Sony and Nintendo shares rise on report claiming country may lift 12-year ban on game consoles.
China's 12-year console ban could be lifted. The state-run China Daily (via Bloomberg) reports that the country's Ministry of Culture is holding discussions to consider ending the ban on game consoles it enacted in 2000.
The country originally decided to ban consoles over concerns about potential harm to the physical and mental development of children.
According to the report, the seven Chinese ministries that originally introduced the console ban in 2000 would need to agree to end it.
The news sat well with investors, as Sony and Nintendo shares rose in Tokyo 9.1 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively. Microsoft is not listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
A Microsoft representative told GameSpot, "We are always evaluating how and where to expand Xbox availability to other parts of the world, but have no additional comment at this time." Representatives from Sony and Nintendo were not available to comment.
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
Wow.. I had no clue consoles were banned in China AT ALL~!! Since there's so many people playing PC games and playing in Internet Bars... what difference does it make?? They are still playing games.. so I don't really understand why consoles were banned there in the first place... stupid~!! *And FUSE is FIXED??!!* FINALLY LOL....
ah, so the chinese have finally reversed engineered the consoles and will make their own cheap knock-offs.
Those Foxconn workers must be like, "YESSSS, after making and staring at these consoles for 8 hours straight, I can now go home and play with them and go back tommorow making more."
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@CivilizedPsycho There is no punishment,no one is ever caught for having a gaming console.Similar with Japanese porns,they are officially banned in China as well,yet they are very popular among college students and are named as studying materials from an islands nation.Some Japanese AV girls became stars in China and didn't have to make those special movies anymore.
Funny, just when the US is up in arms about the Sandy Hook shooter being effected by gaming, THIS is when China decides this?
1 Like console ban really just why? is china a even bigger nanny state than here in the uk then?
2 Like @jtthegame316 Sadly the Chinese people are having it rough atm, many things are banned & censored in there, behavior is monitored closely, if you try speak out against the government you will probably end up in prison. I believe they still have the highest rate of illegal executions by police in the world. Much of the population is in poverty while the minority is incredibly rich off of manufacturing. The coal power stations put up every day to power their factories create large amounts of smoke which is why the cities are covered in thick smog.
The government is very corrupt and people have very little freedom or rights, i feel sorry for them that such a great country is run so poorly. If you live in the UK then count yourself very lucky.
It's arguable that this ban has helped keep Chinese education standards exceptionally high, but then PC gaming is so incredibly popular in China that it's doubtful that banning consoles had any effect other than to boost PC popularity.
1 Like This is great news! Once they finish making the consoles in the factories they can go home and play with them! The kids will love this in China!
Oh my Gawwww. You listen to that Uni Chan? We finally recieve a Nintendo after all the YEARR!
The intention of this ban was good, but the execution was stupid. They did not ban all of gaming devices, computer gaming, internet bar, as well as new players in the market like iPhone and iPad etc are still widely available, which makes this ban meaningless.
1 Like Oh NO Xbox360 made in China so why M$ critcize Apple for their chinese made products
Its not the violence present in games as such but rather the way children get hooked on games thats the issue which is why they banned it in 2000. Addiction is a bigger issue and affects more people than the shootings saga goin on in the US which is presumably confined to a handful of nutcases!
Oh please China's ban had nothing to do with worrying about harm or health to their children it was just more imposed embargoes to give domestic businesses a stronger foothold in that industry. That is why China does not allow or tarriffs the hell outta foreign alcohol, medications, tobacco, electronics, autos, guns, foods on and on. I mean America has done the same over these centuries but banning consoles makers had nothing to do with worrying about the health of their kids, if they did they would worry about the heavy metals children are exposed to during their 16hr work shifts.
Another thought, this will hurt Microsoft in the short run, as Nintendo and Sony already have a brand name presence in China and xbox is still trying to crack existing Asian markets. Micorsoft could do fine here in the USA but lose big around the globe.
@jenovaschilld actually, mainland china isnt as bad as they are made out to be in child labor...the only products i have witnessed made by chikdren so far is iphone and ipad.
Presumbly because all the of age workers jumped off the roof at foxconn after failing to make quotas....look it up (the suicide factory)
Btw..took apple 18 months to implement a policy after that..which they stopped enforcing a month later
although i heard of children making wiis not long ago...but didnt see it myself
#offsoapbox
@OU_Munky I actually read about that, 6-7 of 67 some employees jumped to their deaths and then a couple years later a another group did the same. Denied them alot of things but also a chance to travel to visit there family during a holiday or something - I remember reading which is the only chance they get a year I suppose. Anyway it makes our union picket lines look a little half hearted. And again the 16hrs work shift was added as humor to emphasize the heavy metal pollution in the larger cities and downstream from mining.
USA thinks video games are harming children's minds while the Chinese are reconsidering their ban of the same reason. Thats funny
Even if the ban is no more, I'm sure there will be limitations, games such as Black Ops II(with a China part scenario) or God of War Series(with special mini games) won't be allowed.
Sales of consoles won't be boosted much. People who want to have gaming consoles already have them, yet purchasing a game is still a problem, just imagine a single game is 200-500 dollars and you would know how Chinese players feel about purchasing a game, instead of downloading one.
Those fake consoles never got a real share in Chinese market. It doesn't matter how cheap they can be, they can't get enough games to support them. After those consoles are released in the market, they are quickly forgotten.
I guess this could be a step in the right direction for the poor citizens who only wanted to play some console games. Then again, I don't trust anyone's government especially China's. It's pretty obvious they don't give a shit about human rights. It's not even close to perfect here in America(understatement of the year right there) but compared to China I would say we have it very, very good.
wtf!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Chinese cant play games?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! why do governments always feel free to seize the liberty of the human!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????????
@sev2010 when its messin up the kids heads your damn right these things should be inspected!
1Billion virgin market that dont have a single ps or xbox console or game, the ps3 and 360 may go out with a bang if this market is open up
then again this are the Chinise the knockoff guys, there will be more xbo 360 than xbox 360
It's just an official ban, the console was always available in shops with imports from Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. The biggest issue is that you have to connect to PSN and XBL from a Chinese landline, which sucks horribly. If they have a local server then that helps gamers a lot. Nobody plays online with Nintendo anyway...
Funny how investors would think it's a big difference to them. sure the companies can then official advertise the console and it will sell more, but most people already have an Xbox/PS3/Wii at home if they want it.
Funnier is how there is no ban on PC games, and looking at how people live in internet bars to play MMORPGs it's not exactly healthier.
They banned the consoles because the Chinese government secretly controls the counterfeit market. How else could it be that vendors openly sell counterfeit shwag on every street, with no concern of being arrested and shut down? Hell, if I was running China I'd probably cut a slice for myself as well. It's called the VTT...... The Vodoo Tax & Tariff.
@Vodoo lol yah the Chinese protect thier own, unlike my stupid country which confiscate and destroy counterfeit goods although they dont benefit in anyway eccept for the joy of watching the poor not afforting the expensive original brands
I'm eagerly awaiting the news that the chinese government now plan to release their own educational video games. It would seem like the next logical step anyway.
This is pretty interesting news. I'm curious as to which game console will be the biggest hit and preference.
@steelmouth @Jake518 as much as i love my xbox, and my chinese friends do to...sony is the clear winner there...but more and more seeking out the xbox...but sony hands down
Wait, there's been a Console Ban in China? I've seen crappy knockoff's, but I didn't know this was the purpose. Whatever. More consoles in more places is good.
I can't believe this is the first I've heard of consoles being banned in China. We always hear about their strange video game habits so I'd always assumed that consoles were legal there.
I'm sure there's a better reason for why the ban is in place, but now the disgusting fakes like the Chintendo Vii(I'm not kidding, look it up) will have to deal with the real stuff in their own home country too if this passes. Ban the real tech, create jobs.
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