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China officially ends ban on foreign consoles

In news that may have executives at the big three gaming console platform holders rubbing their hands in unbridled glee, China has officially ended a 15-year ban on the sale of consoles.

This means that Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo can now sell their consoles anywhere in the country.

The Chinese government initially imposed restrictions on the sale of foreign consoles over fears that console gaming could have a negative effect over the physical and mental development of children.

According to a report on The Verge, China relaxed the ban – originally imposed in 2000 – allowing console manufacturers to operate in an 11-square-mile zone in Shanghai called the free trade zone. This relaxation of sale restrictions, incidentally, still made selling consoles something of a headache due to the fact that each unit needed to be inspected individually and platform holders needed to secure approval from regulators ahead of sales.

These restrictions have now been removed entirely, opening up the Chinese market to gaming console manufacturers, which, according to The Wall Street Journal is estimated to be worth in the region of $22.2 billion a year – up from 23 per cent last year. That could buy you a lot of underarm deodorant.

Now all Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony need to do is convince a gaming audience who have been using PCs and smart devices as their preferred platform for the last 15 years to switch over to a WiiU, an Xbox One and a PS4.

 

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