Back in 2000, China banned game consoles due to fears that the devices will have a negative effect on the mental and physical development of children. Though last year, China eased the ban on game consoles only to companies that registered in the Shanghai free trade zone. However, China’s Ministry of Culture has finally lifted the ban which now allows manufacture and sale of consoles anywhere in the nation.
Companies like Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony are now ready to get into the world’s most populous country but there’s still a heavy censorship of the games themselves, but that’s actually better than nothing.
This 15 year-ban actually pushed China’s gaming culture to PCs and recently, smartphones. This could to lead to a struggle to actually convince locals that a console is actually way better than a PC in an internet cafe full of friends, and also, consoles are pretty pricey too.
The Wall Street Journal notes that the Chinese gaming market is currently worth $22.2 billion, which is up 23% over the prior year, based on information provided by gaming research firm Newzoo BV.
Hopefully, the Chinese will embrace the idea of having a console at home, who knows?
