Chitchat CEO slams Singapore government’s “schizophrenic” stance on gaming

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Razer CEO slams Singapore government’s “schizophrenic” stance on gaming

Yahoo 25 July 2016



Photo: AFP Relax

The Singaporean CEO of gaming hardware firm Razer, Tan Min-Liang, criticised the government’s “schizophrenic” approach towards the gaming industry after a minister said that the authorities will study the potential impact of Pokemon Go on society.

Speaking on Sunday (24 July), Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim told reporters at an event that the government will “study very, very carefully whatever that is brought into Singapore” and ensure that the game will not harm lifestyles here.

Pokemon Go has yet to be launched in Singapore. The wildly popular game was launched in Hong Kong on Monday (25 July), the second market in Asia after Japan last Friday (22 July).

“And if it’s really something which we should be concerned about I think MDA (the Media Development Authority) will definitely decide on what are the things we can do best, if the game is really needed here, how… we can do it in such a way that it becomes a win-win situation,” said Yaacob, according to a report by The Straits Times.

In response to the minister’s comments, Tan said in a post on his Facebook page on Monday that the government should keep an open mind when it comes to new games.

“There’s no point over-regulating in an industry you know nothing about. So slowly put down the pitchfork and walk away,” Tan said.

Tan also pointed to the contradiction of how the government wants to support the gaming industry and yet has banned several gaming titles for various reasons in the past. He added that the gaming industry is now the “biggest medium for creative expression.”

“No one’s going to be creative in a place where you’re going to arbitrarily ban games because it offends some of your sensitivities because you’re still living in the 19th century,” Tan said.






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