According to a report on Reuters, China’s State Council has temporarily lifted a ban on selling foreign video game consoles.
This means companies such as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo suddenly have access to a US$14-billion dollar market.
The only catch is that the foreign companies must manufacture the consoles within Shanghai’s free trade zone and sell them into China after inspection by cultural departments.
The State Council did not specify for how long the ban would be suspended, and foreign enterprise requirements have not been communicated.
China banned gaming consoles in 2000, citing adverse effects on youth mental health, but there has long been a black market for consoles. PC gaming therefore dominated the market with a two-thirds share.
According to Reuters, citing data released at the 2013 China games industry conference, China’s video game market grew 38% from 2012 to reach 83.17 billion yuan ($13.74 billion) in 2013. Browser gaming accounted for 15.4% and mobile gaming 13.5%.
Ironically, China is one of the main manufacturers of gaming consoles, with company’s such as Foxconn producing devices for Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft.
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As someone who lives most of the year in China, and has lived here for close to 20 years, I’ll have to say that the console ban is completely bogus anyway.
Yes, they’re banned.
However, they’re widely available from retailers, game stores etc, and have been for longer than we’ve had consoles in SA for.
Piracy is huge here though – consoles will generally come hacked, and you can buy games for 3-4rmb a pop. X360 is probably the most used here, although no-one plays online (for obvious reasons – hacked consoles get banned!, plus buying stuff oversea’s on credit cards can be an issue for Chinese, less so nowadays, but 10 years ago…)
As for Charl –
To be honest, the standard of living for the average person has improved tremendously since the 70’s. There is a huge middle class now, and basics like internet, electricity and healthcare is widely available (although not always affordable). China is about capitalism, and has been for years now.