Compelling website registration and cracking down on porn surfers at Internet cafes was apparently the tip of the iceberg for the Chinese government—they're ramping up censorship of online gaming, the better to squeeze out porn, gambling, and violence in addition to threats to state security
That was the news from the state news agency Xinhua May 30, which said that, with about 13.8 million Chinese estimated to have a taste for online gaming, the phenomenon may be interfering heavily with Chinese students’ studies.
The government is said to want new online gaming standards requiring developers to amend games that "can cause addiction," with groups of "quality games" recommended in their place, Xinhua said, although the report didn’t offer details or suggestions.
Thes crackdown began in April and will reportedly be in place through September. But porn, gambling, and violence aren't the only targets. Among the games banned are the British computer sports game, Soccer Manager 2005, because it classifies Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Tibet as countries, a classification China rejects because it claims them as China's own territories.
Chinese online game players are believed to have spent about $240 million on their gaming in 2004, with foreign companies and South Korean game-makers in particular dominating the market to the tune of 70 percent of online game sales in China, Xinhua said.
