China Lifts Ban on Video Game Consoles

China has finally lifted a 14-year-old ban on video game consoles, which is great news for Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony. They banned video game consoles in 2000 because they thought video games caused adverse effects on the mental health of young adults and children.

There have been many studies done in China that make video games look bad, but why ban gaming consoles when your people are playing PC and mobile games still? They missed out on a lot of revenue over the years, especially when you consider the fact that China is the third largest video game market in terms of revenue.

Currently, Chinese gamers are playing a lot of online games, mainly free-to-play games with paid upgrades. How will Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo react to this kind of market, a market where gamers aren't used to paying for games? $500 for a gaming console sounds insane to many gamers in China. Here is a quote from a 23-year-old student at Beiking's Renmin University, someone who has been playing video games for more than 10 years.

"To purchase a game at 200 or 300 yuan ($33 or $50) is unbearable or unthinkable for a normal player like me"

One must also consider the fact that gamers in China make less than 4,000 yuan a month, which is about $634. So, a $500 gaming console is out of the question for these people, as there's no way they can spend that much on a console when there's a large market of free-to-play games out there.

How will Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony react to China lifting the ban on video game consoles? Make new, more affordable consoles just for China? Which company's going to adapt to the China market first? Right now it is hard to say what will happen, but it's hard to believe these three companies would just avoid such a large market of gamers...