China Bans Soccer Game Over Regional Naming

According to a Reuters report, referencing the Government-affiliated Xinhua news agency, China has banned the PC soccer strategy title Soccer Manager 2005, claiming that it "harmed China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and violated Chinese law." Anyone caught selling the game online or in stores will be subject to fines of up to USD$1800, according to Xinhua. Although not officially confirmed, it's likely that Soccer Manager 2005 refers to to the Sports Interactive developed, Sega-published PC title from the former developers of Championship Manager, since the game offers the ability to manage teams from 158 divisions in 51 countries, including teams on the Asian continent. Apparently, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau were listed as independent countries in the game, and the Himalayan region of Tibet is called "Chinese Tibet", all unhappy namings for the Chinese government. The authorities consider Hong Kong and Macau explicitly part of China, Taiwan a rebel part of China, and Tibet has been a controversial region in Chinese gaming before, leading to the previously reported banning of PC strategy game Hearts Of Iron for "distorting historical facts" in describing Manchuria, West Xinjiang, and Tibet as independent sovereign countries.