Wonder if Chinese kids will get into retro stuff now…?
Hot on the heels of Tencent’s facial recognition software locks (which, based on this news, haven’t been effective enough), China has announced new rules regarding game time. Whereas previously, anyone under the age of 18 had an hour and a half daily, the new rules demand a 3 hour limit, total, for a week.
This not only includes PCs, but phones and other such devices as well. Coincidentally, it also acts as a hard check against the absolute boom that has been China’s game industry. Which means this probably sucks for any companies that pushed really hard for that Chinese market space.
As for why, well, it’s not surprising when you know that Chinese officials have referred to gaming as “Spiritual Opium”. In essence, this is their way of curtailing something that circumvents their control of the situation (which is probably the least of their problems, but they’re still doing it anyway). Per a quote from an NPPA regulator made to the state-run Xinhua agency:
“Teenagers are the future of our motherland,” Xinhua quoted an unnamed NPPA spokesperson as saying. “Protecting the physical and mental health of minors is related to the people’s vital interests, and relates to the cultivation of the younger generation in the era of national rejuvenation.”
And if you’re a Chinese teenager, you don’t get those three hours whenever you want, either. No, you get the hour of 8pm to 9pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They can also play for 1 hour on holidays at the same bat time. Missed out on that 1 hour window? Oh well, there’s always next week. Gaming companies are also barred from providing services to minors outside of that window, and must ensure that they have real-name verification systems in place. So I guess that facial recognition stuff isn’t useless after all!
The news naturally made a splash on Weibo, social media site of choice. One user commented “This is so fierce that I’m utterly speechless,” which earned them 700 likes. Others questioned whether or not the new policies would simply be circumvented by crafty kids.
The news has dealt a blow to pretty much any gaming company doing any form of business in China, not just local companies like Tencent. From Reuters:
Shares in Amsterdam-listed tech investment company Prosus (PRX.AS), which holds a 29% stake in Chinese social media and video games group Tencent, were down 1.45%, while European online video gaming stocks Ubisoft (UBIP.PA) and Embracer Group (EMBRACb.ST) each fell over 2%.
Shares of Chinese gaming stocks slid in pre-market trading in the United States with NetEase falling over 6% and mobile game publisher Bilibili dropping 3%.
The same NPPA regulator has stated that there will be increased inspections of gaming companies to ensure that these new requirements are being met.
Source: Reuters
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