DailyTech - How the Video Game Industry is Evolving in China

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Software How the Video Game Industry is Evolving in China
Michael Hoffman (Blog) - April 10, 2006 10:40 AM

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19 comment(s) - last by mmojunkie.. on Apr 11 at 1:01 PM

Is this move by the Chinese government good or bad?

Although the Chinese government has been careful to let gamers in the country have access to certain content, it has also decided it wants to cash in. According to the BBC, China will invest almost $2 billion to help develop the game industry in China. Along with getting ready to support companies to develop games, the government is also waging a war on Internet and, more specifically, gaming addiction. Internet cafes in the country are becoming increasingly popular, but with sometimes severe consequences. When the health of a citizen is potentially in danger, the Chinese government has reacted -- issuing directives to try and limit how much time hardcore gamers are able to play. The BBC reports:

Under the new system, your online character becomes less and less effective. After three hours, the number of in-game "experience points" for, say, killing an opponent are reduced by half.

It is apparent that no matter how a company, interest group or government plans to limit the amount of time someone can spend playing a video game, it is most likely not going to work. However, just attempting to get something done is a step in the right direction to help save gamers from dying -- or, will just cause problems for people simply wanting to play video games.

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By tuteja1986 on 4/10/2006 10:53:11 AM , Rating: 2

Well China ain't enforcing this on Adults ...only people under 18. So Kids don't jig school and go to internet Cafe to play CS or what ever game they play. China isn’t enforcing stupid laws like some states and senator in US are trying to do.

RE: MM

By masher2

(blog) on 4/10/2006 11:05:19 AM , Rating: 3

> "Well China ain't enforcing this on Adults..."

From Pravda:

quote:
"The Chinese government confirmed this weekend that it has closed 1,600 internet cafes...since March, when it began its crackdown on violent or pornographic content, and other material it considers harmful to public morality...."

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RE: MM

By noxipoo on 4/10/2006 12:24:01 PM , Rating: 3

quoting Pravda is like quoting the onion. half of their stories are about aliens and crap. plus that story is the government there shutting down porn cafes, this is about games.

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RE: MM

By masher2

(blog) on 4/10/2006 12:51:09 PM , Rating: 2

> "quoting Pravda is like quoting the onion..."

Grossly exaggerated...and irrelevant in any case, as this story was widely reported in other media.

> "that story is the government there shutting down porn cafes.."

No, its about the government shutting down Internet cafes, where people play inappropriate games, view porn, and other acts the Chinese Government frowns upon.

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RE: MM

By InternetGeek on 4/10/2006 2:30:16 PM , Rating: 1

It's not only in China where Internet Cafes won't allow minors to watch pornography. Which is fine by me but if an adult pays for internet, as long as he manages to keep his browsing private he should be allowed to see whatever he wants.

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RE: MM

By SoylentG on 4/10/2006 11:28:14 AM , Rating: 2

Which states in the US are trying to do that? The only thing I've seen that's had any REMOTE possibility of going through is restricting sale of violent video games to MINORS.

Perhaps I misread your vagueness.

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RE: MM

By NarcoticHobo on 4/11/2006 12:22:26 AM , Rating: 2

Actually this is enforced on everyone, people under 18 aren't even allowed to use the internet cafe's.

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How is this a good thing, exactly?

By haelduksf on 4/10/2006 2:52:14 PM , Rating: 2

I beg to differ. I know better than the government when I have had enough. This isn't a "step in the right direction", this is another attack on gamers by government.

RE: How is this a good thing, exactly?

By zeroslugfm on 4/10/2006 10:52:02 PM , Rating: 2

kinda hope common sense would kick in sooner or later...

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RE: How is this a good thing, exactly?

By dilz on 4/11/2006 12:20:17 PM , Rating: 2

Maybe government isn't the best agent of change, but I had my own idea for an online game:

The server synches with local time, and starts a countdown timer. Let's say, three hours. During that time, there are specific things that are available for you to do, but after the three hours are up, you are left with mundane options like character management, buying and selling... Until 24 hours have passed.

This would introduce a "turn-based" atmosphere, and would certainly lead to spikes in its levels of usage, but it would also slow things down for the developers, and keep the game fresher, longer.

WoW's hearthstone feature is certainly a "step in the right direction" as far as suggestive limitations on playtime are concerned.

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RE: How is this a good thing, exactly?

By mmojunkie on 4/11/2006 1:01:21 PM , Rating: 2

I have a lot to say on this topic so I apologize for the length of this post.

I agree with government control of some problem public addictions, but online games aren't one of them. With the question of should the government control our addictions that hurt us, it's all about the scale, and scope of a problem imo.

I wonder how much actual exposure some of you have had with the negative affects of addiction or MMO-addiction in particular. I'm an ex-three-year EQ addict, current WoW addict I've been gaming since Atari. I have no problems with gaming from 6pm-1am M-F, then all weekend as well. I've had my life derailed by Everquest and I've also been in love with a drug addict who ended up dying of a overdose. I know a thing or two about addictions, how hard they are to "quit" and their potentially negative affects.

Government control makes sense with drugs like cocaine alcohol and heroin. Some more than others. They are powerful, physically addictive, expensive and have undeniably bad physical and mental long-term affects. No matter what else is going on in your life they can force you to feel really good for short time which is hard to deny once you're into it. Not to mention you are forced to interact with a frequently unscrupulous criminal element to obtain illegal drugs on a regular basis. That situation only becomes worse if it happens that you can't afford your habit. This often encourages people (especially kids with no income) to perform other criminal acts and further degrade their lives such as theft or prostition to obtain them.

An MMO-addiction isn't going to hurt you as bad, or as quickly. Over months and years, people will damage their social lives (I certainly ruined mine playing 80+ hours a week for years while working 40), relationships and careers through MMO-addiction. A very few that are too dumb to actually stop to eat/drink/sleep might actually end up dying (darwin awards to these people). None of this is good, but your 15 year old daughter isn't going to end up having sex with some shady guy twice her age that doesn't give a damn about her just to her MMO-fix beacuse she can't afford the 15$/mo fee. Neither is someone going to damage their liver, kidneys, suffer a stroke, heart attack or brain damage because they accidentally played a little too much Warcraft one night.

I'm just trying to put things in perspective.

At this stage government programs that might be valid would be thigns like increasing awareness of the "problem". I say might because any government program such as that is bound to not really know what they're talking about and screw up the message and be a massive waste of money anyway. It would most likely only increase the already ignorant and negative perception of gamers many people have.

As a side note, it's my feeling as an aspiring game developer myself that the game developers themselves should acknowledge the situation, take some responsibility offer more voluntary controls than they do. This would help people that actually want to spend less time playing the game but find themselves powerless to cut back (a higher percentage than you might guess). Such as giving people the option to limit their accounts by choice (or parents by force) to a certain number of hours per week. Or perhaps limiting certain servers to X hours per week. Limiting hours per session is a horrible idea and completely ruins the MMO experience. No MMO-gamer will want to play with that situation unless they absolutely have to. Hours per week however is something gamers could work better with.

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Government-funded gaming?

By killerroach on 4/10/2006 12:22:32 PM , Rating: 2

$2 billion to develop the game industry in China? Wow, don't they have better things to spend tax dollars on? Granted, for socialist/communist states, this doesn't seem like much of a stretch. I mean, after all, look what the French government is doing to protect game developers and publishers in its country...

RE: Government-funded gaming?

By noxipoo on 4/10/2006 12:25:14 PM , Rating: 2

they aren't just giving devs the money, they cash in after the games makes money. why invest in poor with no return when you can invest in companies that will make you money.

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RE: Government-funded gaming?

By killerroach on 4/10/2006 1:48:42 PM , Rating: 2

I'm aware of that (after all, the French government is a leading shareholder in Ubisoft and other French game developers), but it's a huge outlay until they start getting their money back. And for what?

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How Ironic

By Scorpion on 4/10/2006 2:00:43 PM , Rating: 2

I'm actually intrigued by the Irony of the situation and the outcome. Here we have a state controlled government that oppresses it's people and limits their freedoms. They are working on developing games that try to fight gaming addiction. This could actually greatly benefit the rest of the world. Gaming addiction is apparent everywhere now, just look at all of the college dropouts that can't get their work done because of it. Games that intentionally try to limit a persons playing time while still providing entertainment could greatly help some people, especially kids who's parents do not monitor their computer/gaming system usages.

And all it took was a repressive regime to do it, because we all know that NO american company would spend the money to research games that would actually try to limit how much you play. ;)

RE: How Ironic

By exdeath on 4/10/2006 2:10:42 PM , Rating: 2

For me it only took comparing real world loot with Everquest loot.

The hours spent in EQ could be spent to be ub3r 733t with a flaming mace of virtual bytes or working or going to school and getting real loot like a shiny new Cobra or a 106" HDTV or SLI PC, etc, etc, etc.

I wonder how many people on EQ still think their flaming sword of 733tn355 pwns me lol.

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Did i read that right?

By PLaYaHaTeD on 4/10/2006 11:45:01 AM , Rating: 2

quote:
...just attempting to get something done is a step in the right direction

Are you implying that a government agency should be allowed to limit the amount of video games a citizen can play? I hope that I misunderstood this comment.

I seriously doubt they are that noble

By PandaBear on 4/10/2006 2:37:09 PM , Rating: 2

Last time I heard they limit the local TV's cartoon broadcast, to 20% maximum foreign cartoon. They do this to protect the local grown cartoon industry.

I think they are just doing the same in the video game industry. If you try to grow it natually, it will never be able to compete with Japan.

Why not?

By NarcoticHobo on 4/11/2006 12:31:47 AM , Rating: 2

The U.S. Government also invests in our own goods to help particular sections of the economy, so i see nothing wrong with the 2 billion.

Also I think the limiting of exp for multiple hours online is a great idea. People have died in China from exhuastion and overall the gaming situation is horrible. Go sit in a chinese internet cafe, you will see people there for literally days straight, they only move to go to the bathroom. The internet cafe's even sell meals to their patrons (usually some form of fried rice or noodles). It is not a healthy environment, and I honestly can't see what is any worse about this law than say the seatbelt laws we have in the US.