Chinese MMO sex verification: Gender identity system

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Home Sex

3:40 PM on 11.05.2009, Dale North

48 comments | 4998 views

Chinese MMO sex verification: Gender identity system photo

#MMO #Sex

You know you've made an MMO character that was not the same sex as your own. Don't lie. Boy playing as a girl? It's fine, right? Not in China.

I don't know. Maybe someone got burned by some online-to-offline experience. For some reason, Chinese MMO King of the World has a new Gender Identity System that checks your face, via webcam, to see if you're a guy or a gal. I guess they don't want any Queens of the World, if you catch my drift. They do not want boys playing as girls, straight up. Try to pull a fast one and play as a girl and you'll be banned.

MMOsite says that the company, Aurora Technology, feels that using real gender can make female players feel respected.

I would almost bet that some exec there found out the hard way and instituted the rule.

This is the header image I wanted to use. Nick would not let me.

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48 comments | showing # 1 to 48

PJMan

Damn it if China has their way I won't be able to play as Rosalina in Mario Kart anymore D:

Cyber Altair

Get your sister to take her photo in the webcam? Seriously shouldn't holding a girls photo suffice?

matrixdude171

... I'm amazed there's even a gaming community in China since they've had all the fun taken out of it.

Onlineatron

Thanks Dale... That header image has made me rethink all my values in life!

socialnorms

What a wonderful culture!

Dale North

Onlineatron - haha, which one?

Nic128

Now you can hit on the real girl.

Fiat Mediocrity

Holy shit, that chick is hot.

reindall

So, traps can't even choose their real gender?

Syn

Hahahaha I know a couple of people who would throw a tantrum if that happened here.

Unassuming Local Guy

But you live out a fantasy in a MMO. You don't live out your real life persona!

TheDreadHawk

I'd hit it.

Carl Sagan

Wow, this is ridiculous.

Vectrex

I don't want to know about the Crying Game.

whormongr

that's lame, I always play as female because, well If I am devoting x amt of hours to a game I would rather enjoy what i am seeing

JiR INC

transgender! or get picture of megan fox XD

Jon B

Print picture,
hold up to camera,
???
SLIGHTLY CONFUSING ERP!

Jon B

OH DEAR CHRIST WHY DID YOU LINK THAT ALTERNATE HEADER IMAGE WHAT THE FUCK

balth

I almost lost my lunch. I can never look at Harry Potter again. Thanks a lot!

RoboLeader

I will never click any of your alternate header images ever again.

Sentry

Aren't facial features of themselves relatively androgynous?

Sara Foster

Epic.

mix

Female players can feel respected........riiiiiiiiiiight MMO sales will skyrocket 100% once people realize that the lvl 92 high elf warrior in a skirt that your chatting to and grinding against is really a real women and not a 99% chance of being a dude.

I don't think that anyone really cared that they were in fact talking dirty to another dude..........They just wanted to knock their rocks around.

Anyways thats just my take on the situation, lol.

casualweaponry

Oh shit, the dude cross-peeping my iPhone screen just got an eyeful. Maybe I shouldn't have clicked on that link while riding mass transit?

Oh look, he just switched seats! Thanks Dale.

Dias13

I'd heard about this. Pretty funny if you ask me but I'm sure some people out there are pissed! Also, epic alternate header is epic!

lewness

Thank God we don't look like anime characters. This Gender Identification System won't be able to tell the difference and/or would drive itself crazy alternating between having an erection and becoming flaccid all within five seconds.

Adam

I need to listen to Nick more :(

Liam Allman

It would certainly cut back on the crowds of naked, dancing elves.

DustyBlue

Lol that alt-header is a lot more appropriate... But seriously, this isn't going to do shit. Just get some girl you know to take the picture in your place, or just show a picture of a girl to the camera...

deiga-the-semivaliant

@DustyBlue - Seems like a lot of trouble just to play as a girl in an MMO, right? I'm pretty sure the developers know it's not a fool-proof system. Discouraging it is probably the goal here, not necessarily preventing it.

That said, I don't know what the big fucking deal is. My friend likes playing girls in MMOs. People help him out a lot more, haha.

Of course, he'll get awkward PMs once in a while, too....

Dexter345

What's stopping from somebody holding a picture of a woman up to the webcam?

makesfive

Ok not sure how you can reliably determine gender by faces alone but I guess asking for crotch shots is out of the question.

Also, this would totally make things worse for women playing games. There's nothing more entertaining than telling some douche that won't stop hitting on you that you're a big beefy unwashed dude irl. Not to mention it's about the only reliable way to get guys to leave you alone...

Everyday Legend

@ Dexter
Exactly. What idiocy.

CharleyTony

Im sure this thing is simply the easiest way the guys running the game servers thought of in order to get hot pictures sent to them.

In other news, the game previewsly known as King Of The Worlds shall now be known as
"Sausage Feast: The Game, Family Party !"

Xzyliac

No Lady Gaga jokes? What has this site come to? A respectable blog with original jokes?

I'm going back to Joystiq!

Jon B

@Xzyliac
Okay here's one.

Lady Gaga - "King of the World" MULTIBOXING CHAMPION!

That's implying she's playing both sexes at the same time, if you didn't get it.

gPh

Did this just happen now? I heard about this a couple of weeks ago through GamePolitics, and even then all the internet sources I came up with were from 2007.

Xzyliac

@Jon B
Phew. Thanks Jon. Now I'm comfortable again.

Emrah

@dexter: They probably want the player to make different funny faces. The software detects the faces, and the idea depends on photos not making funny faces. Unless of course they animate the photo by page flipping.

John B

Wait ... "He"??

Davedude

What about games with some gender specific classes? Warhammer Online would be screwed on this point, Dwarf Slayers are all Male and Dark Elf Witch Elves are all female. China is getting too restricted as to choosing how to play your games.

shinigamiDude

But I always play as a girl in pokemon :D

SASUGA RIVAL

"MMOsite says that the company, Aurora Technology, feels that using real gender can make female players feel respected."

OMGHI2U! A/S/L? WANNA CYBER?

King Dirt

Im surprised at all the "lol now I can't worry about traps" comments I'm seeing. Maybe I'm the only one but this seems like a borderline civil rights violation, and I thought more people would be angry at a decision like this. Now don't get me wrong, this is one game, and a game I'll never play, but something about this decision just rubs me the wrong way.....s-see what I did there?

CapnCrunk

@King Dirt: It is China, after all...

King Dirt

@CapnCrunk: but doesn't it seem so bizarre that we look at things like this happening in China, the largest country on Earth, and just say "eh that's what they do." I know I'm getting all bent out of shape over something small like this, but it just seems really shady to me to constrict gender choices in a video game of all things. Maybe its because its happening in something so trivial that it stands out so much. I guess I'm just ranting, but we need to watch how this affects the industry in general.

crazy turtle1234

...this is why I hate myself so much. On behalf of my idiotic government, I apologize.

cdevildevil

Wow... whenever I get depressed about some idiotic thing our country's leaders have done, I just think about China and feel allllll better. One more for the list.

And btw, why does Nick hate freedom?

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