China bans children from playing online video games during the week

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Starting this week, minors will only be able to play one hour of play between 8pm and 9pm on Fridays, weekends and public holidays, according to a statement from the Chinese Media Watchdog (NPPA). which was published by the state news agency Xinhua on Monday.

The move is a huge tightening of the previous limits set by the agency in 2019, which had restricted the game to 90 minutes on weekdays and three hours on weekends. for children. Authorities said restrictions were in place to prevent young people from becoming addicted to video games.

The NPPA noted this week that the rules were being published “at the beginning of the new [school] biannual, establishing specific requirements to prevent addiction to online games and protect the healthy growth of minors. “

Investors reacted quickly. NetEase (DETECTOR) fell 3.4% during normal business hours in New York on Monday. Tencent (TCEHY) it suffered roughly the same drop in Hong Kong on Tuesday before rising 1.6% again.

Increasing repression

In recent months, China has embarked on a significant reduction in private enterprise, which has involved some of the country’s top players. Initially, it seemed that the main goal of regulators was the booming technology sector, but lately it has expanded to reach other industries, such as private education.

Citi analyst Alicia Yap said she expected the impact of the last limits on gaming companies to be “minimal,” with less than a “low digit” in China’s revenue for both Tencent and NetEase. .

“That said, we believe this will represent yet another setback for the industry and potentially send another wave of negative sentiment to the market and lower overall investor expectations about the future growth of the gaming industry,” he wrote in a note to customers on Tuesday.

People playing online games a day before the China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference at the Shanghai New International Expo Center on August 1, 2019.

At a press conference Monday, an NPPA spokesman he said the new strict curbs responded to parents ’complaints.

“Many parents said that adolescents’ addiction to online games severely affected their studies and physical and mental health, causing a number of social problems, which made many parents suffer, ”the representative said. identified, according to a Xinhua report.
In recent years, the Chinese government has implemented a registration system that required people who played computer games to do so with their real names, which allowed companies to consult them.

This week, he reiterated this policy, and the NPPA noted that “online gaming companies will not provide gaming services in any way … to users who have not registered or logged in with their real names.” .

Tencent profits jump close to 30% as China continues with historic technological crackdown

In a statement Tuesday, Tencent said it has been working on “several new technologies and features for child protection” since 2017.

“This will continue, as Tencent strictly complies and actively implements the latest requirements of the Chinese authorities,” the company added.

Tencent has previously pointed out that the amount of revenue it gets from minors playing games is relatively small. In his most recent earnings presentation, he said players under the age of 16 only accounted for 2.6% of their gross gaming revenue in China.

Martin Lau, president of the company, also said at the time that “there will be many new regulations to come, but we are confident that we can comply.”

The Chinese tech giant had already made headlines earlier this month to announce limits on how much time minors could spend on the company’s online games, such as the popular “Honor of Kings” title.

According to these rules, minors could play the game only two hours on holidays and one hour on other days.

Tencent reduces screen time after Chinese state media said the game is over

The statement came after a Xinhua-owned newspaper published a comprehensive analysis that used terms such as “spiritual opium” and “electronic drug” to describe the harmful effects of gambling on children.

NetEase did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The new rules sparked outcry on Chinese social media, where many users complained that they were too strict.

“This policy presupposes that the games are bad,” one user wrote on Weibo, the Chinese Twitter-like platform.
Some also pointed out the drawbacks of imposing a general ban, suggesting that there would be rules that apply to “different types of games and different minors”.
“They are [the ages of] 7 and 17 the same? “Another Weibo user asked.

Others worried that it would eventually fall behind the country in the world of competitive gaming.

“At the time, China has no future for e-sports. It is impossible for teenagers to train,” a third Weibo user wrote. “Children in other countries [will] to win the world championship at 17, while we start playing the game at 18 “.

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