasy VII and producer of FFVII Remake, stated that they will not be changing FFVII's plot significantly, at least going forward.

According to him, the story will be more or less the same.

So, yeah. We'll see what happens. We'll see how long it takes for Square Enix to completely finish the FFVII Remake. Estimates range between 10-15 years, if Final Fantasy XV or Kingdom Hearts III are any indication. 5 years passed between FFVII Remake's reveal trailer at E3 2015 and its release. The original game came out in 1997.

That's a long time to wait.

Final Fantasy VII's Legacy

Spoiler Alert!

A lot of things have already been said about Final Fantasy VII's impact on gaming culture and history. For many, it was the entry point to the series and the Japanese role-playing game genre. I imagine words akin to the following have been frequently tossed around:

"Final Fantasy VII is the best Final Fantasy game. It's by far my favorite Final Fantasy."
- Someone who (probably) didn't play the other Final Fantasy games

"Why is Cloud's hair so spiky? How does he carry that ginormous sword?"
- Someone who saw Cloud for the first time

"I thought THESE GRAPHICS were good?"
- Someone who saw images/gameplay of the original Final Fantasy VII years after they last played it

"What's so great about this game? It looks like shit."
- Someone born after the year 2000

"Random encounters suck."
- Everyone

Repetition is a testament to a subject's popularity, and all of these sentiments have certainly been repeated over the years. When people hear about Final Fantasy, the number that always comes to mind is VII. Of course, there's also IV, VI, IX, and X...

Out of every game ever released, Final Fantasy VII has one of the most memorable plots and casts of characters. Cloud, First Class Soldier (not really), wielder of the (unwieldy) Buster Sword, and likely the most popular character in the entire Final Fantasy series. He's an infamous cross-dresser, suffering from dissociation and post-traumatic stress. His hero Sephiroth burned his hometown to the ground and killed his mother. Cloud's best friend died protecting him, and, while in a Mako-poisoned state, Cloud adopted Zack's identity as his own, having inherited Zack's honor, wishes, and dreams.




Players of Final Fantasy VII remember Tifa Lockhart's enormous breasts and scant clothing. They remember Sephiroth's excessively long sword. They remember Aerith's death.

They remember how it felt to step out of Midgar for the first time and into the open world of Gaia. The mind-fuck they experienced when Sephiroth managed to convince Cloud that he was just a Sephiroth clone and his memories and identity were fabricated. The sympathy they felt for Tifa, ridden with guilt, when she chose to stay by Cloud's side during his apparently comatose state.

Then we have Barret Wallace and Cid Highwind, who cuss a lot. But there's more to these characters than censored text. Cid's dream is to become the first man to enter space. Barret feels unconditional love for his adoptive daughter and an unrelenting desire to save the planet.

Red XIII is an awesome cat-dog that can talk. Cait Sith's a Shinra spy riding a giant Moogle. Yuffie is a ninja obsessed with stealing materia. Vincent is a vampire-esque gunsman who is unrequitedly in love with Sephiroth's mother.

But the player was told that Jenova, an extraterrestrial entity that crashed into the planet in a meteor, was Sephiroth's mother. Then somehow he assimilated Jenova and her supernatural powers into his own being. His goal is to summon a meteor to collide with the planet and absorb the planet's life energy to become a god.

The characters and story of Final Fantasy VII are complicated. Cool, but complicated. That's why we remember them. Their missing noses and giant forearms live forever in our memories.

As a game, Final Fantasy VII doesn't do anything particularly or drastically different from previous entries in the series. Final Fantasy VI also takes place in a steampunk world with magical creatures and advanced technology, with a similar final boss who is a megalomaniac, aspires to become a god, and somehow grows angel wings. Main character deaths, like Tellah in Final Fantasy IV and Galuf in Final Fantasy V, weren't new either.

Though its plot might seem complicated, Final Fantasy VII's straightforward gameplay and relatively easy difficulty made it an JRPG far more accessible to the western audience than previous JRPG games. The 3D graphics and full-motion video sequences were groundbreaking at the time. People fell in love with this game, its characters, everything about it. And of course, FFVII sold millions of copies.

Final Fantasy VII's legacy is undeniable, and now the Remake is finally out. At least, the first part is. After completing it, I cannot help but feel that part 2 cannot come out soon enough. Knowing Square-Enix's track record when it comes to delayed developments (Final Fantasy XV, Kingdom Hearts III...), who knows when it will be completed. I can only hope that the entire game will be finished before I die of old age.

Inevitably, we will have to witness Aerith's death once again. I don't know if my heart can take it. I have a feeling it's going to be even more painful the second time around. The Remake has made the plot even more complicated, and it appears to be hinting at the possibility that we can alter the pre-destined course of events that was established in the original game. Maybe we can prevent Aerith's death or become Sephiroth's friend. Or we will simply despair in futility.

There's only one way to truly understand Final Fantasy VII's impact, why people wanted it remade for so long, and the implications of the Remake's story additions and alterations. You have to play these games for yourself.

And if you are smart and cultured enough, you will understand why Final Fantasy VII is the second or third best Final Fantasy, and one of the best (but perhaps not the best) JRPGs/games ever made.

Blizzard Might Ban Me, China Will Censor Me

Oh no! Politics!

Now, I've always thought Mei's character design is adorable.

I've never played Overwatch, nor Diablo, nor World of Warcraft. In fifth grade, I played Starcraft for, like, two minutes. Probably less. I have played the two Lost Vikings games though! They're great.

As such, I'm categorically detached from Blizzard. I've had friends who, like so many others, have poured hundreds of hours into World of Warcraft. Seeing as the other, far less popular MMO, Final Fantasy XI, was sucking up all my time and lifeforce, my closest exposure to WoW was watching South Park's episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft." From that episode, a lingering question: "How does one kill that which has no life?"

So I have no authority on Blizzard's games. People seem to like them, though. I've had so many students who've played Overwatch and Hearthstone. I've also taught many Chinese students. ABCs, students from the mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

We're already aware of the Hearthstone player who Blizzard banned after Ng Wai Chung won a tournament and commented on Hong Kong's "revolution." Blizzard has also banned several other American University players who held up "Free Hong Kong" signs during a streaming competition. This happened two days ago.

The tournament rules state that participants are not allowed to say anything that could be deemed offensive to viewers. Blizzard also claims that “Every Voice Matters at Blizzard, and we strongly encourage everyone in our community to share their viewpoints in the many places available to express themselves.” Really?

Were these bans justified? A lot of people think no. Blizzard, and China, thinks yes. And the result? More protests. Notable Hearthstone players quitting the game. A planned protest for Blizzcon. Infuriated people online. Gamers becoming political.

Wrath may be a sin, but fury is a natural inclination of the human species when faced with injustice. But what is justice, or injustice for that matter? Not even Socrates could establish a categorical, valid definition that could hold up against scrutiny. Of course not: the nature of justice is subjective, elusive, and capricious.

The only thing that is certain in life is uncertainty, death, and human stupidity. Justice is never certain. Justice can be perceived as evil, depending on what one thinks. I might quote Hamlet too much, but "there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

However, whenever a man is in doubt, Chinese or not, he should turn to Confucius:

子曰其恕乎己所不欲勿施於人

"Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire."

Confucius said it before Matthew did.

I never understand why politics tend to be so unethical. Confucius argues that without virtue, politics cannot be successful. Why have so many politicians, gaming companies, and governments disregarded virtue? Why is profit prioritized over morality?

Blizzard has two official responses to the public backlash regarding Ng Wai Chung's ban, one for English and another for Chinese audiences.

Blizzard's president has stated, "The specific views expressed by blitzchung were NOT a factor in the decision we made. I want to be clear: Our relationships in China had no influence on our decision."

According to the statement, the ban was not due to the content of the message, but the nature of its expression, the fact that such conduct could undermine efforts to maintain an "inclusive community." We cannot offend the Chinese, or the Chinese government specifically.

The focus should be on the game, not on politics. This I certainly understand.

Nonetheless, Blizzard changed Ng Wai Chung's ban from one year to six months (and the American University protesters received the same).

But (some) people can read, and think. They can detect discrepancies, formulate conspiracy theories, and use Google Translate (at least outside of China).

IGN's translation of the Chinese statement is as follows: "We express our strong indignation [or resentment] and condemnation of the events that occurred in the Hearthstone Asia Pacific competition last weekend and absolutely oppose the dissemination of personal political ideas during any events [or games]. The players involved will be banned, and the commentators involved will be immediately terminated from any official business. Also, we will protect [or safeguard] our national dignity [or honor].”

A Hearthstone player has been deemed a threat to China's national dignity.

The only way to know for certain whether Blizzard's bans were truly disconnected from a desire to maintain the favor of the Chinese government, is to... well, there's no way to know for certain.

We could have Hearthstone players shout out or hold signs with racist remarks and proclaim themselves as Neo-Nazis seeking to eradicate members of all other races. Let's see if Blizzard bans them. A Spanish or Catalan player should proclaim, "Liberate Barcelona!" and we'll see if Blizzard bans them. Bans for you, bans for everyone!

And there was absolutely no reason for Blizzard to punish the casters who were interviewing Ng Wai Chung.

When I complain about gaming companies such as EA, Konami, and Riot Games for employee maltreatment, sexual harassment, and other unethical practices, I rightfully and indignantly condemn them. Implementing justice, fairness, and ethics... this is really not as hard as it seems. Those in power who are selfish and ignorant might have us believe otherwise.

One cannot deny that China's influence appears to be encouraging Blizzard to make some questionable choices, increasing its renegade points. Blizzard would have us believe that China is not a factor in its decision-making, but how can it not be? So much money is at stake. Look at the parallel controversy with the NBA and China, another outcome of the Hong Kong protests. All this attention has even led to the U.S. passing the "Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act." China is pissed. Blizzard is scared.

Warcraft and Hearthstone are very popular in China, and Tencent, the world's largest gaming company, owns 5% of Activision-Blizzard's shares. That appears to be an alliance, or at least a connection, between two of the largest and most profitable gaming companies in the world.



And they both seem concerned with staying on China's good list. Being on the other list, after all, could result in a cessation of business relations. That's still better than being prosecuted or persecuted.

Fear of prosecution and persecution. That's how the Hong Kong protests began in the first place. And this eventually led to bans.

--

A ban is much like censorship, is it not?

China's censorship is widely known. Solution? Use a VPN. Topics such as Taiwan independence, Falun Gong, Tiananmen, and even poor Winnie the Pooh are censored in China. Of course, China has banned South Park's recent episode about China's censorship and inhumanity as well.

In his original preface to Animal Farm, titled "The Freedom of the Press," George Orwell presented his argument against censorship. In the 1940's, no one was allowed to criticize Stalin, the admirable leader of Russia, Britain's ally, so four publishers rejected Orwell's novel. Though Orwell sought to draw attention to Stalin's tyranny and desecration of socialist ideals, only after decades passed did his satirical novel Animal Farm begin to command worldwide respect and acceptance. The Cold War allowed this to happen.

Orwell states, "Now, when one demands liberty of speech and of the press, one is not demanding absolute liberty. There always must be, or at any rate there always will be, some degree of censorship, so long as organized societies endure."

Of course a certain degree of censorship is necessary. We don't want young children seeing... certain images or words. But the Chinese government takes censorship too far.

Toward the end of his essay, Orwell also writes, "intellectual freedom is a deep-rooted tradition without which our characteristic western culture could only doubtfully exist."

But intellectual freedom is not merely an essential trait of western culture; it is necessary for humanity as a whole. I wish the Chinese government would realize this. Freedom of the press, freedom of thought and expression, with understandable limitations and restrictions on behaviors that could threaten the safety of others. Not totalitarian control.

I hate that word. Totalitarian. It's thrown out way too often. When we look up its synonyms, we find the following words:

authoritarian
autocratic
autarchic
dictatorial
tyrannical
oppressive
repressive
one-party
monocratic
absolute
absolutist
undemocratic
antidemocratic
illiberal
despotic
fascist
fascistic
Nazi
neo-Nazi
Stalinist
dystopian

I wish I could argue that none of these words could be associated with China. I wish.

Though I am detached from Blizzard, I cannot remain apolitical when talking about China.

Despite my limited Mandarin, I can whole-heartedly say I am Chinese, Chinese-American, Taiwanese-American. I love China, but I deeply resent the Chinese Communist Party. Yet, I appreciate that the government has taken the necessary steps to alleviate poverty and strengthen the nation as a whole, a nation that for centuries has been repeatedly disrespected, and to put it euphemistically, underrated. Everything is made in China. Once a country that exemplified innovation (paper, gunpowder, alcohol, silk, tea...), China now steals everyone else's ideas and intellectual property, sometimes improving, sometimes defiling them. China's economy is the second best in the world, and its military one of the strongest. China is powerful, and doesn't mistreat -most- of its people. The key word here is "most." Above all, social harmony is a goal, a core value of Chinese culture.

But China has become Big Brother in 1984. Censorship, revised history, and constant surveillance of citizens. Orwell was worried about Russia, but China resembles Oceania all the same. Between 1958 and 1962, the "Great Leap Forward" led to 18-56 million Chinese people dying of starvation or being massacred by soldiers. In 1989, the Chinese Communist Party sent its army to scatter and kill thousands of democracy protesters at Tianan Men and spread propaganda about the protesters seeking to overthrow the government. On October 1, 2019, the 70th anniversary of the party involves a massive military parade. So much to celebrate.

And of course, the Chinese government readily censors anything that upsets its authority figures. Facts are hidden or changed.

Truth straddles on contradictions. China certainly takes advantage of this fact, and deception, manipulation, and information control have become China's tools to maintain power and "social harmony."

But social harmony and democracy are not antithetical to each other. In truth, real social harmony requires humane treatment and freedom. Laws and limitations are a given, but excessive censorship and outright lies, which the Chinese Communist Party constantly perpetuates, are incongruous with virtue or justice. Propaganda's purpose is to manipulate the public and turn citizens to sheep. Ignorant and none the wiser.

As an admirer of Socrates, I too am a critic of absolute democracy. Chaos and idiocy are the likely results, for we are human. The democratic senate of Athens voted for Socrates to be executed because they thought he was sacrilegious and corrupting the youth, when all he wanted was for everyone to strive toward wisdom, virtue, and common sense. Seeing as he was a critic of democracy, it is unironic that democracy led Socrates' death. He chose poison hemlock and suicide over breaking the law and exile.

China also views democracy as a threat. But is democracy really threatening? I think Socrates still believed in the democratic process to an extent; he was just concerned that the majority of the population, being unwise and ill-advised, would make poor decisions when voting. It happens. Look at a president.

Democracy, qualified by laws and virtue, only makes sense. People need to be wiser, and they need to treat each other better. Social harmony does not entail prosecuting and persecuting dissidents or minorities who do nothing to hurt others.

The Chinese government continues to persecute Uyghur Muslims and send them to detention camps, disguised as "vocational training" centers, which in reality seek to brainwash members of the majority population of Xinjiang and destroy their religion and culture. Prisons or schools, one and the same in this context. The CCP has imprisoned, tortured, and killed Falung Gong practitioners and participants in the Tiananmen protests. According to some reports, Falung Gong prisoners have also had their organs harvested. The Chinese government kept a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate imprisoned, preventing him from accepting the award. That's worse than Konami not allowing Hideo Kojima to attend the Video Game Awards.

Orwell, a fervent democratic socialist, would likely condemn China's rigid information control. He would also detest how capitalistic the so-called "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" truly is. Undemocratic yet capitalistic. A government that calls itself the "People's Republic of China." The Chinese Communist Party. Neither communist nor a republic. China's constitution states, "citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession, and of demonstration." A constitution that lies. But China is very good at lying to its people. For people outside of China, however, we remain unconvinced.

China accused a U.S. official of "slander" when he condemned the government's maltreatment of Uyghurs. I understand that members of the Chinese government are likely not very good at English (I teach English to Chinese students, after all), but it's important to remember the definition of "slander":

slander (noun): the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation.

slander (verb): make false and damaging statements about (someone).

It's not slander if it's the truth.



Today's Chinese government has lost sight of what it truly means to be Chinese. Objection! Slanderous! They would tell me, they would censor me. In a lot of ways, "China" is a misnomer. The land might be China, 中国, the "Middle Kingdom." But China never was at the center of the world; it's in the east. Are the Chinese people, most of whom are subservient to an unvirtuous, inhumane, disingenuous, and hypocritical regime, really Chinese? I controversially argue, Not Really. Even China's official written language is no longer real Chinese, but a dumbed down "simplified" text (although I acknowledge the goal of making literacy more accessible). Did Britain, the U.S., Canada, Australia, or any other English-speaking country dumb down the spelling of complicated English words? Of course not.

Being Chinese means having 孝 (filial piety), practicing 功夫 (hard work and mastery through time and effort) and living a virtuous life in accordance to "子曰其恕乎己所不欲勿施於人." "Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire." Being Chinese means working hard, not cheating or lying to get ahead. The Chinese spirit embodies perseverance, resilience, respect, compassion, empathy, diligence, honesty, patience, and virtue.

There's no reason for freedom to not be included.

Humane treatment; it's not that hard.

Again, I repeat Confucius' words: "Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire."

--

"Socialism with Chinese Characteristics"? Engels and Marx would lament. They might argue, and have argued, for revolution.

But the Hong Kong protests are not a revolution. I don't want them to be. I don't want there to be a war. There has already been too much needless violence. When Hong Kong returned to China under "One country two systems," did the Hong Kong people understand what this would entail or lead to? Of course not. Nothing is certain. But should everything be permitted? We're not assassins.

Recall Mohandas Ghandi and thousands during the Salt March; recall Mr. Luther King. Jr. and countless others participating in the Civil Rights movement; recall Henry David Thoreau's imprisonment for Civil Disobedience. There was no advocacy for violence.

Most of the Hong Kong protesters are teenagers and young adults in their early twenties. They might not have anything else better to do. They might be tired of school or unable to find jobs. But for sure, they're indignant and defiant of what they perceive as oppression and tyranny.

All this started with a silly extradition bill. It's been withdrawn, yet the protesters are only becoming more angry and violent, not less. But most of them are protesting peacefully. They have this right. Civil disobedience in light of injustice is a moral and inherent right of all citizens, so long as they take responsibility for their actions.

Young, angry kids, vandalizing public property, throwing petrol bombs, attacking police officers and cutting their necks with knives. They convince the Chinese government that democracy truly is chaos and a threat to social harmony. Many protesters have adopted Bruce Lee's philosophy of "Be Water" to avoid conflict and violence. Do that more, and use less fire.

Trying to start a revolution? Trying to save Hong Kong from China? Fighting for Hong Kong's autonomy? More peaceful protesting, less violence, please.

On the other side, aggressive and abusive officers, arbitrarily arresting whoever is unlucky, shooting and killing children, using violence when unnecessary.

Trying to uphold the law and maintain public order? Doing one's duty? More responsibility for actions, less violence, please. And fewer bullets and tear gas.

And for the Chinese government, please don't send the army, and don't kill people. Hundreds, thousands of years of Chinese blood being spilled, is enough.

Chapter 31 from the Tao Te Ching states,

夫佳兵者，不祥之器，
物或惡之，
故有道者不處。
是以君子居則貴左，
用兵則貴右。
兵者，不祥之器，
非君子之器。
不得已而用之，
恬淡為上，
勝而不美；
而美之者，是樂殺人也。
夫樂殺人者，
不可得志於天下矣。
故吉事尚左，
凶事尚右。
是以偏將軍處左，
上將軍處右，
以喪禮處之。
殺人之眾，以悲哀蒞之。
戰勝，以喪禮處之。
                                               
Translation (courtesy of taoistic.com):

Weapons are ominous tools.
They are abhorred by all creatures.
Anyone who follows the Way shuns them.

In peaceful times, the noble ruler honors the left side.
At war, he honors the right side.

Weapons are ominous tools.
They are not the noble ruler's tools.
He only uses them when he can't avoid it.
Peace and quiet are preferred.
Victory should not be praised.
Those who praise victory relish manslaughter.
Those who relish manslaughter
Cannot reach their goals in the world.

At times of joy, the left side is honored.
At times of grief, the right side is honored.
At battle, the second in command stands to the left,
And the commander in chief to the right.
This means they stand as in funerals.

When many people are killed
They should be mourned and lamented.
Those who are victorious in war
Should follow the rites of funerals.

--

Sorry and not sorry for getting political. I've written way more about China than Blizzard. But I'm detached from Blizzard. I'm not detached from China.

Some funny truths in closing.

Even though China's ban on video game consoles ended a mere four years ago, Chinese people have always seemed to have a problem with playing too many video games on their computers and phones. China also has a lot of "gold farmers" who sell World of Warcraft gold for real money. There are also a lot of Internet cafes in which people have died from playing an online game for too long without sufficient food, water, or sleep. A lot of Chinese also like to play PUBG or PUBG clones. Killing people in video games is okay, as long as this doesn't translate to killing people in real life.

If I played Hearthstone, Blizzard would probably ban me too. But maybe not, because I wouldn't discuss my opinions on Hong Kong or China during a tournament. But I wouldn't play in a tournament... I wouldn't play Hearthstone at all. Card games aren't really my thing.

China, for sure however, would censor me. My parents are from Taiwan, and I cannot support Taiwan "returning" to China if the Chinese Communist Party continues as it has. I care less for Taiwan's independence than for China's overall and moral improvement.

Apple listened to China's requests to remove the Taiwanese flag emoji and an app that helped users track the activity of the Hong Kong police. Blizzard and the NBA are taking measures to avoid further upsetting the Chinese government. China has influence, influence to undermine freedom of speech, truth, and morality. This should not be so. China should embody these ideals, not subvert them.

I love China, and I hate the Chinese Communist Party. Because I consider myself a real Chinese person, one who hasn't abandoned Chinese culture, philosophy, or history, I hate the Chinese Communist Party. I'm thankful for the good things they've done for the Chinese people, but I cannot stand their disregard of human rights. They do not follow Confucius' teachings nor the Way. But my hopes and dreams are that they improve, and cease hiding from truth, freedom, responsibility, or virtue.