Source:
https://scmp.com/abacus/games/article/3028676/cs-go-china-will-soon-sound-hong-kong-mafia-movie
Abacus/ Games

CS: GO in China will soon sound like a Hong Kong mafia movie

Donnie Yen, Daniel Wu, Andy Lau and Stephen Chow quotes will be in the Chinese version of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Imagine you’re playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and you hear Rogue One’s Chirrut Îmwe shout “fire in the hole!”

If you’re in China, that might soon be a reality, because CS:GO is going to launch a Chinese language pack which will feature classic quotes from Hong Kong action movies. The quotes come from movies starring Donnie Yen, Daniel Wu, Andy Lau and Stephen Chow -- some of the most famous actors in the business out here.

But to be clear, these quotes won’t be voiced by the Hong Kong actors themselves. Instead, their professional Mandarin dubbers will be delivering these quotes, according to CS:GO China’s official account on WeChat.

Remember this classic scene in Infernal Affairs and The Departed? (Picture: CS:GO China)
Remember this classic scene in Infernal Affairs and The Departed? (Picture: CS:GO China)

If you don’t know who the aforementioned actors are, you simply have to check them out to better your quality of life. (Seriously!)

Donnie Yen is hugely famous for his roles in both Rogue One and Ip Man.

Daniel Wu is now the lead actor in AMC’s Into the Badlands TV series.

Andy Lau is the lead actor in Infernal Affairs -- which is the original (and superior) version of The Departed.

And Stephen Chow is simply the comedy god of China, starring movies such as Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer.

If I were to go on a limb to compare, I’d say they are basically China’s Bruce Willis, Chris Evans, Leonardo DiCaprio and Bill Murray.

So, back to the game. CS:GO was available to Chinese gamers on Steam -- which is considered a unregulated, grey market -- for years, it wasn’t until last year that CS: GO was officially launched in China by Perfect World.

Since the majority of Chinese CS:GO players are mostly still active on Steam rather than Perfect World’s service, Perfect World has been experimenting with different ways to lure gamers in. For instance, the game is free-to-play, while the company profits from microtransactions in the game.

So rather than beating up Japanese invaders like Donnie Yen did in Ip Man, you gun down terrorists in CS:GO. (Picture: CS:GO China)
So rather than beating up Japanese invaders like Donnie Yen did in Ip Man, you gun down terrorists in CS:GO. (Picture: CS:GO China)

But at this point, you might ask: “These are the dubbers, not the actors themselves, what’s the big deal?”

Turns out, these professional dubbers are held in high regard in China because they’re crucial in making Cantonese films flourish in mainland China and Taiwan.

For instance, Stephen Chow’s Mandarin is notoriously bad but his movies in Mandarin are successful. That’s because a famous Taiwanese voice actor worked his magic and made Chow’s lines sound equally good in its Mandarin version.

Excited by the news, fans online are already putting out numerous memes on how these timeless quotes can be applied in the game. But some worry that they will be distracted by these hilarious lines.

One gamer said, “I fear I might really laugh out loud while playing this time around”  

Steam is finally coming to China… but gamers think it’s dead on arrival

For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.