Propaganda Through Gaming | An Industry & Political Takeover

I know this is old news, but ongoing. I also realize it's somewhat of a taboo subject, so I'll tread as carefully as I can. I have followed closely the growing influence of Chinese money on various industries including the gaming industry. I know of China's step by step plan to financially control the world by buying up shares, and influencing business as well as politics through those held shares. What I personally have witnessed outside of all this hearsay are a couple of concerning practices taking hold in the Western side of things in parts of the industry marketplace where once said censorship, and identity politics weren't as prevalent before. This censorship, and ideological influence is concerning in that the ramifications go well beyond gaming itself. As more, and more studios accept the share bail out money censorship, and certain divisive identity politics are allowed to fester and grow into a form of worldwide propaganda. This does much more than surface level damage in that it takes away freedom of expression, and a customers' freedom to spend their money freely on something that isn't policed in such a ridiculous manner or spoiled as a result of influence from biased outside sources. 

The worst thing about it all is that not only is the Western side of the entertainment industry becoming more aligned with China's own puritan beliefs, but it is opening up a Pandora's Box here in the West as well. In allowing such influence to direct Western entertainment the entertainment of Western leaning countries are subject to becoming mirror images of the limited access, and propaganda filled experiences that other countries have no other choice but consume. Alongside the West's move to adopt a similar state of pseudo puritanical policy as that of China it won't be long before the privacy we have in our gaming, and film viewing sessions are no longer private. Perhaps even penalized. Not even our purchases will be private. If you haven't noticed yet most games from studios who have China's money, and influence have included waivers of privacy in their terms of service agreements within their games. This is, but one step towards us being unable to get hold of older games, and films. For it will make people wary of purchasing said items or even owning them when their purchases are on record alongside their use of said product. 

In addition to the removal of privacy of purchase, and the influence over game development comes the taking away of ownership. A push towards a digital only entertainment industry. While digital gaming, and movie watching is convenient it will also destroy legacy entertainment, and allow for the removal of things the influencers deem wrong. Complete movies, and games can and will be removed from history or altered in such a way as to take away their historical context. Not only that, but in not owning digital media no one can bypass this historical erasure. With you only owning access to it for as long as the service allows anything you pay for is potentially forfeit later on. Making the need for physically, and fully owned and accessible entertainment more important than it has ever been. There are people, and countries in this world that would like very much to rewrite history, and make it so that future generations have to relearn lessons the hard way. A people without knowledge of factual history are more easily controlled, and less likely to put up a resistance when things like the social divide that are currently taking place occur. As I said this is far greater a problem than the surface level issue it seems to be.

In closing I'll say this. Unless studios stop catering to ideologies that are harmful, stop self-censoring, and stop accepting money from vested interests that would see said studios as slaves to their share holders then the path forward is a grim one indeed. We face not only the loss of quality entertainment, but also the loss of our privacy, and our ability to see things as they factually were. We will lose our history, and with it be lost going forward. There's a lot at stake, and none of it is to be taken lightly.