Is Black Legend: Wukong the soft power magnet China has been waiting for?

It also highlighted another way to advance China’s “soft power agenda that is often under attack”, one observer said.

Data shared by industry trackers VG Insights showed that the game sold 10 million units on Saturday evening in China, with 3 million players across all platforms.

When asked whether Wukong’s performance could be considered a “representative” of China, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said on Wednesday that the game appeared to be inspired by the Chinese team. “the appeal of Chinese culture”.

However, he did not comment on the issue of whether this indicates “possible diplomatic talks”.

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According to Gejun Huang, an assistant professor of media and communications at Xian Jiaotong University-Liverpool, the triple-A game was a pretty simple boat that offered “a lot of potential”.

“The new face of Journey to the West shows high levels of creativity and cultural innovation, [which are] often the hardest hit parts of China’s soft power agenda,” said Huang, whose expertise is in the sports industry, cultural policy and media business.

Huang said the strong and positive response to the game embodies China’s leadership of national technology – or the use of technology to generate global influence, and complements its cultural activities.

“I believe that good cultural products or content should naturally start from local cultural people as creators,” Feng told state news agency Xinhua. “If the quality is high enough and lasts long enough, it will naturally shine in the overseas market we are talking about.”

“In fact, the enduring popularity of this game around the world can prove a powerful force to inspire simple discourses and create a new way of presenting such discourses to a global audience.” wider,” Huang added.

In an interview with the state-sponsored Global Times newspaper, Game Science’s art director Yang Qi said his team traveled across the country to investigate ancient buildings, including tombs, temples, pagodas and stone carvings before producing them for a video game, which he described as. “digital preservation” of cultural heritage.

“On the other hand, there is a lack of evidence in China that having a cultural heritage in games will boost players’ offline travel and related consumption.”

According to Sheng Zou, who teaches media at Hong Kong Baptist University, discussions about the potential of traditional products need to focus on the “expanded concept of soft power”.

“Most discussions about soft power tend to focus on nation states as the main actors, but in cases like Wukong, corporate or non-state actors are the driving forces,” the said Zou.

According to Zou, China’s media and entertainment sector has seen many business-led efforts as Beijing seeks an influential role in global media and culture.

It fits well with the government’s efforts to expand its international communication, which is reflected in various policies to “get out” of the media and culture. In the family, it also helps to strengthen cultural confidence,” he said.

Beijing’s “going out” policy, introduced in 2000, encourages its businesses to invest overseas and increase foreign investment.

“Non-state actors operating in a market-based manner may have a better chance of winning the hearts and minds of the people because their cultural influence is more subtle and attractive than things that are more ideological or announcements,” Zou said.

He noted that Chinese e-books have attracted a large following around the world, with companies such as Dreame and iReader making a name for themselves both in China and abroad.

Also, Singer 2024the television program featuring top-level actors from China and other countries who participate in weekly singing contests has also made noise beyond borders and has been praised by netizens together with the state media as a platform for global culture.

According to Zou, however Black Legend: Wukong had the opportunity to influence positive feelings about China among the world audience, the change will be “subtle and slow at best”.

Some users may enjoy the game for reasons other than its traditional Chinese aspects, he said, such as the gameplay, mechanics and player experience involved.