SHANGHAI--Netizens and at least one lawyer in China are criticizing a video game sold by a Japanese company that shows Chinese people getting killed, although Chinese companies were involved in developing the software.
Square Enix Co.’s “Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days” was developed by a Danish affiliate of the major Japanese game maker. The game, which has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide, features Western mobsters who kill Chinese people in Shanghai.
One scene shows a slogan saying, “Speed first, quality second and safety third,” a sarcastic turn on China's slogan: “100-year, long-term project, quality first.”
Chinese people have been posting critical comments on websites about the game, often using derogatory terms for Japan. One dissatisfied poster wrote, “Small Japan has gotten arrogant again.”
A Square Enix official said, “We have no intention to insult Chinese people.”
But Chinese lawyer Liu Lin has filed a lawsuit against the two companies demanding compensation of 10,000 yuan ($1,585), saying the brutal scenes hark back to the past (Sino-Japanese War) and that the dignity of Chinese people has been greatly violated.
Multiple Chinese companies took part in the software development for the game, and people in Tokyo were killed in the previous “Kane & Lynch” game.
Not all people commenting on Chinese websites are angry. Some said criticism against Japan is irrelevant, while others said the sarcasm represents the real China.
The game and its consoles are not sold in China. Many Chinese users are apparently playing pirated versions of the game.
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