China

China headlines

• Valve gets closer to officially launching Steam in China

  Valve, and Chinese publisher Perfect World have signed an agreement with the Shanghai government in preparation for Steam’s official launch in China.

• Monster Hunter World pulled from China over regulation complaints

  Monster Hunter World has been pulled sale in Chinese markets following a “large number of complaints” against the game.

• Tencent plans to take Steam competitor WeGame worldwide

  Tencent is getting ready to launch a global version of its PC gaming marketplace.

• Steam is officially coming to China

  Valve is bringing an official version of Steam to China.

• Hearthstone has a new workaround to Chinese loot box regulations

  In China, Hearthstone players must now purchase Arcane Dust to earn “free” card packs.

• Xbox One launch in China delayed until the "end of this year," reports Microsoft

  After announcing plans to officially launch the Xbox One in China on September 23, Microsoft has pushed back that date to an incredibly vague “end of this year” in a recent press release.

• Sony gains PS3 certification in China

  Chinese gamers may be one step closer to using consoles today, as Sony has been awarded the China Compulsory Certificate for its PlayStation 3 in the country.

• Nintendo investigating Wii U manfacturer after Foxconn admits illegal child labour

  Wii U manufacturer Foxconn is being investigated by Nintendo for using child workers in a Chinese factory.

• Multiple China-related Call of Duty domains registered by Activision

  Activision registered several new domains this week tying the Call of Duty series to China, including the likes of ModernWarfareChina.com and CallofDutyChina.com.

• Study - 64% of China's 180 million gamers pay to play each month

  A study polling 500 people conducted by Niko Partners had found that 64% of China’s 180 million casual and core gamers pay for their pleasure each month, and the country is outpacing other countries in terms of money spent. The age of those playing games each month is up as well, with those ages 40 […]

• Nintendo files 301 in US over piracy

  Hot on the heels of ESA’s 301 filing to the US government, pleading for help in the international war on pirates, Nintendo’s jumped on board and done the same thing. This one’s not quite as mad as ESA’s, which called for trade sanctions against Canada, but does include, according that reports, assistance from the US […]

• Chinese fear games "breakdown traditional community life"

  Very interesting article here, in which MIT professor Henry Jenkins argues that China’s concern over the impact of games centres on addiction as opposed to the western political obsession with morality and violence. “The Chinese had little interest in the argument that games violence causing real world violence,” he said, speaking from the International Games […]