Video gaming in China

Games market of China by revenue per platform in 2015.[1]

Video gaming in China is a massive industry and pastime that includes the production, sale, import/export, and playing of video games. China is the largest, highest grossing and the most profitable video game market in the world, since 2015.[2] The landscape of the topic is strongly shaped by China's average income level, rampant software piracy, and governmental measures to control game content and playing times. In 2011, China's PC game sector was worth $6 billion, the largest in the world.[3] Arcade games are also a thriving industry in China. Console games were banned from the country in 2000, but the ban was lifted in July 2015.[4]

In eSports, China has been the world leader in terms of tournament winnings, possessing some of the best talents in the world across multiple video games, as well as one of the largest pool of video gamers.[5] As of 2017, half of the top 20 highest earning eSports players in the world are Chinese.[6]

The Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau have unique legal and cultural environments, thus the information below does not apply in these two regions.

China has been described as the 'Games Industry Capital of the World', with its market size exceeding the US in mid 2017, and some of the world's largest video game companies.[7]

Domestically-produced games

China has domestically produced a number of games, including Arena of Valor, the Genesis of the Century trilogy (The World of Legend, The Age, and Magical Land), Westward Journey, The Incorruptible Warrior, and Crazy Mouse. There are a large number of domestically-made massively multiplayer online role-playing game MMORPGs in China, although many generally remain unheard of outside of the country.[8][9][10]

Internet cafés

Although China's growing economy has boosted the economic prospects of most Chinese in the last couple of decades, the cost of a personal computer, video game console, or Internet connection remains prohibitive for many Chinese. The popularity of internet cafés has increased in the country as a result. Rather than purchasing their own hardware and software, users are simply charged a small fee (often by the hour) to use an Internet café computer which often comes preloaded with a selection of games. Chinese internet cafés often impose age limits to protect minors from what may be adult content.

Social network games

The Chinese game Happy Farm (2008) was included in Wired's list of "The 15 Most Influential Games of the Decade" at #14, for its major influence on social network games, particularly for having "inspired a dozen Facebook clones," the largest being Zynga's FarmVille.[11] A number of other games have since used similar game mechanics, such as Sunshine Farm, Happy Farmer, Happy Fishpond, Happy Pig Farm,[12][13] Farm Town, Country Story, Barn Buddy, Sunshine Ranch, and Happy Harvest, as well as parodies such as Jungle Extreme and Farm Villain.[14][15]

Arcades

Arcade games are still a thriving industry in China, where amusement arcades are widespread across the country. Its popularity in China is comparable to that of PC gaming at internet cafes. This is partly due to the country's ban on console games since the early 2000s, it has since been lifted. As a result, Chinese gamers frequently visit the arcades to play action games, particularly fighting games, and occasionally unlicensed arcade ports of popular PC or mobile games such as Angry Birds or Plants vs. Zombies. The arcades and internet cafes operate in a similar manner in China.[16]

Censorship

As with almost all mass media in the country, video games in China are subject to the policies of censorship in China. Content in video games is overseen by the State Administration of Radio and Television (SART); publishers are to obtain a license for the game in China from SART before publishing, which may be denied if the game contains elements deemed inappropriate. The process to submit games for a license and put them on sale following that is overseen by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.[17]

In March 2018, the organization structural of SART was changed, created a period of several months where no new game licenses were given out. Further, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism had made the process of getting these licenses more stringent.[17] This period has significantly impacted Tencent, one of the largest publishers of video games for China. In August 2018, Tencent was forced to pull sale their version of Monster Hunter World from China as they had not gotten their license for it and the government received complaints about its content. Tencent were also blocked on publishing personal computer versions of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Fortnite Battle Royale. The license freezes was reported to have significant effects on those game publishers and developers that rely on Chinese sales.[17] In late August 2018, the Chinese Ministry of Education called on the Chinese government and SART to also address the growing issue of myopia in children which was attributed to long hours of gaming on small screens like with mobile devices. the Ministry of Education had asked SART to consider placing restrictions on the number of hours each young player can play a game. On news of this, Tencent shares lost 5% of their value, an estimated US$20 billion on the stock market the next day.[18][19]

Video game bans

Game consoles were first banned in 2000 due to fears that the devices — and the worlds produced by them — had a negative effect on the mental and physical development of children.[20] In 2015, China eased those restrictions by allowing game consoles to be manufactured in the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone and sold in the rest of China subject to cultural inspections.[20] In July 2015, the ban on video game consoles within the country was lifted. According to a statement from the country's Ministry of Culture, companies like Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft — among others — will now be allowed to manufacture and sell video game consoles anywhere in the country.[21]

The State General Administration of Press and Publication and anti-porn and illegal publication offices have also played a role in screening games.[22]

Examples of banned games have included:

In addition to banning games completely, several games have had their content screened to remove certain imagery deemed offensive or unfavorable. Common examples include skeletons or skulls being either fleshed out or removed entirely. Cases of which can be seen in Chinese versions of popular video games such as DOTA 2 and World of Warcraft.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "USA & China Battle for#1 Top Games Market". Games Sector Report 2015. Casual Games Association. 2015-02-04.
  2. ↑ "The Global Games Market Reaches $99.6 Billion in 2016, Mobile Generating 37%". newzoo.com. April 21, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  3. ↑ Usher, William (2012-03-11). "PC Game Sales Top $18.6 Billion In 2011". Gaming Blend. Cinema Blend. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Yan, Sophia (July 27, 2015). "China eliminates all restrictions on gaming consoles". CNN. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  5. ↑ "China's eSports Industry Revenue Reached $7B Last Year". China Money Network. 25 April 2017.
  6. ↑ "China Stands Ready to Lead eSports Globally - CKGSB Knowledge". knowledge.ckgsb.edu.cn.
  7. ↑ "China Just Became the Games Industry Capital of the World". Bloomberg.com. 1 June 2017.
  8. ↑ Custer, Charlie (24 January 2010). "Chinese Video Games in America". ChinaGeeks. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Subscribe to read". Financial Times.
  10. ↑ Times, Global. "China becomes gaming goliath - Global Times". www.globaltimes.cn.
  11. ↑ Kohler, Chris (December 24, 2009). "14. Happy Farm (2008)". The 15 Most Influential Games of the Decade. Wired. p. 2. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  12. ↑ "China's growing addiction: online farming games |". Techgearx.com. 2009-10-29. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
  13. ↑ Elliott Ng (2009-10-29). "China's growing addiction: online farming games". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
  14. ↑ Kohler, Chris (May 19, 2010). "Farm Wars: How Facebook Games Harvest Big Bucks". Wired. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  15. ↑ "Facebook》到開心農場歡呼收割". China Times. 2009-09-01. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2011. (Translation)
  16. ↑ Jou, Eric (March 19, 2012). "The Wonderful and Seedy World of Chinese Arcades". Kotaku. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  17. 1 2 3 "China Freezes Game Approvals Amid Agency Shakeup". Bloomberg L.P. August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  18. ↑ "China targets video gaming to tackle myopia in children". BBC. August 31, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  19. ↑ Kerr, Chris (September 10, 2018). "China's video game licensing freeze could last another six months". Gamasutra. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  20. 1 2 Carsten, Paul (Jan 2017), "China suspends ban on video game consoles after more than a decade", www.reuters.com
  21. ↑ Yan, Sophia (27 Jul 2015), "China eliminates all restrictions on gaming consoles", money.cnn.com
  22. ↑ "50 illegal electronic games banned". Xinhua. 2006-01-26.
  23. 1 2 "Swedish video game banned for harming China's sovereignty". Xinhua. 2004-05-29.
  24. ↑ "Computer game cracked down on for discrediting China's image". Xinhua. 2004-03-19.
  25. ↑ "Battlefield 4 Now Banned in China". Tom's Hardware. 2013-12-27.
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