"MRP (.mrp) – Here’s a weird one. MRP was a third-party app platform from a Chinese company called ‘Maopao Community’ (literally ‘Bubbling Community’). It was designed to run on the cheap, unofficial ‘clone’ phones (MediaTek chips) that flooded the Chinese market in the late 2000s. Today, you can run an MRP emulator on Symbian too. The games are mostly rough clones and strange RPGs you’ve never heard of, but it’s a fascinating glimpse into a parallel mobile ecosystem that developed completely outside the West. A true deep-cut curiosity

Haha, can you guess why we Chinese players call Animal Crossing “Buff Dudes Picking Twigs”?It fits so perfectly

In China, you can casually buy super violent games like DOOM without any issue. But the cozy, wholesome Animal Crossing? You basically have to use secret signals or special methods just to get a copy. Some people started causing trouble and sharing inappropriate stuff inside the game, so Chinese online stores ended up banning it entirely. That’s why we Chinese players gave Animal Crossing a hilarious nickname: “Buff Dudes Picking Twigs.”

“That’s a fair point. But maybe the real difference is: Persona 5 is about the confusion of being young, while Yakuza 7 is about the weariness of being middle-aged. Different vibes for different stages of life.”

“GameSir and 8BitDo are two Chinese brands with strong technical capabilities. They both offer controller designs similar to the Xbox mold, which fits the preferences of players from different regions. In China, most players have a positive opinion of them. Personally, I think people who buy GameSir care more about the controller’s core performance—they have stronger technical expertise. As for 8BitDo, their focus is more on retro aesthetics, and they’re especially popular among players with smaller hands, particularly women. This is the most authentic view of these two brands from Chinese players.”

If you want to play on Xbox and get as close to the original Xbox experience as possible, I highly recommend the GameSir G7 Pro. Its current retail price in China is 444 RMB, and it comes with a charging dock (so no need to worry about battery life) and a 2.4G receiver. In my opinion, this is much better than the Xbox controller’s AA battery design. Of course, the price can drop during sales—many people have gotten it for under 400 RMB.

I don’t recommend other controllers, because the Beitong Kunpeng has a larger mold and doesn’t support Xbox gameplay, and its product doesn’t compete as well as GameSir in overseas markets.

Another option is the 8BitDo X-Pro, but in my opinion, it’s only for people with smaller hands or those who like a retro look. Its value for money isn’t as good as the GameSir G7 Pro, especially since their prices are similar.

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metoo

"I’ve already revised it to avoid any ambiguity. Thank you for pointing that out.

Let me add some context about the state of the Chinese game controller market back in the day. After reading this, you might understand why I wrote this post.

Back then, not many people in China played console games. Most used cheap, knockoff controllers. Beitong was one of the few brands with real strength. Its emergence showed that Chinese game controllers could also deliver good products — though in the early days, they were still mainly low-to-mid range.

Later, the launch of the Zeus T6 controller marked the shift toward high-end Chinese game controllers, proving that Chinese products have strong technical capabilities.

So for me, this isn’t just another controller — it’s a product with real meaning.

Of course, it has its downsides. Many Chinese game controllers lack official Xbox and PS5 authorization, so they can only be used on NS, mobile, and PC. That said, we usually play on PC, and the experience is great.

“This is just me sharing my thoughts. Soon, I’ll be getting a unique Beitong controller, so look forward to my review.”

…so they don’t understand and downvoted it (by clicking the mouse).

The original text I wrote was about another game that is very popular in China but niche abroad — CrossFire (CF). Unfortunately, many people haven’t played it, so they don’t understand and downvoted it.

However, my limitation is that I’ve only experienced the online gaming environment from 2012 onward. It’s a real pity, otherwise I’d love to share more. The reason I don’t plan to go into detail is that I don’t want to make uninformed comments on areas I don’t fully understand—that would be irresponsible to my readers and a disservice to fellow gaming enthusiasts. That said, if you’re interested in China’s console gaming scene, we can definitely talk about that. I’ve written about it in detail in some of my previous posts, and the response was pretty good.

Thank you for your recognition and support. If anyone is genuinely interested in CF, they’ll reach out to me, and I’d be happy to share my thoughts privately. As for your interest in the history of Chinese online gaming, I’d recommend a Chinese YouTuber and Bilibili creator, 芒果冰OL. He’s an experienced online game planner who tells stories with objectivity, rationality, and warmth. If you ever need a subtitle translation plugin, I can recommend a tool called Trancy. It offers basic translation features for free, and its AI-powered learning features are quite affordable. I’m not trying to advertise — I just think it might be helpful for you. I’m a paying user myself, and it’s been of great help to me.

“In old Chinese internet cafes, some veteran players are so scary that we call them ‘Principals’ – because playing against them feels like having a teacher grade your homework.”

Thank you. I’ll change my approach for that article and mainly write about a touching Chinese player in CS, with the “CF’s headmaster” joke serving as a spice

I have revised the post to make it more meaningful, interesting, and objectively neutral, while only briefly touching on the ‘CF Principal culture’."**

"I sincerely want to ask a question. I posted something today — hey, genuine question, not trying to argue.

I shared this piece because I truly thought the Chinese net cafe CF culture and stories like Aunt Juan were interesting enough to be seen by people outside China. Even if it’s niche, I put real effort into writing it.

So when the reply is just ‘I read the first 2 sentences and now I have cancer’ — what do you actually hope to achieve? Does that kind of response make the internet a better place, or does it just make people less willing to share their own cultures and experiences?

I’m honestly curious about your perspective."

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