Wired
China’s online surveillance agency, the National Newspaper Publishing Office (NPPA), has announced a new policy to slow down the speed of marketing approval for new games in line with restrictions on the playing time of online games for minors.
There is also a view that approval has been suspended for a while
At the end of August, NPPA introduced a new rule in China that allows children under the age of 18 to play online games for up to one hour per day, only between 8 and 9 pm.
This time, NPPA has newly announced that it will temporarily slow down the speed of sales approval of new games in line with the previous regulatory change. According to one person, the approval of the new game has already been delayed by more than a month than usual.
Another source said that NPPA’s approval to sell new games would not be temporarily slowed, but would be “suspended for a while.” This is because the purpose is to “alleviate game addiction” by “reducing the number of new games”.
Another source said that slowing marketing approval for new games is necessary “to smoothly introduce new rules.”
Chinese authorities freeze game approval three years ago
In August 2018, three years ago, it was reported that sales approval for new games was delayed in China.
A recent Morgan Stanley study reveals that gaming apps are a huge source of revenue for Apple.
Games listed on the App Store are also subject to the new policy of the Chinese authorities, so there are concerns about the impact on Apple’s revenue.
Source: South China Morning Post via AppleInsider [1], [2]
Photo: NetEase Games / Facebook
(lexi)
Source: iPhone Mania