China may be removing the biggest roadblock for video game consoles

China will permit the manufacture and sale of game consoles nationwide, after a trial program in Shanghai’s free-trade zone ended a 14-year ban last January. Local governments must draft detailed rules to allow the business and submit them to Ministry of Commerce by Saturday, according to a statement from the State Council posted on the central government’s website Thursday. The cabinet also let policies for some customs procedures and foreign-exchange settlement be adopted outside of the zone, according to the document, which was dated Dec. 21. Foreign game console makers such as Microsoft Corp., Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co., stand to benefit from increased access to what PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP estimated was a $10 billion video game industry in the world’s second-largest economy. Microsoft and Sony both formed ventures in the free-trade zone to make consoles.