Latest news with #RevengeonGoldDiggers
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India.com
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- India.com
Gold Diggers Or Scapegoats? Why This Chinese Video Game Sparking Outrage Among Women, Fuelling Suicide Fears
New Delhi: A young woman sits across the screen. Her voice cuts through the silence. 'He is more obedient than a dog. Wish there were more idiots like him.' The words are not real. They are part of a game. But their sting is very real. And in China, women are feeling it. The game is called Revenge on Gold Diggers. Players step into the shoes of men. Women appear as charming manipulators. Their smiles hide greed. Their intentions point to wallets. Every choice the male player makes decides what happens next. Within hours of its launch in June, it topped Steam's trending chart. Downloads soared so did criticism. Anger came fast and loud. The game, many said, insulted women. Painted them as liars. Used their image to tell a story soaked in prejudice. Others defended it. Claimed it warned men of emotional traps and heartbreak-for-profit scams. But the backlash snowballed. The very next day, the developers quietly renamed it Emotional Anti-Fraud Simulator. Too late. Damage done. Mark Hu, the director of the game, vanished from several Chinese social platforms. His name disappeared like a ghost. Platforms took no chances. In a brief statement, the creators insisted they meant no harm. They said they wanted to open a conversation. Something honest. Something about modern love and blurred lines. But few believed that. Artist Xu Yikun did not buy it. She saw it as a calculated move. A business built on rage-clicks. She spoke about the word 'gold digger'. She called it poison. A label soaked in contempt. Easy to say and hard to erase. She spoke softly but clearly. 'You date a rich man, they call you a gold digger. You wear makeup, same thing. Sometimes, even accepting a drink can earn you that name.' The room she sat in was quiet, but her words were not. Across China, media outlets clashed. In Hubei, a local newspaper slammed the game and called it sexist and dangerous. Beijing Youth Daily took the opposite route. It praised the creativity. Cited statistics. Over 2 billion yuan lost to romance scams in 2023, it said. This, to them, was timely storytelling. The editorial ended with a sharp sentence. 'We must stop emotional fraud before it spreads.' Still, the game flew off digital shelves. It climbed to the top 10 among all PC games in China. Surpassed even 'Black Myth: Wukong', long considered a gaming legend. A 28-year-old man defended it. Said the hate made no sense. 'If you are not a gold digger, what is the problem?' he asked. To him, the developers were bold, fearless and willing to touch topics people avoided. Topics that made people flinch. But for many women, this was not just a topic. This was their life, fear and anger. Some think the game was inspired by a real story. A Chinese man. A heartbreak. A tragic end. They call him 'Fat Cat' online. After his breakup, he died by suicide. His story went viral. People blamed his ex. Called her a gold digger. Turned her into a villain. The police later dismissed those claims. But the damage had already settled into the public mind. Women speaking to BBC described their fears. Quietly. Without showing their names. They feared this game would make things worse. That it would harden the belief that women belong in homes. That their role should end at being wives. Or mothers. That money belongs to men. That love is a transaction. Many blamed China's politics. The ruling Communist Party. The speeches from Xi Jinping. His repeated calls for women to be 'good wives and good mothers'. That narrative, they said, was not new. But the game added fuel. Activists asking for gender equality have faced pressure. Some were silenced. Some pushed underground. The fear hangs heavy. One woman, hiding behind an alias, summed up her pain. 'This game does not just show women as liars. It turns us into enemies. It shows we survive only by pleasing men. That we stand below them. Always have. Always will.' That is not just a game. That is a wound. And for many, it is still bleeding.
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First Post
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- First Post
'Revenge on Gold Diggers': How a new video game is sparking a debate on sexism in China
The game entitled 'Revenge on Gold Diggers', has topped the online sales charts in China but sparked controversy and claims of sexism and misogyny. In the game, the protagonist Wu Yulun, who was previously deceived by a 'gold digger', seeks revenge. So fierce was the backlash in some quarters that the game developers have quietly changed its name. But that hasn't stopped it from topping the sales charts read more The interactive game 'Revenge on Gold Diggers' was released by publisher Qianfang Studio. Image courtesy: X An interactive videogame in China has caused an uproar and sparked a debate on sexism. The game, entitled 'Revenge on Gold Diggers', has topped the online sales charts but sparked controversy. So fierce was the backlash in some quarters that those behind the game changed its name quietly. But what do we know about the game? Why did it cause such an uproar? Let's take a closer look: What do we know? The interactive game was released by publisher Qianfang Studio. The game's lead is Hong Kong filmmaker Mark Hu. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Hu is known for working on Category III films in Hong Kong – which only those above 18 are allowed to see. It hit Steam, a worldwide gaming platform, on June 19. It costs $6 (Rs 515). The platform described the game thus: 'You (the player) will play as the protagonist Wu Yulun, a man who was once deeply hurt by 'gold diggers', and is determined to use himself as bait to fight back against a gold digger organisation of 'emotional hunters'. Step into this grey area called love, navigate between several glamorous and highly adept female characters, and experience an emotional hunt that is gripping with every step.' The full-motion videogame is said to have multiple main characters and 38 possible endings. The game quickly topped the sales chart within hours of the release. In fact, it even entered the top 10 bestselling PC games in China – surpassing games like Black Myth and Baldur 3. Some have suggested the game was made after the suicide of Pangmao, a social media influencer known as 'Fat Cat' in April 2024. His death sparked much online talk about 'gold diggers' with many accusing his girlfriend of being responsible for his death. However, police dismissed the allegations. The game caused an uproar on social media as soon as it was released. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Sparks divisions' Artist Xu Yikun, who played the game, told the BBC it relied on a 'a classic business model that thrives on generating content that sparks debate and divisions'. 'It's a label that's used, all too often, on women,' Xu said about the term 'gold digger'. "Sexist jokes and derogatory terms like these have found their way into our everyday language." 'If you have a rich boyfriend, you are called a gold digger. If you try to make yourself look pretty, you are called a gold digger… Sometimes the label is used on you merely for accepting a drink from someone,' she adds. A cutscene from the game that hit Steam, a worldwide gaming platform, on June 19. Image courtesy: X China is already witnessing divisions over gender with politicians including Xi calling on women to 'embrace their roles as wives and mothers' and the state cracking down on women's rights activists amid calls for gender equality. Though developers attempted damage control by renaming the game to ' Emotional Anti-Fraud Regulator', Hu has now been banned on several Chinese social media platforms. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Those who worked on the game have defended it. As game producer Mu Fei told the website Think China, 'We used stereotypical labels combined with layered personalities as a design formula. These characters can love and hate, and players can learn by understanding them… psychology, sociology, communications, and other fields are all part of the game.' Mu said the game was born out of the real-life experiences of those who worked on it. They say they never meant to 'target women' – but instead wanted to have an 'open dialogue about emotional boundaries and the grey zones in modern dating'. Others too have rallied to the game's defence. 'The game isn't trying to say that all women are gold diggers. .. I don't find it targeting either gender," Zhuang Mengsheng, 31, told BBC. 'Both women and men can be gold diggers.' 'I don't get why people are upset about this. If you aren't a gold digger yourself, why should you feel attacked by this game?' a 28-year-old man added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'I actually thought the game's creators are very bold. These issues [like emotional fraud] aren't widely discussed enough in China.' Many on social media also echoed these calls. 'How does 'gold digger' equate to misogyny or anti-women? Where's the logic?' one person asked. 'Would men criticise a game if it were titled 'Womaniser Game'?' another enquired. 'This is just to raise awareness of anti-fraud, how is it related to women's rights?' a third netizen wondered. Newspapers divided too Newspapers in China too have taken opposing viewpoints. One piece published in a news outlet in central Hubei said, 'Genuine anti-fraud education should focus on identifying fake identities and scripted manipulation, not on labeling an entire gender as 'perpetrators.'' 'Both men and women alike have committed emotional scams. There are countless examples. But this game deliberately ties fraud to women.' Another outlet in Beijing commended the game for 'creatively strengthening young people's awareness of safety in romantic relationships'. 'We need to put a stop to emotional fraud without delay,' it added. With inputs from agencies STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
