Hello, games community

I’m 26, born in 1999 in a small Chinese town. Call me French Fry Noob — or just Fry.

In China’s Battlefield community, new players are called “French fries.” Fresh, get eaten alive, but always show up in large numbers. A self-deprecating way of saying: I’m still learning, I’ll die a lot, but I’m here to have fun.

I grew up blowing into Famiclone cartridges, sneaking into arcades, renting PS2 time by the hour, and using a PSP as an MP4 player. Same story, different place.

I don’t work in games. Just a player.

Recently I wrote a long piece about how my generation in China grew up with games — Famiclone to Steam. Console ban, grey market, the Steam tipping point, and why “piracy” was never the full picture. Chinese gamers liked it.

I’m working on an English version now. It’s about why a kid from a small Chinese town bought a physical PS2 copy of Most Wanted years later — just for closure. Not politics. Just games.

Will post it here soon.

I’m new to Lemmy. Still learning etiquette. Feel free to correct me.

Thanks for reading. And if you play Battlefield… sorry in advance.

– Fry

  • frenchfrynoob@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    17·
    8 hours ago

    You might notice no Battlefield 6 there. Truth is, my PC can barely run it smoothly, so I didn’t buy it. That’s the reality for a lot of us.

    And yeah, you see all those games? We have a tradition in China: buy first on sale, think about playing later. (laughs) It’s a whole thing.

    EA has a special pattern in China — either no discount at all, or suddenly 90% off. So we wait. We always wait. That’s the “Pin Hao Bing” (Scrounged-Together Soldier) way.

    “Pin Hao Bing” is a joke in the Chinese Battlefield community. It means someone whose rig is barely holding on, but they’re still out there grinding, dying a lot, and telling their squad “I gave it my all.”

    That’s me. That’s the French Fry Noob way.

    Thanks for reading the fine print.

    – Fry

    • Atherel@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      8·
      10 hours ago

      We have a tradition in China: buy first on sale, think about playing later.

      I think we share this tradition on the whole globe 😄

    • FartMaster69@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      4·
      15 hours ago

      Not too different here in the states! Steam sales aren’t quite the cultural events they used to be about 10 years ago but they’re still great ways for getting cheap games!