Young Chinese gamers have condemned the government’s new regulations that limit access to video games.
As reported by Al Jazeera, posting on China’s social media platform, Weibo, young gamers are hitting back at the government for recent regulations prohibiting minors from playing video games between Monday and Thursday.
China announced the new regulations earlier this week that limit under 18s online game access to three hours a week.
The new rules permit a maximum of one hour per day from Friday to Sunday between the hours of 20:00 to 21:00.
Regulations to curb "video game addiction" have continued to ramp up over the past few years, limiting the access young players have to games, including a digital lock and a facial recognition system to monitor minor’s time spent on games.
Sexual consent at 14, at 16 you can go out to work but you have to be 18 to play games. This is really a joke.
Grandfathers and uncles
Concerns arose that the new regulations will harm the country’s esports sector as young players will not have sufficient practice time.
China was expected to be the largest market for esports this year and was projected to generate over $360 million.
"This group of grandfathers and uncles who make these rules and regulations, have you ever played games? Do you understand that the best age for e-sports players is in their teens?," said one user via Weibo.
"Sexual consent at 14, at 16 you can go out to work but you have to be 18 to play games. This is really a joke."
We spoke with industry pros to get their take on the new regulations in China and what that will mean for the gaming industry as a whole.
