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The video game Monster Hunter World has been pulled from stores in China shortly after becoming for sale by China’s censors. The publisher, Tenent, said the actions of China’s sensors was the result of multiple complaints from the public but Tencent did not provide details about those complaints.

The company has stated that over 1 million copies of the game had been pre-sold before its release. The actions from the sensors comes on the heels of China blocking Redit in the country. Redit provided no statement officially by the more but it is common to see China temporarily block websites, but for some human rights activists, they felt the blocking of Redit was only a matter of time based on the country’s history.

Monster Hunter

The Monster Hunter World game has players battling and stalking various fantasy beasts and eliminating them in a violent manner. It is far from being the most violent games that Capcom released, and is another release in a series of Monster Hunter games

In Europe the game is rated it 16 for bad language deemed mild and moderate gore. Tencent said they enacted changes to its title so that it is more appropriate for the Chinese market, and that has resulted in regulators allowing the latest edition to be on available for sale however those wishing a refund on pre-sales can do so via the Tencent website. Those who downloaded the game but have yet to play it have been issued warnings that due to the ban that the game may no longer work until updates are released.

China has history of banning video games

China has a well-documented history of banning video games it deems violent or inappropriate, especially those with extreme violence or those that feature sex or drug content.

Battlefield 4 was one of those that seen as smearing the image of China’s flag as it featured a Chinese military leader who was trying to overthrow the Chinese government. While it is unusual to have a video game outlawed after initially approved, it is not unheard of.

The South China Morning Post newspaper ran an article that highlighted the authorities’ efforts not to approve any new video games since March of this year. That has had a large impact on companies such as Tencent and their stock market value.

The effects that playing video games has been hotly debated for years. This is similar to the debates that took place when television first began to take hold and when rock’n’roll was first playing on airwaves, much to the delight of teenagers the world over.

Health consequences

While some argued that rock’n’roll created a change in society and respect for its rules, there is little doubt that the obsession with video games has had an impact. This includes addiction issues, obesity and an increase in aggression. Addiction is a real concern for many parents as the younger generation become glued to video game screens and lose social interaction skills.

While this is a reality, video game research has shown that there is good that can come from video games in relation to therapeutic uses, educational uses as well as helping improve hand-eye coordination. One recent study showed that those playing video games have an increased ability with spatial visualization. This involves manipulating and rotating two or three-dimensional objects.

Adding to this, the study showed that there are positives to video game playing more than there are negatives. The negative could be balanced by a reduction in violent themed games, but those games also help to improve cognition, attention and perception performance.

Recently, researchers undertook experiments with a small number of people who played video games extensively to test and determine if they had an increased perception of pattern discrimination than those that played less often. Another experiment saw researchers training gamers with less experience on action games. They then had fifty hours of game time and researchers than tested participants on their perceptional skills. The results showed that playing regularly improves the mechanism in which governs cognition, attention and perception.

Video Games are cross-generational

What is known is that video games are cross-generational, meaning that they are irrelevant to age, race, gender or education. The use of video games can be used as a tool to achieve goals, increase self-esteem and even impact behavioural changes.

Video games furthermore have been shown to stimulate learning and allow those playing to develop skills that are transferable. An example of that is flight simulation games as it promotes learning, accepting challenges and learning how to overcome obstacles or the unexpected.

As video games are engaging, they also have the ability to be therapeutical. Uses include physiotherapy and increased hand-eye coordination for the elderly. Video games have also been shown to reduce the pain medication in children suffering from treatments for various illness as video games occupy their minds instead of focusing on the pain they are feeling.

Towards education, they are known to add to the allure of learning as a result of the entertainment aspect, and those games designed specifically to help teach those with specific learning disabilities have been proven to provide tools towards learning.

eSports has taken the world by storm in recent years where millions of fans tune in to witness their favourite teams battle it out online while playing their favourite games. The gaming events for eSports are increasing in popularity, with thousands of spectators from across the globe making their way to several events to witness the fierce competition. With so many fans flooding to these spectacular tournaments, game events have recently been hosted in popular football stadiums, while millions of fans also tune in online.

What Exactly Is eSports?

eSports is essentially a broad term that describes organised, competitive online computer gaming. It’s often played by professionals or world-class teams with a decent fan following. eSports has existed as early as 1970 where a group of young individuals sat around an Atari console. It managed to explode in popularity since then with larger events taking place every year as the crowds just keep in growing. The eSports phenomenon now caters to 40,000 fans within a football stadium along with millions more that stream it online. The most popular games include Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, League of Legends, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, and Half-Life 3.

How Big Is eSports?

The eSports events scale can easily be matched with traditional sports like basketball, cricket, and football. Each eSport event is sold out in a matter of days or hours and those that are unable to make it to the event simply stream it online. Its estimated that by 2020 there will be over 70 million people watching the eSports final.

Sponsors

It should come as no surprise that these massive eSports events bring in quite a few sponsorships too. Coke Zero started a partnership with Riot Games in 2014 with their Challenger series. The Challenger series is basically designed for amateurs to try and get a spot in the professional league. Nissan has partnered up with League of Legends, Red Bull has joined forces with Dota 2, and there are many other sports betting companies that are joining the honeypot when it comes to eSports

What About Money?

The winners of these competitions don’t just walk away with a shiny metal cup or an esteemed title. They also manage to rake in enormous paychecks as each event will feature a large prize pool that is up for grabs for the best gamers in the world. During The International Dota event of 2015, the Evil Geniuses managed to walk away with a staggering $6.6 million in prize money. Syed Sumail Hassan, a 16-year-old team member of the Evil Geniuses, managed to make himself #1.33 million richer from one single event.

The tournament based out of Seattle was initially launched as early as 2011 and is considered a major worldwide event for Dota fans across the globe. The Dota tournament provides a total prize pool of more than $18 million for the winners. That’s mightily impressive for playing video games.

2018 is already an extremely strong year for gaming as many highly-anticipated games have made an impact in the industry, while there’s still loads to come before the year comes to an end. Below, you will find the best games for 2018 along with a handful of upcoming releases that is still to come.

Octopath Traveller

Most RPG’s only feature one protagonist, but the latest production from Acquire/Square Enix will come with a total of 8. Each of them will have different talents and skills along with their own interconnected and unique storyline. It’s up to you to create a party and enjoy the adventure with the game’s HD-2D style graphics, mixing 3D graphics with mixing pixel sprites for a truly unique blend of modern and retro styles. As a traditional Japanese RPG, you can enjoy detailed storytelling and turn-based combat.

Warhammer: Vermintide II

After three long years, the sequel is set to arrive to improve and polish what was already a marvellous 4-player cooperative game where players fought against a horde of rat-men featuring various abilities and weapons. The environment that draws from the Warhammer universe will produce an atmospheric world which will be set during the last days on moody and dark maps.

Vampyr

Life is Strange is what made Dontnod Entertainment with their version of a supernatural story, but since then, the company took a sharp turn to develop an action-packed RPG that is based on vampires during the early 20th century. You’ll take the role of a doctor that has been infected with the weaknesses and powers of a vampire. You will need to fight your way through several undead enemies and decide if you will embrace or suppress your new identity.

Mario Tennis Aces

The series first made its appearance on Switch, with Aces adding loads of brand-new features to this incredible arcade sports game which makes it a far more compelling and interesting experience both online and offline. The game will feature new special moves like a super meter for ultimate techniques and a way to defend tricky shots. If you want a story mode, you will be pleased to know that you’ll also find one in this game.

God of War

There’s been an arsenal of improvements and changes made to the latest God of War release when you compare it to the previous games from Santa Monica Studio. More inspiration has been incorporated from RPG’s along with side quests in an open world. You will also find more weapons and more upgrades as you are joined by Kratos’ son who will fight with his own unique abilities. The Greek setting has also been replaced by Norse mythology to keep things fresh.

Minit

With a mere 60 seconds to take action every day before being sent back to the start, this game can be extremely frustrating. However, Minit from Devolver Digital is, in fact, an extremely fun and exciting puzzle game with a retro RPG atmosphere. Thankfully, the most important events will remain permanent, and you’ll find loads of alternative routes and shortcuts to save time and pursue your goals.