Position Paper 4: Wild Card

China and Video Game Policing.

Surprise, I'm writing about video games again! This time however, I believe that I am writing about a topic that has not been touched on very often. We should all be aware that the video game industry has become one of the world's biggest markets, especially with the recent launch of next-generation consoles and their immediate worldwide shortage.

It is not strange to think that China would be the biggest video game market in the world, especially with over a billion more people than the United States. However, with the strict laws and regulations of the countries various ministries, the video game history of China is turbulent.

In the 1970's and 1980's, China imposed a very high tariff on the importation of video game consoles after the launch of second-generation home consoles. This resulted in a very large black-market for illegally imported goods and popular video game clones, which scared off video game companies from selling their games in China.

Most notoriously in 2000, China posted a near-complete ban on video game consoles. The ban came in response to a fear of video game addiction of the country's youth. The ban elevated the country's interest in PC (personal computer) and mobile gaming over the course over 15 years until the ban was lifted in 2015. Despite the massive growth of popularity in China, the growth has been offset by illegal importation and intellectual property theft.

Even though the ban has been lifted, video games coming into the country must go through a rigorous process of government approval. In 2018, the approval process came to a stop very briefly which causes many games to be delayed in the country, having a significant impact on the economy in the next year. In December 2018, the Chinese government formed the 'Online Game Ethics Committee' specifically to approve games to be allowed into the country. In February 2019, another freeze was put in place that is still ongoing.

Furthermore, the country still fears video game addiction within the country, forcing video game developers to add time-limit features to limit playtime. China recently imposed a video game curfew on minors, preventing them from playing video games between 10pm and 8am. Also, playtime of video games is limited to 90 minutes a day during weekdays and three hours a day during weekends and holidays.

The government also heavily regulates the content allowed in games, not hesitating to ban any games that go against the regime in power. Any media entering the country is subject to the national policies of censorship, which applies to video games. Some popular video games that have been released that have been banned in the country include: Hearts of Iron (for distorted history of WW2), Battlefield 4 (for smearing the image of China), and Command and Conquer (for blackening China and the Chinese army's image).

“There are always going to be loopholes,” said Daniel Ahmad, a senior analyst at Niko Partners, a research and consulting firm. But Mr. Ahmad added that China was now one of the most heavily regulated video game markets in the world, and that technology companies in the country and abroad would be forced to follow the government’s policy announcements more closely. “I think compared to the West, it’s very extreme,” he said. “Publishers and developers need to be very aware of the content of the games they are developing for the market.”

 Despite all of the obstacles, the international e-sports scene has continued to rapidly expand, even in China, and there is some real talent coming out of the country of limitations. There is no telling what changes may come to the video game community in China in the next few years.