Plague Inc. Popularity Increased Thanks to Coronavirus Outbreak in China
Plague Inc. is currently the most frequently downloaded paid application in China. Reason? New reports on the outbreaks of the so-called Wuhan coronavirus.
It is no secret that global events can translate into the popularity of video games. We could see it on the occasion of The Witcher series, whose premiere was followed by an increased interest in both The Witcher trilogy from CD Projekt RED and books by Andrzej Sapkowski. However, a much more peculiar example came from Asia. Since Monday, interest in Plague Inc. has increased dramatically in connection with... the outbreak of a new virus in China (via Quartz). The new coronavirus 2019-nCoV, also known as the Wuhan Influenza, from the city with the first recorded cases of respiratory infection is responsible for the whole matter. First caseswas detected in December, but on January 20, the Chinese authorities confirmed the disease outside Wuhan and the possibility of human-to-human transmission of the virus (via the CNA channel). Already then, Plague Inc. was in fifth place on the list of the most frequently downloaded paid applications in China (according to the Sensor Tower analytical group). The day after, the game jumped to the first place and this is where it remains.
The popularity explosion of what is essentialy a pandemic simulator in the face of the threat of a real outbreak is only seemingly surprising. The deleted but often quoted entry posted on the Chinese website 17173 stated that "the best way to overcome fear is to face it", which could be a motivation for many players. This thesis seems to be confirmed not only by the fact that apparently most Chinese users choose China as their starting point for their diseases.
Probably for similar reasons, some people are particularly interested in the recently introduced Fake News mode, in which we spread false information instead of a virus. One of Weibo users stated explicitly that this scenario is "so real". It should be noted that this rather relates not so much to Chinese censorship in general as to the government's approach to the epidemic. Many still remember the controversial situation with SARS, or acute pneumonia. The virus was detected in November 2002, but China initially concealed information about the situation. It was only in February 2003 that the World Health Organisation (WHO) learned about it. In the meantime, many of the infected have gone abroad, taking the virus to Thailand, Vietnam, Canada and many other countries. As a result, the Chinese authorities found themselves taking heavy flak and were forced to take action on a large scale to stop the infection.
This makes it is easy to understand the fears of Chinese citizens of whether the situation will not happen again. Fortunately, the Chinese government is now much more eager to cooperate with the WHO. The authorities have even sent a communication to their representatives saying that officials concealing reports of further cases of Wuhan's influenza will be "nailed on the pillar of shame for eternity". (via BBC). Nevertheless, many people (via Bloomberg agency) still accuse those in power of being too sluggish and not informing the public about the situation. Perhaps some people already have thoughts that would not appeal to the censors. After all, another title being downloaded en masse in China is said to be Rebel Inc. a newer game from Ndemic Creations, in which we try to prevent a coup d'etat in a fictional country. Since Monday, the game has jumped from 27th to fifth place on the list of the most frequently downloaded paid applications (via Quartz).
