A Windows phone game, developed by Austrian Christian Zangl, has been blocked from release in China not because it contained contentious political commentary. Itâs been blocked because it featured the sound of a flushing toilet.
According to Microsoft, that makes it offensive to the Chinese market, and âContent that is offensive in any country/region to which your application is targeted is not allowed.â
OK, so Chinese bathroom etiquette is a little different. You wonât find toilet paper in many public bathroom stalls, for example. And you often find itâs custom to put âsoiledâ paper in a garbage bin rather than flush it.
But letâs be real here: the Chinese dig toilet humour as much of the rest of us. Which Microsoft may have picked up on seeing as the gameâs available on the Chinese App Store and has a healthy 4-star rating.
Microsoft Rejects Windows Phone Game Because âFlushing Toilet Soundsâ Offend Asians [Game Politics]
(Top photo courtesy of Maxxelli)
