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After years of blockading foreign video games to it's soil, China has finally allowed Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft and other companies to sell their games and consoles on their soil. Though it's not as good as it sounds as China has outline some pretty restrictive guidelines that block over 80% of most games on the market. This list is gathered from some sites that have translated the Chinese document but the original document webpage appears to be malicious according to my malware program so it won't be linked to.
All games will have to be approved by the “culture department in chargeâ€. - Think of this as their ESRB.
The approval process for games will take no longer than 20 days. - Not bad as gamers should be getting their games quickly.
Game updates must also be submitted for the approval process. - DLC is reviewed as well. No idea if this includes patches.
Console games must have a simplified Chinese version. - This means that companies can’t simply re-sell Hong Kong and Taiwan versions, which use traditional Chinese characters.
Games that are not approved will be returned with the reason for their rejection clearly stated. That certainly suggests that rejected games may be easy to fix and resubmit. Content that won’t be allowed in games includes:
That list really does kill most games, no GTA for you China. Though with this heavy restriction I don't see compnies doing well in China and will be hard to take them away from their PC addicting games.
All games will have to be approved by the “culture department in chargeâ€. - Think of this as their ESRB.
The approval process for games will take no longer than 20 days. - Not bad as gamers should be getting their games quickly.
Game updates must also be submitted for the approval process. - DLC is reviewed as well. No idea if this includes patches.
Console games must have a simplified Chinese version. - This means that companies can’t simply re-sell Hong Kong and Taiwan versions, which use traditional Chinese characters.
Games that are not approved will be returned with the reason for their rejection clearly stated. That certainly suggests that rejected games may be easy to fix and resubmit. Content that won’t be allowed in games includes:
- Gambling-related content or game features
- Anything that violates China’s constitution
- Anything that threatens China’s national unity, sovereignty, or territorial integrity.
- Anything that harms the nation’s reputation, security, or interests.
- Anything that instigates racial/ethnic hatred, or harms ethnic traditions and cultures.
- Anything that violates China’s policy on religion by promoting cults or superstitions.
- Anything that promotes or incites obscenity, drug use, violence, or gambling.
- Anything that harms public ethics or China’s culture and traditions.
- Anything that insults, slanders, or violates the rights of others.
- Other content that violates the law
That list really does kill most games, no GTA for you China. Though with this heavy restriction I don't see compnies doing well in China and will be hard to take them away from their PC addicting games.
