In 2013 it was announced that China would, very slowly, lift its ban on video game consoles. Implemented in early 2014, the process was exceptionally stringent, limiting manufacturing and distribution to the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.
Though stock prices of major game companies had a bump when the ban 'ended', the tough and highly limiting conditions have meant few fireworks following the release of the PS4 and Xbox One. Beyond the logistical challenges of manufacturing and distributing within a small zone, China's tough censorship laws also make a lot of mature-rated retail releases unsuitable for approval. Nintendo stated that rather than simply release Wii U it would look into different hardware for emerging markets, but a long period of silence was followed by reports that the big N had dropped the idea for the time being.
Now, however, it's emerged (via Wall Street Journal) that China is to lift the limitations on manufacturing and selling home consoles in the country. Though censorship will still be an issue with content, actually producing and distributing systems in the economic powerhouse should now be far easier.
It's worth acknowledging that it won't be easy for console manufacturers to break into the Chinese market with success. Censorship issues aside, gaming in the country is predominantly on PC, smart devices and on cloned systems, so persuading gamers to switch over will take time; as mentioned above, there's been limited fanfare for PS4 and Xbox One in China.
Will these rule changes prompt Nintendo to reconsider releasing hardware in the country? Possibly, as it should certainly be logistically simpler to produce a product and sell it with the restrictions lifted, while plenty of Nintendo games are unlikely to fall foul of the Chinese authorities. Of course, it's still not a simple process, and Nintendo will no doubt need to assess its priorities and all of the pros and cons of moving into that market. The big N does have some experience of releasing products in China, it's worth noting, as it collaborated on the iQue Player in 2003, which was a TV plug-and-play Nintendo 64-based system.
We can expect more talk of the money to be made from going big in the Chinese gaming market. Whether Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft can succeed is certainly up for debate.
[source wsj.com, via gamespot.com]
Comments 26
Nintendo should take this opportunity and release their systems under their name in China (not iQue). A huge potential market there.
I think Nintendo should skip the Wii U and just debut there with the NX.
Nintendo will do what ever is best for them i guess .
Because of censorship, wouldn't Nintendo have a greater chance of success over there than most developers?
I've said it numerous times before. If you wanted to buy a game console in China, you could.
@Inkling not really, not that many people know who Nintendo is compared to iQue which is an established brand, and China is far from the market that the USA or Europe are. Many people are too poor for this kind of thing, oh and piracy/fake products are everywhere, like EVERYWHERE. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0bNf-jcVU0
@Discostew You mean because of the general family friendly nature of Nintendo? I would think that too although I have read stories about weird things the Chinese government censors have objected to.
7 points of differentiation later and China's most popular console is the (totally legal) Mimtandu Zee You.
I don't have high hopes at all for the Chinese market. I doubt anyone will leave a mark there aside from maybe the already established Nintendo brands
I know next to nothing about Chinese consumerism other than incomes can be a huge barrier for many and that major centers in the country have been exploited for many years by unchecked manufacturing and labor practices and much in tandem with exploitative and damaging mining practices there and in other parts of the globe, which I might guess would create differences between China's and the west's consumer culture
It's a risky market. It's possible to make money there, but it'll be very challenging.
They should consider it. Most of their games should have an easier time getting through censorship. The lack of mature rated games should help Nintendo in this case.
Nintendo already said they were giving up on China.
@Mario90125 wow, a whole wiki with 256 pages focusing just on bootleg games, never mind consoles and other things. and they have a whole page with a list of famicon clones not to mention the other 'known' clones that are rampant everywhere.
They should re-release the Wii in China. Wii was vastly more successful than Wii-U. Citizens there are too poor to afford the latest $400 consoles from MS and Sony. Market the Wii mini bundle for $79 USD equivalent and people will buy it in droves. When the NX comes out, they will already have market share and be in a position to dominate.
@StarDust4Ever You mean, like this? http://bootleggames.wikia.com/wiki/Wii_clones
While I think Nintendo should consider it, I'm not really sure if it would work out well.
@Monado_III I actually saw one of those at CVS once for $19.99. I felt bad for the kid who got that POS under their tree.
Can't wait till the Zee Q to hit the market.
@ccanfield1 ive seen this point a few times and felt the meed to chime in. "Mature" content obviously has some place in the censorship but its not really the main goal. The chinese government isnt worried about porn and blood its worried about ideas. What kind of messages are being conveyed. Thats whay they watch out for - some of the "weird examples" for example are messages being blocked, not graphical content.
As I understand it, China is a mess with its lack of copyright laws. This will always cause issues there. Think about how Napster changed the music industry. Cloned systems and software would steal a lot of profits from big N.
I read an article recently in Epoch Times about China recently introducing legislation to further increase the state's ability to control their workforce and censorship laws (including internet use, and probably gaming in some fashion, if not only by proxy). The legislation is also threatening to contract the tech market, since it requires foreign companies to hand over an unreasonable amount of sensitive information to operate in China. That country's system of laws is worse than a bad drug trip, it's bad times all around. Democracy is dead there, and with it, so goes expressions of free speech. (Including many games).
I don't blame Japanese companies for not wanting to touch the area with a 1000 km pole. It's really warped how bad the working conditions are there. Most of the people who make those game consoles can't even afford to buy them, nor are they provided the time to use such things. Just thinking about it makes me ill. We desperately need to reverse the industrialized world's tendency to cut their own countries' workforces to take advantage of the (cheap) labor in China.
Nintendo's priority should be to avoid releasing hardware that is easy to hack. I expect they're working with DeNa on some sort of subscription business model for China (and maybe the rest of us too!)
Well, can't say there won't be money made if Nintendo does decide to go ahead with this. If anything, I think Nintendo would have a better chance over there then Sony or Microsoft due to the general lack of mature-rated games. I can't say for sure what the Chinese market is like or what would sell over there, but I'd love to see what Nintendo's move would be. Even if it has nothing to do with us.
Added legislation means that foreign products names have to be changed to start with 'ch' for example Chintendo Chii CHU, Ch-Box Chone, Chinstation Chour.
Great just what I needed to see. A group of kids who have no real toys to play with so they go to this store which is attempting to sell portable N64 units to them.
Chinese kids do not need such things. I prefer all the NES games coming from China. Without this "Bann" we would have never gotten to see FFVII NES version with save, or any other wonderful ports.
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