Joshua Wong (Hong Kong democracy activist) posted an image on Twitter that he captured directly from Animal Crossing: New Horizons that shows an in-game protest.
It reads ‘Free Hong Kong – Revolution Now’. Reuters is now reporting that since the picture was uploaded, sales of Animal Crossing: New Horizons for Nintendo Switch have been suspended; search results on grey market e-commerce platforms such as Pinduoduo have been removed.
Cartridges of #AnimalCrossing are no longer purchasable on China’s ecommerce platforms. AC is huge in China but Nintendo’s Chinese partner Tencent can’t sell it yet bc the govt hasn’t approved it. People were buying AC from scalpers online. Now selling AC online seems illegal. pic.twitter.com/r1OPSEdYnH
— Josh Ye 葉嘉栩 (@TheRealJoshYe) April 10, 2020
Online and digital
Players in the territory can still access the game online and the title can still be purchased on the Nintendo Switch eShop if the digital store is accessed on an imported console. At the time of writing, it’s not clear whether the game being delisted is a directive from China’s content regulator or a voluntary act by politically sensitive e-commerce platforms.
