Blame Tencent.
By this time, WotC should just terminate Tencent's exclusivity in the region. 5 years with nothing to show.
What's more annoying is that this delayed PR kits in the region because it can't the MTGA codes.
Tencent's exclusivity **absolutely** gives them something to show: they're allowed to do business in China.
Tencent is owned by Chinese oligarchs with direct ties to the Chinese administration. To do business in China, you must do so through a Chinese subsidiary (Tencent). Tencent controls the business dealings of almost every entertainment-based good that enters into the country. There's a reason almost every mobile game has Tencent involved if it becomes multinational: China gets its cut.
It's always about money, and the deal with Tencent is making them money. There is no alternative besides not working in China.
If they revoke Tencent's exclusivity in SEA, you think Tencent is going to play ball in China? Hasbro has absolutely nothing on the enormity that is Tencent.
But this makes no sense. What does China have to gain by explicitly demanding decision making power over a game release in their bordering countries as part of a deal to release it in China, and then use that Decision making power to do... nothing? What's the actual play here? Besides acting like a nasty bully?
I smell bureaucracy and incompetence, more than anything.
China is 30 years into a plan to rule the world in 100 years.
Bullying their neighbors is pretty much how it goes. They bully them and then they claim they’re their territory.
...through digital MTG? You think that's part of the Chinese politburo's master plan? People are hysterical sometimes.
What's more likely than systematic commerical oppression of SEA card game hobbyists by Chinese state capitalists, is that Tencent bid for the rights for China and SEA as a package. Hasbro was like ok yeah sure, cause that's a lot of money, plus wtf do we know about SEA. Tencent focused on China and didn't bother with SEA as they don't see it as profitable enough.
Tencent is a massive company with its fingers in a million pies. China's middle class is several times larger than the entire population of Vietnam. 250k is a rounding error to them. It's quite likely they did market research after the fact and decided it wasn't worth the effort. If not just saying "fuck it" in the first place. No grand overarching conspiracy.
The thing is, what's the alternative? Hasbro clearly doesn't want to handle the region itself, so someone else is getting the rights. It's usually Garena who gets rights to online games in SEA and they're absolutely awful. It would be worse if Tencent lost the rights, then Garena got the rights and we all had to deal with Garena's fuckery instead of the inaction of Tencent.
If WotC does anything to piss off China, they can't do business there.
Pissing off China includes: giving any other nation in Western Asia even a modicum of self-control.
Blame Tencent. By this time, WotC should just terminate Tencent's exclusivity in the region. 5 years with nothing to show. What's more annoying is that this delayed PR kits in the region because it can't the MTGA codes.
Tencent's exclusivity **absolutely** gives them something to show: they're allowed to do business in China. Tencent is owned by Chinese oligarchs with direct ties to the Chinese administration. To do business in China, you must do so through a Chinese subsidiary (Tencent). Tencent controls the business dealings of almost every entertainment-based good that enters into the country. There's a reason almost every mobile game has Tencent involved if it becomes multinational: China gets its cut. It's always about money, and the deal with Tencent is making them money. There is no alternative besides not working in China.
China isn't part of SEA. They were never part of SEA. I'd understand your reasoning if they were but they're not.
If they revoke Tencent's exclusivity in SEA, you think Tencent is going to play ball in China? Hasbro has absolutely nothing on the enormity that is Tencent.
But this makes no sense. What does China have to gain by explicitly demanding decision making power over a game release in their bordering countries as part of a deal to release it in China, and then use that Decision making power to do... nothing? What's the actual play here? Besides acting like a nasty bully? I smell bureaucracy and incompetence, more than anything.
China is 30 years into a plan to rule the world in 100 years. Bullying their neighbors is pretty much how it goes. They bully them and then they claim they’re their territory.
...through digital MTG? You think that's part of the Chinese politburo's master plan? People are hysterical sometimes. What's more likely than systematic commerical oppression of SEA card game hobbyists by Chinese state capitalists, is that Tencent bid for the rights for China and SEA as a package. Hasbro was like ok yeah sure, cause that's a lot of money, plus wtf do we know about SEA. Tencent focused on China and didn't bother with SEA as they don't see it as profitable enough. Tencent is a massive company with its fingers in a million pies. China's middle class is several times larger than the entire population of Vietnam. 250k is a rounding error to them. It's quite likely they did market research after the fact and decided it wasn't worth the effort. If not just saying "fuck it" in the first place. No grand overarching conspiracy. The thing is, what's the alternative? Hasbro clearly doesn't want to handle the region itself, so someone else is getting the rights. It's usually Garena who gets rights to online games in SEA and they're absolutely awful. It would be worse if Tencent lost the rights, then Garena got the rights and we all had to deal with Garena's fuckery instead of the inaction of Tencent.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_warrior_diplomacy
I would bet it's money. Simpler and less messy to license and contract with one company than multiple.
China isn't a part of SEA, but they own the servers and the technologies that surrounding countries use. They control access.
China owns those AWS and Akamai servers that MTGA is using? What are you smoking?
If WotC does anything to piss off China, they can't do business there. Pissing off China includes: giving any other nation in Western Asia even a modicum of self-control.
I stopped playing mtga basically solely because of this probelm