Soon it will be summer. Time for summer fruit: watermelons, pineapples, and Diablo III?
In China, online vendors are trying to skirt the law by masking Diablo III as “big pineapple”. If you thought Hawaiian pineapples were delicious, have you tried “Big Pineapple 3 Asian Servers Edition Official Version All Language Support?” Didn’t think so.
The Chinese Ministry of Culture has not yet approved Diablo III for sale in the mainland. While laws haven’t stopped vendors from selling illegal goods in the past, online vendors are being creative about how they can sidestep any foreseeable problems regarding selling an unapproved game. More importantly, online retail platforms are cracking down on Diablo III sales.
As website TechInAsia pointed out, calling Diablo III “big pineapple” is a pun; in Chinese, a big pineapple is “dà bōluó”, which sounds like Diablo. Using images of pineapples also helps cover the trail and spark subconcious fruit cravings.
Since officials for online retail platform Taobao are searching Diablo‘s official Chinese name, which translates to “Dark God of Destruction”, they’d miss all the online sellers offering big pineapples.
Well, until Chinese news sites broke this story and spread it all over the internet. Thanks guys!
淘宝禁售《暗黑3》网店纷售”大菠萝” [Sina via TechInAsia]
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