China has been gradually opening its doors to video game consoles over the last year or two, having already lifted the blanket ban on such devices, but companies are still limited by the fact that they can only manufacture and operate these devices within the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. According to reports, however, China may soon be removing this restriction, thus opening all of China to 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.
