World of Warcraft symbolizes for many a big part of life, to the point that Chinese players are totally devastated.
We were talking about this last year, Blizzard was about to lose a really big market in China. It is now a sad reality. Blizzard had been present in the middle empire since 2008 through a major collaboration with the Chinese internet giant NetEase. A mandatory collaboration in the eyes of the government since only a company under Chinese law can operate online games in the country. In the absence of an agreement with a company, Blizzard will have to withdraw from the market with inevitably in the lot, many unfortunate on World of Warcraft. Orphans, one might even say.
Great sadness among World of Warcraft players in China
After 14 years of agreement, it’s the end between NetEase and Blizzard. As a result, the most famous MMORPG World of Warcraft is no longer available in China. Like here in France, some fans have been playing it since the beginning and therefore have a huge affect on it. It’s the end of characters, guilds, quests between friends and above all the end of a whole section of life and an entire era. Who risks becoming over time, a distant memory full of nostalgia. As reported by International mailmany users of the Chinese social network Weibo express great sadness:
I cried all night in my sleep because the game disappeared. I dreamed that I was crying in class.
I never thought that the day of farewell would come… I feel like I have a lot to say, but I don’t know where to start. Ten years of youth ended today. For the good of the Alliance, may the light be with you. Farewell World Of Warcraft.
For his part, Simon Zhu, the president of investments and global partnerships at NetEase Games also speaks on the subject:
There are only a few hours left before the Blizzard Games servers in China shut down, and that’s a very, very big deal for gamers in that country. As a gamer, who grew up and reached his forties with these wonderful games, I am writing to reminisce about those beautiful memories and to show my deepest appreciation and gratitude to the creators/developers (whether they are already gone or are still here) who created these most important games of my life.
Today is such a sad time to witness the server shutdown, and we don’t know how things will go in the future. The biggest victim are the gamers in China who live and breathe these worlds. I also know how difficult it will be for the developers at Blizzard who have poured all their passion and talent into creating these amazing worlds. I hope all those precious memories will never fade.
World of Warcraft in China, it’s over… Peace to his soul and courage to the Chinese players.
