Boundaries Crossing and Reproduction: Mobilities in Chinese Online Console Gaming Communities

• In Event: 20220 - Section on Communication, Information Technology, and Media Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Section on Communication, Information Technology, and Media Sociology Roundtable VI: East and South Asia

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between mobility and boundaries within online communities. Online communities keep the core of shared knowledge within the community, but at the same time, this knowledge has increasingly evolved into a collection of common interests, beliefs, and goals. The mobility brought by the internet often results in shared knowledge being built on a cross-boundary foundation. To understand how these online communities form and cross boundaries, this paper focuses on the case of Chinese console gaming communities. Chinese players face many restrictions on console gaming, so they engage in transnational consumption to play games, with this mobility relying on console gaming communities. Based on an examination of the global flow of gaming culture and consumption within these communities, this paper asks: What boundaries do online communities cross? How do online communities form within and reproduce boundaries without local elements?
The study draws on interviews with 24 Chinese gamers and examines how these communities operate across various media platforms, including third-party gaming platforms, social media, and specialized websites. Despite their transnational reach, these communities remain deeply embedded within China's regulatory and technological frameworks. By proposing a four-dimensional framework—territory (national boundaries), language (linguistic boundaries), firewall (technological boundaries), and trade (institutional boundaries)—the paper argues that while mobility facilitates boundary-crossing, it simultaneously reproduces new boundaries. Chinese players localize console games by forming small gaming groups, creating second-hand game forums, developing mods, and inventing unique gaming terms, all within these four boundaries. This research draws on interdisciplinary research on mobility, boundaries, global culture, and communication technologies, discussing the formation and operational mechanisms in the field of online communities and proposing a four-dimensional framework for analyzing boundary-crossing, contributing to the new mobilities paradigm.

Author

• George Ran Zhao, Renmin University of China