The claim, from City of Monash Deputy Mayor Jieh-Yung Lo, alleges that the game, which has been at least , is offensive and does a disservice to cultural relations. So much so, he believes, that he intends to make a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission, saying that the game's title constitutes racial vilification. Citing privacy laws, a spokesperson for the commission told GameSpot that it was unable to confirm whether a complaint had been lodged.

"It's the use of the word 'Orient', more even than the word 'whore', that is the issue," Lo explained. "The O-word is very similar to the N-word for African-American communities. It's a 19th-century racial-colonial conception, and it's especially painful for older people in the communities. That was a very bad time in China, and people don't want or need to have that dragged up."

"'The most shocking revelation is that [game developer] Team Bondi received A$200,000 from Screen New South Wales to develop the project," he said later in the article. "Australian institutions should be encouraged to fund projects and initiatives that cultivate mutual understanding and prosperity in the Australia-China relationship. We need to build greater trust and cultural understanding, rather than promote division and negativity."

Responding to queries from The Age, Screen NSW told the publication that its role is to fund projects, not to dictate the tone or themes tackled as part of artistic endeavours.

"Screen NSW does not proscribe subject matter to content creators, including titles, but makes its funding decisions based on the creative integrity of a project and the expertise of the funding applicants," a spokesperson said. "'Whore of the Orient' is an historical nickname for the city of Shanghai."

While Jieh-Yung Lo has called for a halt to the game's development, he also told The Age that the ideal solution "would be a change of title."

KMM Interactive Productions, the game development arm of Australian film company KMM (responsible for Mad Max and Happy Feet) in 2011 from Team Bondi, the developer responsible for L.A. Noire.

Last month,

From: www.gamespot.com

The announcement was based on data from DFC Intelligence, a market research and consulting firm for interactive entertainment. The full report was not made public.

Sales of Guild Wars II in North America and Europe reached .

According to DFC Intelligence analyst David Cole, Guild Wars II is in an "impressive position" heading into the game's release in China. Historically, similar franchises stand to grow substantially when released in the Chinese market, Cole said.

ArenaNet said Guild Wars II has the potential to see its playerbase double when it releases in China. To bring the fantasy MMO to China, ArenaNet has partnered with KongZhong Corporation. No release date for the game's release in China has been announced.

The developer also announced today that a free trial for Guild Wars II will begin on Friday, August 23 and run through Sunday, August 25. Those interested in participating can sign up through the .

For more on Guild Wars II, check out .

From: www.gamespot.com