The MMORPG Justice Online is supposed to become the new WoW in China. It’s better not to take any risks: A Taoist priest blessed the server room for the opening of the open beta.
Justice Online – the new giant MMORPG from China: The MMORPG “Justice Online” launched into open beta in China on June 29. 250 developers have been working on the Wuxia MMORPG for over 5 years. It is supposed to become the new “World of Warcraft” for China. At least that’s the plan of NetEase, the second largest gaming company in the country. Justice Online is a massive project and a beacon of hope.
Server Free of Demons!
A blessing to keep the servers stable: As Justice Online announced via its blog, they hired a Taoist priest to bless the room where the MMORPG’s servers are located. The English-speaking website abacusnews even mentioned that the priest is supposed to “banish the demons from the server room”.
Servers now stable: NetEase announces on the blog that the servers are now stable thanks to the new blessing. The monk held a blessing ceremony and hung scrolls over the servers, some of which even had code on them.
Better let the programmer write code
The press does not find this so funny: The gaming press in China has extensively discussed the topic. Opinions vary widely. Thanks to the power of Google Translate, we could read some of the news. For instance, it is critically stated at “265g” that there is a wave of metaphysics in Chinese gamer circles and they invite clerics to ensure a smooth launch of their games.
Better let programmers handle it: It might be better to let programmers check the code before the game goes online instead of letting a monk write a few lines of code. Maybe that makes some players happy with “outdated, feudal superstitions,” but… well.
PR stunt: NetEase’s action is clearly a PR stunt that may seem somewhat strange even in the eyes of the Chinese.
Justice Online: High Production Values, but … the Gameplay
The game is viewed critically: Anyway, Justice Online is currently seen rather critically. Especially since the MMORPG hype has cooled down over the past 5 years in China, where MOBAs and battle royale games have been on the rise in recent years.
Prettiest game from China: While the high production values are praised for setting new standards for a Chinese game, not much innovation should be expected. Some players even describe the gameplay as boring. In any case, it will be interesting to see what happens with “Justice Online” now that it has received blessings from the highest circles.
High Demand at Launch
40 hours in queue: At NetEase, they are certainly optimistic. They say the game is an “instant hit” from day one. The press (via sina.com) reports that players had to wait up to 33 hours to play for the first time. There were up to 40,000 people in the queue.
More about Justice Online in this article:
