Dictator simulator (that’s fun to say) Tropico 5 has been banned by the military government of Thailand, who claim that the game’s themes and content ”may affect peace and order in the country”.
You’d have thought the current Thai regime, who took control of the country in May after a military coup, could pick up a tip or two from developer Kalypso’s tongue in cheek nation-building strategy game.
In Tropico 5, as you probably know, you take control of a tropical island nation as either a malevolent or benevolent dictator, issuing decrees and constitutional amendments in order to secure your power, while attempting to turn your small nation into a player on the world stage.
Kalypso Media confirmed yesterday that the game’s Thai publisher, New Era, has decided not to try and appeal the ban. ”We are disappointed to hear that Tropico 5 will not be released in Thailand,” Kalypso’s global managing director Simon Hellwig wrote in a statement to the press. ”Tropico 3 and 4 both enjoyed successful releases in the country and although the Tropico brand does have a realistic political element to it, the scenarios and content are all delivered with a certain trademark tongue in cheek humour.”
“Our distributor has been working hard to gain approval for the release,” added global managing director Stefan Marcinek, ”but it seems that the Board of Film and Video Censors deem some of the content too controversial for their consumers. This does sound like it could have come from one of El Presidente’s own edicts from the game.”
Thailand’s General Prayuth Chan-ocha seized control of the government from acting prime minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongphaisan in May this year, after months of political turmoil and civil unrest. That’s since been stifled somewhat by the new regime’s often brutal tactics.
Previous games in the series have been published in the country without issue, but it seems like Tropico 5 managed to fall foul of the censors for some reason.
