ExtraTorrent | China Lifted Ban on Game Consoles

[Atreides]

The country has lifted a 13-year ban on foreign games consoles and home entertainment systems, thus reversing a 2000 decision to ban gaming. Now the government decided, for a trial period, to allow games consoles to be made within Shanghai’s free trade zone and then to be sold within the country, subject to standard local inspections on multimedia products.
 

China has issued an official statement confirming the decision as an attempt to temporarily adjust relevant regulations and explore the experience of reform and opening. Apparently, the move in question opens the huge market for major foreign games console makers – Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. At the moment, video games in China are worth $13bn annually.

In the meantime, the announcement neither specified a timeframe for the experiment nor explained why the government changed its decision about policy, but the move seems to be in line with wider economic reforms and liberalization in the country over recent years.

Maybe the move was determined by the illegal trade in video games, which continues to thrive across China despite government attempts to restrict it. Thanks to the long-running ban on consoles, PC gaming is currently dominating as much as 2/3 of the games market, but there’s still a vibrant market in illegal consoles.

China first announced the intention to relax trade restrictions in 2013, making it part of a longer process and perhaps little more than just a formality. In should be noted that the reference to specific areas of trade is important for foreign companies, which are primed to start doing business as soon as Chinese state has finished unpicking complex bans and restrictions.

Local experts also point out that video games themselves are very symbolic, as well as their significance as a commodity and an entertainment source in China. So, the free trade of such games and consoles would mean that China is ready to make a profound step toward its globalization both economically and culturally.