There’s a lot of buzz about the ever-growing popularity of gaming, as more and more big media companies are looking at things like esports and video game leagues to bring gamers from all around the globe together. And, while the general consensus is that gaming will continue to expand, China is trying to put a major halt on the situation within the country.
That’s because, due to a new gaming regulator in China, the department of the Chinese Communist Party is strengthening its grip on the gaming industry, which restricts the amount of time people play video games due to growing concerns of health issues. The document, which was released in recent days on China’s education ministry website, outlines how the government will help “improve myopia among children and teenagers, per SCMP.
According to the aforementioned SCMP piece, a section of the released document includes plans for the organization to “implement controls on the total number of online video games, control the number of new video games operated online, explore an age-appropriate reminder system in line with China’s national conditions, and take measures to limit the amount of time minors [spend on games].”
This includes all games, even those offered to gamers for free, which would be required to obtain a license to get published in China — which is the world’s biggest gaming market, with an estimated $2 billion in revenue this year alone. That figure includes the decreasing sales of new games in the country, as authorities haven’t approved a new game license since the end of March.
While China hasn’t provided any public explanation for the game approval freeze, with the stricter rules — which includes the ability to cap numbers of games and the amount of times minors can play games — the gaming market in the country is in flux. That’s big gaming news, because many video game operations come out of China, so this is an interesting dilemma for its economy, as well as gamers around the world.
The restriction came after Chinese president, Xi Jinping, publicly spoke about the need to help eyesight of the younger generation, who, presumably, spend too much time staring at screens. Myopia is more common in kids at younger ages, which is why Jinping has addressed the problem in the nation.
This Chinese restriction is something to keep an eye on (no pun intended), to see how it may impact the overall production of video games around the world. Although the regulator is only on that country, with China being the biggest producer of games in the world, it will, undoubtedly, affect other countries.
(H/T SCMP)