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Why the impact of China’s 15-year console ban still lingers today
China banned console gaming from 2000 to 2015, ostensibly over fears of the negative impact gaming might have on children. While handhelds and plug’n’play devices were still sold, PCs became the biggest gaming platform in China.
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This article originally appeared on ABACUS
China is the world's biggest gaming market. But between 2000 and 2015, most game consoles weren't officially available for purchase in the country. The reason? A government ban.
It hasn't always been this way. After China opened its market to the world in 1978, home consoles found their way in. They were very expensive for the average Chinese consumer though -- and consequently, homegrown knockoffs started to populate the market. The most famous one was a clone of the Nintendo Famicom (the Japanese version of the NES) called the Subor Video Game System. It introduced Chinese gamers to early Nintendo games... many of which were also pirated.
Then 2000 arrived. It started with a parental outcry over children becoming addicted to video games. Soon, the government banned foreign home consoles from being made and sold in the country.
Did it stop people from gaming? Not quite.
Some played smuggled games on smuggled devices, brought in illegally by shops from places like Hong Kong and Japan. But many more turned to PC games instead.
PC gaming took over the majority of the market. The following year, it grew to a US$100 million industry.
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