Animal Crossing removed from sale in China amid protests in Hong Kong

The best-selling Nintendo Switch game has been removed from Chinese online stores after activists used it to criticize the state.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons allows players to customize their own island and invite others to visit it.

Some players in Hong Kong have used the platform to organize protests.

Players in mainland China had previously been able to purchase foreign editions of the title in online markets.

The country’s censors strictly regulate video games and had yet to approve the formal publication of the title in the country.

Now even local sites that announced imported copies have removed the listings.

However, it is unclear whether this is because authorities have intervened or if stores are proactively recalling the product.

The BBC has asked Nintendo for comment.

Virtual protests

“Animal Crossing is fast becoming a new way for Hong Kong protesters to fight for democracy!” Joshua Wong, leader of the Hong Kong youth activists group Demosisto, wrote on Twitter last week.

Examples include banners that read “Free Hong Kong – Revolution Now”.

There are also derogatory posts featuring images of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Hong Kong CEO Carrie Lam.

Before the virus struck, millions of Hong Kong residents had participated in anti-government street protests.

“After the coronavirus outbreak, it was difficult to organize physical meetings,” continued Mr. Wong.

“With a new game, we can have virtual protests and we just have to use our creativity to create a new type of protest tool.”

Players in mainland China have also customized the game with content related to the coronavirus, including face masks for the characters and islands with temperature control points, the Abacus news site reported.

This is not the first time that protesters in Hong Kong have used video games.

In December, they started dressing up Grand Theft Auto Online characters in related clothing. Before that, they shared maps announcing Pokemon Go events to indicate where the rallies would take place.

The Animal Crossing trade on the continent still continues to a lesser extent, involving private sales organized through direct messages, among other methods, according to Daniel Ahmad, of the consulting firm Niko Partners.

In February, another video game, Plague Inc, in which gamers spread a deadly virus worldwide, was pulled from Apple’s Chinese app store after the local regulator judged the content to be illegal during the coronavirus outbreak. .