China gets Fruit Ninja Tencent Edition, just in case you really wanted to spend money in Fruit Ninja

Yesterday, Tencent quietly launched a new game on its own prorietary Chinese Android marketplace that absolutely nobody was asking for: Fruit Ninja Tencent Edition. Yes, Fruit Ninja has been in China forever, and yes, it is free. But now there’s a new Tencent Edition of the game. What does it bring to the table?

Ostensibly, the reason for Fruit Ninja Tencent Edition‘s existence is social media integration. Chinese gamers can now log into the game using their QQ or WeChat accounts and compete against their friends. But although I haven’t played it myself, the real reason for the new version appears to be to shove microtransactions into it. Yes, Tencent has Tencent-ified Fruit Ninja: the Tencent Edition features multiple in-game currencies, in-app purchases, and a pay-to-not-wait system of hearts so that you can pay money for the privilege of playing a game that has been free for years. Gaze ye upon these screenshots and despair:

So many things to buy!

Better not run out of hearts or I’ll have to stop playing!

Other than that, it’s basically Fruit Ninja.

Honestly, given Tencent’s reputation I can’t say I’m surprised, but I do have to wonder why Fruit Ninja developer Halfbrick would agree to this nonsense. I suppose generating revenue is reason enough, but surely Chinese gamers aren’t going to be silly enough to pay Tencent for a game that’s free just so that they can easily compare scores with their friends on QQ…right?

(via QQ Games)