Christian video game coming to Asia?

In perhaps one of the most mind blowing little news snippets I've read recently, Left Behind Games Inc. has announced they plan to market their Left Behind: Eternal Forces, based on the popular Left Behind books, in Asia prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Their reasoning? The game will "help Asians better communicate with Westerners." The company has hired Dr. Gordon Chiu, a consultant with experience marketing Western products towards Asian countries, to help with the launch.

"I personally find the unique platform of nonviolence connects very strongly with ancient Asian philosophies,” explained Chiu in a statement. “With the upcoming Olympic Games in 2008, everyone is looking for intellectually stimulating products from the United States and Europe that can better prepare them for interaction with Westerners."

Chiu also says that many Chinese children are "encouraged" to play games such as World of Warcraft in an attempt to learn about Western thought & strategy; maybe we're reading different newspapers, but I've read a lot of Taiwanese and Chinese press that is incredibly anxious about kids spending too much time at internet cafes and playing MMOs. Western books, games, TV programs, movies, and all sorts of other media are readily available in countries like Taiwan or Japan, and I can't see the CCP joyfully allowing a game with even the merest whiff of Christian proselytization to sell on the Mainland freely.

This raises all sorts of questions that make me uneasy for a number of reasons. At the very least, it seems like a not-so-surreptitious attempt at proselytizing under the guise of "educating."

I'm not sure what Confucius would have to say about all of this, but I can guess what the Chinese government will have to say - and I don't think it would be an overly positive response.

Left Behind Games to Reach Out to Asia Ahead of Olympics [The Christian Post]