Beijing stresses importance of games imparting Chinese values at inaugural developers conference
- China aims to make Beijing an ‘international capital of online games’ by 2035
- The first Beijing International Game Conference was attended by industry heavyweights from companies like Tencent, NetEase and Activision Blizzard
But at the three-day event supervised by the Communist Party Publicity Department in Beijing and organised by a government-backed industry group, several Chinese officials also delivered speeches. And their message was clear: developers should create games that impart Chinese culture and values.
Yu Jiannan, deputy director of the Chinese National Academy of Arts, said Chinese online games should “adequately tell the stories of China” to help Chinese online games expand abroad. Du Feijin, the department chief of the Communist Party Publicity Department in Beijing, also said games should have a “higher purpose” and encourage positive values, according to local news reports.
Mark Natkin, managing director of Marbridge Consulting in Beijing, said it is unsurprising that Beijing considers video games an important medium to promote a positive image of China‘s culture and history.