Dotaland note: the original Tencent flame article was at http://games.qq.com/a/20121208/000026.htm — but has now been replaced by a completely different topic at the same link. Amongst other things, it claimed that Valve was selling Dota2 for $100 each… Nonetheless, if you think Riot does shady things, wait ’till you see some of what Tencent does to promote its own interests and/or crush competitors… is this the first shot fired of an inevitable clash to be heard across all of gaming?

Dotaland note 2: Tencent is the Chinese distributor of League of Legends, and they also own Riot Games, devs of LoL. QQ.com is Tencent’s official main portal website.

Original: http://dota2.uuu9.com/201212/95503.shtml

Earlier today a certain website published a report on “The biggest money-grabbing, integrity-lacking games of 2012 — Dota2 ranks top”.

Therefore, we at UUU9 Dota will debunk each of their claims one by one:

1. Claiming that Dota2 is literally the most expensive game in history, with a price of 100 USD?

The [Tencent] article claimed that there is only one way to buy Dota2, with a price of 100 USD. This is purely baseless fabrication, we won’t even mention that Dota2 can be purchased as a standalone bundle currently, but they even failed to realize that this 100 USD pack includes every single one of Valve’s games since 1998, with a total value of more than 150 USD.

And then of course there is the standalone purchase of Dota2 available right now, for 30 USD, which gives you the game, a wild boar courier, and full cosmetic sets for Sven, Juggernaut, and Witch Doctor. Compared to a certain ‘penguin company’ (they mean Tencent, as a mascot/logo of Tencent’s is a penguin) selling skins one at a time for over 100 RMB each, we think everyone will be able to realize in their own hearts what is what here.

2. Flaming Dota2 translation team for profiting from beta keys

This is really causing a fuss out of nothing. First off, Valve giving keys to the translation teams is not a ‘compensation’, it’s more an effort to use the translation team to spread keys to Chinese players and thus grow Dota2 in China. The translation team often posts keys on their Weibo accounts, and for sure there are many current players who have access to the beta because of this. As for how Valve actually thanks their translators, they have other means, such as mailing gifts from America or inviting them to tour their offices etc, we’re sure most people have seen this from interviews at TI2 and will understand.

3. Steam as a platform is run with only profit in mind

Compared to a certain penguin company’s (aka Tencent) reputation as “king of copying”, Steam itself is a superior platform that is unique and groundbreaking in its convenience and pushing of the entire industry. In traditional retail channels, game developers only get around 30% of revenue, while on Steam they get up to 70%. This alone has greatly increased the standing of many a developer, as well as helped developers create higher quality games. Yet penguin company’s motto for operating is to copy a popular game or platform and then spam the internet with braindead pop-up advertisements. And in the process, destroy many a decent website while simultaneously spurring more unhealthy and unfair forms of competition in the domestic gaming industry, and ultimately become the root cause of such a proliferating trend of copying and infringing in the entire Chinese gaming industry.

After reading the above, hopefully everyone has a better understanding of the situation now.

Interestingly, compared to a certain penguin company going out of their way to try to stifle and slander Dota, Valve has shown a degree of openness. In addition to Valve saying that they “will not limit players”, and are rumored to be allowing Penguin company’s League of Legends onto the Steam platform, Gabe Newell has also said that he is a fan of all games in this genre, and not only limited to Dota2: “I think moba-style games are a pretty nice genre, they’re very exciting when you play. The reason we’re doing things this way is because everyone at the company are fans of this type of game, and we feel we should allow more gamers experience the fun, not only limited to IceFrog’s creation.” (Dotaland note: this LoL on Steam thing is not actually confirmed as far as I know)

So, gamers, viewing the difference in attitudes between these companies, who will you choose? In the words of the Dota2 shopkeeper: The choice is yours!