News

China Bans Foreign Investment In Online Gaming

9:00PM October 14, 2009 | Brian Ashcraft

The General Administration of Press and Publication, China’s video game industry regulator, is now prohibiting foreign investment in domestic online gaming, reports Reuters. This comes as China’s online gamine sales are expected to increase 30 – 50 percent in 2009.

This new decision also prevents foreign companies from indirectly influencing Chinese gaming companies through tech support or agreements.

Earlier this year, Chinese game dev NetEase.com was awarded the licence to operate World of Warcraft within China. The country’s regulators have had concerns about the the joint venture in which NetEase is supported by Blizzard’s tech support.

China bans foreign investment in online games industry [Reuters via Joystiq][Pic]

Comments

  • Mr Waffle

    October 14, 2009 at 9:54 PM

    But it’s perfectly acceptable for Chinese gold sellers to clog up OUR online games, obviously.

  • DarkMatter

    October 14, 2009 at 9:57 PM

    And i thought Australia had it bad lol i feed sorry for these guys

  • Anthony Bentley

    October 14, 2009 at 10:01 PM

    I know they cover this to make it enrage people and make people shake there fists at, “those commie bastards”, but we do it worse to them, for industries that matter more. Doing everything we can to make it hard for them to invest in and control small portions of industries they have an interest in and need for. All I am seeing here is China protecting there interests and not letting westerners exploit yet another market without restraint, am I wrong?

  • Vladimir Svoboda

    October 14, 2009 at 11:40 PM

    The difference is that almost all of China’s foreign investment is either made by or on behalf of the Chinese government. This obviously creates issues when the Chinese try to buy into areas of national security such as aerospace and media and areas of resource security such as mining interests.

    The most likely reason for this move is that some people with large stakes in the online gaming business in China also happen to be party members.

  • pengu

    October 14, 2009 at 11:47 PM

    Is it just me or is that girl’s head REALLY huge?

    • GrizzlyBum

      October 15, 2009 at 7:04 AM

      Haha, you tripped me out there for a sec, but after closer inspection what looks like her left leg is just a cloth shinguard and what looks like her left thigh is her left forearm :)

  • Fracture

    October 15, 2009 at 11:47 AM

    damn my funds in fap ooh fap yoo fap oooh 2 are GOOONEEEE

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