Diablimoral has been released in China due to optimization. On the other hand, some media estimate that bear is the cause.
Blizzard Entertainment/Netease Games announced on June 19 that it has postponed the release of Diablo Immortal for China. Although the official website mentions because of the optimization of games, some media seem to have another cause.
Diablo Immortal is an MMO action RPG that depicts the story between Diablo II and Diablo III. It is being distributed to iOS/Android in areas such as Japan. Open beta is also implemented for PCs. This work implements the first social experience in the series. Players explore the vast worlds and sanctuary shared with other players. It is possible to form up to eight teams to challenge raid bosses, or form a clan that can participate in up to 150 people. There is also a camp-based PVP system. And in China, this work was scheduled to be distributed on June 23. However, on June 19, just before the release, the postponement was suddenly announced.
The official website for China states the optimization of graphics and networks as a reason for the postponement. In addition, thanks to the user waiting for the postponement, after the release, we will prepare an item package that includes equipment and materials for all players. The release schedule after the postponement has not been announced.
On the other hand, despite the official announcement, some media speculate that the reason for the postponement is different. It seems that the official account of Diablo Immortal is related to a post on Weibo, a Chinese SNS.
According to Finacial Times, the official weibo account of Diablimoral reported on May 22 with Kuma-还 Shafin Oste. The newspaper translated this post as Why Hasn’t The Bear Stepped Down (why not to resign). Currently, the post has been deleted, and the account is banned from posting new posts. Radio Free ASIA allows you to check the screenshot.
Behind this post is the fact that Kuma is being tabooed in China. It starts in 2013. In the same year, the image of China’s President Xi Jinping was walking with President Obama at the time, saying, It seems that Kuma Pooh and Tigger are walking. And this became a little net memory, and Kuma no Pooh was established as a hidden name.
After that, in China, Pooh itself became a legal. This is because the President of China is said to be a bad imitation, has no strange habits, and does not make mistakes (BBC). And it is not good for the Chinese government to be described as such a being like a bear. Such policies are reflected on each SNS in China. It seems that just posting a little suspicious text related to the Pooh may cause an account to stop. At the time of the Kingdom Hearts III trailer announcement, it became a hot topic that the leading media on Weibo voluntarily censored the Pooh (related article).
With this background, this post, Why don’t you resign? It may be regarded as a criticism of the President of the state. The reason why weibo has deleted the post is not revealed, but it can be considered because it is a political message. If you search for Kuma 怎么 还。。。 on Weibo, you will find not displayed according to related laws and policies.
About a month after the post, three days before the release, the release of Diablo’s Immortal will be postponed. Netease stock prices dropped by about 10 % the morning after the postponement announcement. Whatever the reason for the postponement, the postponement was a huge pain for the company.
On the other hand, the reputation of Diablimoral is not good, so it may have been delayed for adjustment. Although this work is ambitious for mobile, there are many criticisms from users because many billing elements are interweaved in existing hakusura elements. Metacritic received more than 5600 reviews, and the user score at the time of this article was 0.3. Most of these criticisms are related to billing elements. It may be possible that you have done it from such a reputation to make improvements. Appmagic, a research company, has pointed out that the work of the work in two weeks will be $ 24.3 million (about 3.3 billion yen).
The Chinese version Diablimoral, which has been postponed just before the distribution. The new release time of this work is undecided. It is currently being distributed in other areas including Japan.