Is it more disturbing that the Chinese government has a ban on the sale of gaming consoles, or that yours truly finds that particular restriction to be the most oppressive out of all the others? Either way it looks like there’s good news on the way for gamers as the South China Morning Post reports the country is expected to soon end its 13-year ban on the sale of consoles with one notable condition: foreign companies must make their systems in Shanghai’s new free-trade zone. The move comes as Premier Li Keqiang looks to free the Chinese economy up and get its currency used more.
The way it would work is like this: If Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, etc. agree to register in the new free-trade zone, they’d then be allowed to promote and sell their products in the domestic mainland market—after seeking approval for specific products from “culture-related authorities. ”
“They still need approval from the culture ministry and other relevant government bodies for their products, which I think is reasonable, because the government wants to make sure the content of your games is not too violent or politically sensitive for young people,” one of the sources told the news agency.
The ban has been in place since June 2000, when seven central government ministries jointly issued a notice to cease the production and sale of game consoles in China.
