China limits gaming time for under-18s to few hours
Print Edition
China has forbidden under-18s from playing video games for more than three hours a week to prevent minors from becoming addicted to online games.
The restrictions published yesterday by the National Press and Publication Administration apply to any devices including smartphones. They limit under-18s to playing for one hour a day — 8pm to 9pm — on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. They can also play for an hour, at the same time, on public holidays.
“Teenagers are the future of our motherland,” Xinhua news agency quoted an unnamed NPPA spokesperson as saying. “Protecting the physical and mental health of minors is related to the people’s vital interests, and relates to the cultivation of the younger generation in the era of national rejuvenation.”
Gaming companies will be barred from providing services to minors in any form outside the stipulated hours and must ensure they have put real-name verification systems in place, said the regulator, which oversees the country’s video games market.
Previously, China limited the length of time under-18s could play video games to 1.5 hours on any day and three hours on holidays under 2019 rules.
The new rules swiftly became one of the most-discussed topics on Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter. Some users expressed support for the measures while others said they were surprised at how drastic the rules were.
“This is so fierce that I’m utterly speechless,” said one comment that received over 700 likes.
Others expressed doubt that the restrictions could be enforced. “They will just use their parents' logins, how can they control it?” asked one.
The Chinese games market is expected to generate an estimated US$45.6 billion in revenue in 2021, ahead of the United States, according to analytics firm Newzoo.
The news reverberated around the world.
Shares in Amsterdam-listed tech investment company Prosus, which holds a 29 percent stake in Chinese social media and video games group Tencent, were down 1.45 percent, while European online video gaming stocks Ubisoft and Embracer Group both fell over 2 percent respectively.
Shares of Chinese gaming stocks slid in pre-market trading in the United States with NetEase falling over 6 percent and mobile game publisher Bilibili dropping 3 percent.
Tencent said yesterday it will “strictly abide by and actively implement the regulations.”
About 62.5 percent of Chinese minors often play games online, and 13.2 percent of underage mobile game users play mobile games for more than two hours a day on working days, according to state media.
Gaming companies have been on edge in recent weeks as state media criticized gaming addiction among young people.
A state media outlet described online games as “spiritual opium” this month and cited Tencent’s “Honor of Kings” in an article that called for more curbs on the industry.
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