Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
China Lifts Video Game Console Ban
China's ban on video game consoles is lifting, meaning Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo will be able to bring their hardware to China.
Approximately 15 years ago, China banned the sale of video game consoles, citing a negative affect on children who played video games. As a result, Chinese fans of PC video games were not affected by the ban.
Rumblings of China's intentions to lift the ban began as early as 2013, and in January 2014, the ban was temporarily lifted allowing consoles manufacturers the opportunity to sell consoles, but only with government approval. Early this morning, however, The Wall Street Journal reported that the ban has been completely lifted according to a statement from the country's Ministry of Culture.
[Source: Wall Street Journal, via The Verge, Polygon]
Our Take
This is good news for Chinese video game fans, as well as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, who can now bring their consoles to a new, huge market. The country has been playing PC games exclusively for more than a decade, though, so it might not be eager or interested in changing that. I'm curious to see how Chinese players react to the news and whether they will embrace video game consoles.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
