back to article Beijing approves first new video games in nine months

After a nine month pause, Beijing has finally granted new video game licenses to 45 titles. The approvals arrived on Monday through China's National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA). The newly approved titles hail from video game makers Lilith Games, Baidu, XD, and Seasun Entertainment – but curiously not Chinese …

  1. Dinanziame Silver badge
    Paris Hilton

    Do books need to be approved as well?

    Legit not sure

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Do books need to be approved as well?

      Yes

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_censorship_in_China

      1. Paul Herber Silver badge

        Re: Do books need to be approved as well?

        Banned - Jane Eyre and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland! What next? Winnie-the-Pooh?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Do books need to be approved as well?

          You've misread the link:

          Jane Eyre /was/ banned, during the Cultural Revolution. That was a long time ago.

          Alice in Wonderland /was/ banned - but by the Nationalists of the KMT, when they were still ruling parts of the mainland, not the Communists of the CCP.

          See for yourself, they're all available today at Amazon:

          https://www.amazon.cn/s?k=jane+eyre

          https://www.amazon.cn/s?k=alice+in+wonderland

          https://www.amazon.cn/s?k=winnie+the+pooh

          I've seen paper censorship at work when living in Beijing, in 2009. I was subscribed to Time Magazine, which was delivered through Hong Kong. In June, I got an issue which had a different wrapping than the usual. When I opened it, I quickly noticed that one page was missing, the leaf had been neatly cut out in the middle of the magazine, leaving only the page on the other side of the staples. Sure enough, from the table of contents, that was the page of an article about the 30 year anniversary of the Tian'anmen square events.

      2. red19

        Re: Do books need to be approved as well?

        The Ministry of Truth, administering "truth" as they see fit

      3. bombastic bob Silver badge
        Unhappy

        Re: Do books need to be approved as well?

        Just like communists to pick winners and losers.

        No freedom under communism. No "Equity" either. NO fairness. Social credit score is likely to be a factor.

        All gummint can do is gum up the works, and COMMUNISM is the WORST form of gummint.

        (I am saddened!)

  2. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    "the company was ordinary and replaceable"

    Well, it seems that a stint in a Chinese jail makes you very humble and compliant.

    I very much doubt that any billionnaire has said such a thing to any of their employees in the West.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "the company was ordinary and replaceable"

      Maybe not, instead they treat their employees as ordinary and replaceable.

  3. Blackjack Silver badge

    China can decide to ban any game at any moment. Or to screw over companies that were following the rules like it did not so long go.

    Do not do business with China if you are a tech company, you will regret it.

    1. Snowy Silver badge
      Holmes

      You do not need to be a tech company to regret doing business with China.

    2. CommonBloke
      IT Angle

      Sorry, all those c-execs can't hear you over the sound of all that sweet, sweet Chinese money they're pocketing

  4. Brewster's Angle Grinder Silver badge
    WTF?

    Starving for it

    Well, I suppose they need something to amuse all those people locked in their apartments while they're waiting for food to (not) be delivered....

    1. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Mushroom

      Re: Starving for it

      I'm glad SOMEBODY said it. Human rights abuses INCLUDE *RIDICULOUS* *LOCKDOWNS*

  5. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

    14,000 games developers wnet under?

    So, if 14,000 smaller games dev houses went under, just how original were their products? It's mind boggling! Then again, so is the size of the Chinese home market!

  6. YetAnotherJoeBlow
    Thumb Down

    China does not like video games because the games may plant the seed of discontent.

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