as reported in Vietnam.net, it’s possible Steam has been taken down in Vietnam after local game developers complained about the scope and size of Steam’s vast portfolio of games, claiming Vietnamese devs cannot compete with Steam’s releases given they are subject to government approval and thousands of international games on Steam are not.
Citing it as “an injustice to domestic publishers”, Vietnamese studios reportedly say that local game development “will die” if Steam is able to keep releasing games without the same government scrutiny as domestic games.
As a vietnamese American, my mom always told me stories about the shitty government. Most citizens in Vietnam know the laws are dumb too but can’t protest because the government is too strong now. Just know that EVERYTHING is regulated over there.
So if I publish a game on steam I am now a colonizer? If I am a Vietnamese citizen who downloads a game that hasn’t gone through “government scrutiny” am I now a collaborator? What if I am a Vietnamese game developer that has published directly to steam without giving a shit about whatever censorship my government is trying to implement? Should I be sent to reeducation?
The local devs were not trying to get steam banned. Hell they wanted steam but wanted to play by the same rules and pointed out how strict their own laws and requirements were.
Vietnam govt said you’re right, it’s not fair and banned steam to make sure everyone plays by their rules rather than admit the rules were stupid and draconic.
It’s not immediately obvious to me that indie developers in Vietnam won’t be able to find an international publisher. While I don’t approve of the law, it does strike me as potentially having a positive effect on Vietnamese studios.
Given how it can be circumvented by fiddling with DNS according to the article, I doubt it’ll really do anything besides stoke negative sentiment towards Vietnamese studios. Besides, you can buy plenty of the games elsewhere, so even if it worked, all you’re accomplishing is making it slightly more annoying for gamers to buy what they want, rather than having it in one place.
Makes sense in regards to their law, but holy hell are their laws stupid
As a vietnamese American, my mom always told me stories about the shitty government. Most citizens in Vietnam know the laws are dumb too but can’t protest because the government is too strong now. Just know that EVERYTHING is regulated over there.
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Sounds like the problem here is the “government scrutiny” not steam.
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Love how people like you have to bring in NATO into everything. As if it has anything to do with Vietnam banning Steam.
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What exactly do you think NATO has to do with this situation?
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I don’t think you have the slightest clue about what NATO actually is.
Because they have nothing to do with Vietnam choosing to ban steam.
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So if I publish a game on steam I am now a colonizer? If I am a Vietnamese citizen who downloads a game that hasn’t gone through “government scrutiny” am I now a collaborator? What if I am a Vietnamese game developer that has published directly to steam without giving a shit about whatever censorship my government is trying to implement? Should I be sent to reeducation?
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Ooof. What a stupid take.
There are indie studios whose lives have been changed because they focus on the international market.
This small brain thinking will ensure they die.
The local devs were not trying to get steam banned. Hell they wanted steam but wanted to play by the same rules and pointed out how strict their own laws and requirements were.
Vietnam govt said you’re right, it’s not fair and banned steam to make sure everyone plays by their rules rather than admit the rules were stupid and draconic.
Careful what you wish for - you never know if it’ll be granted by a Monkey’s Paw
It’s not immediately obvious to me that indie developers in Vietnam won’t be able to find an international publisher. While I don’t approve of the law, it does strike me as potentially having a positive effect on Vietnamese studios.
Given how it can be circumvented by fiddling with DNS according to the article, I doubt it’ll really do anything besides stoke negative sentiment towards Vietnamese studios. Besides, you can buy plenty of the games elsewhere, so even if it worked, all you’re accomplishing is making it slightly more annoying for gamers to buy what they want, rather than having it in one place.
go big red!