China lifts ban on gaming consoles

Capitalism scored a win. Chinese gamers scored a bigger win.

China has officially approved plans to lift a 13-year ban on the sales of video game consoles in the country, heralding in a huge market for game console developers such as Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft.

The move to lift the ban is part of the plans that the State Council has approved for the free-trade zone located in the Chinese city of Shanghai. The game console ban was introduced in the year 2000 due to concerns about the content of international games, and the possible effect that violent titles could have on young children.