China prepares to lift 13-year game console ban – report

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has reportedly given the go-ahead for the end of his country's ban on the sale of gaming consoles to its citizens, although under carefully controlled conditions over what games can be sold. "They still need approval from the culture ministry and other relevant government bodies for their products, …

[Fehu]

I, for one, welcome our new overlord masters.

Any openings in your clan, master?

[Khaptain]

Difficult to believe

What kind of game lasts 13 years ?

[montyburns56]

Re: Difficult to believe

You've obviously never played Skyrim....

[Steven Roper]

Re: Difficult to believe

A couple of friends and I still play Age of Empires II faithfully every Wednesday night during our LAN sessions...

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Difficult to believe

Diablo II

[Pascal Monett]

I don't think any of those examples pass the "not too violent or politically sensitive for young people" criteria that is apparently being imposed.

On the other hand, there will probably be a uptake of My Little Pony games <shudder>.

[BongoJoe]

Re: Difficult to believe

What kind of game lasts 13 years ?

Eve Online will be a rage filled teenager soon enough.

[AceRimmer]

Let the Forks vs Chop Sticks flame wars begin!

[Pascal Monett]

Could we have that as an RTS ?

[The Envoy]

Rocket Ranger!

As long as they decide to release an upgraded 2013 version of Rocket Ranger I am happy...

[Anonymous Coward]

Lift the ban on sales of xxxx and then insist that they have to be made locally.

Protectionism much?

[Anonymous Coward]

If they are going to be playing them who will be making them?!

[ecofeco]

Why not protect their jobs?

All the smart countries do it.

[Steven Roper]

Re: Why not protect their jobs?

Unfortunately none of the smart countries speak English as their first language.

[pPPPP]

Re: Why not protect their jobs?

We protect our jobs too. As long as those jobs are for CEOs/Directors/Conservative party donators/Bullingdon club etc. etc.

[BongoJoe]

Re: Why not protect their jobs?

Unfortunately none of the smart countries speak English as their first language.

Iawn. Croeso i Gymru

coat: because...

[Anonymous Coward]

lol, protectionism? From a country that built a wall around it you can see from space? Surely not!

[Pascal Monett]

For your education :

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/workinginspace/great_wall.html

http://www.universetoday.com/25364/can-you-see-the-great-wall-of-china-from-space/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall_of_China

[tonysmith]

lol, complaining about protectionism? From a country that simply tried to take over the world and force everyone in the empire to buy British? Surely not!

[LarsG]

Space

Once they get their teeth into gaming there won't be enough space on the servers for the rest of the world.

Population 1,354,040,001 as of the 27 December 2012

[Electric Panda]

I don't understand this ban. China has been awash with locally manufactured knock-off consoles since time immemorial and these were sold in plain sight, so were those not banned too?

But anyway, opening up the market for sales of legitimate consoles means serious £££ because there's definitely demand for it.

[Shrimpling]

From what I remember the consoles currently on sale in China are marketed as Multimedia devices and so get through a loop hole.

All the law does currently is stop foreign console makers from selling in China

[John Savard]

Trade Rules

I thought that current trade rules allowed banning the import of video games from countries that ban video games from their domestic market.

[alexba]

The Arab players have already taken over with jailbreaked PS3's. That's just what we don't need are even more jailbreakers from China.

[lightknight]

I think I understand now

I think I understand now. Much of humanity is a colony organism: it appears to be made up of individuals, but in reality, it's a single mind that governs much of those bodies.