China’s longstanding ban on video game consoles could soon come to an end. According to South China Morning Post, the country is planning changes to restrictions on sale of game consoles for the first time since they were enacted in 2000. The restrictions will be lifted for consoles manufactured in Shanghai’s free-trade zone, but foreign companies will still need government permission to sell consoles in China. According to Techinasia.com, China’s government sees this as a means to help their economy by encouraging Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to manufacture their consoles in the free-trade zone.
The console ban was initiated because of fears voiced by China’s government about video games’ influence on child development. While the ban prevented official sales of consoles dedicated to gaming, there is a substantial black market. Much of that market revolves around the sale of consoles hacked to play pirated digital or disc copies of games. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo were unable to market this last generation of consoles in China. Therefore it’s not clear if officially sanctioned versions where safeguards would prevent playing cheap pirated games would find a substantial market there, despite the country’s massive gaming population.
Source: GI.biz
