- Joined
- Nov 12, 2019
Chinese Government Rolls Out Real-Name Authentication for All Video Games Nationwide, Bans over 15,000 Unlicensed Video Games
The Chinese government has begun rolling out its real-name authentication system for video games nationwide, while also removing over 15,000 unlicensed games from the Chinese App store.
As previously reported, the Chinese government have been implementing numerous methods to prevent children becoming addicted to video games, or developing myopia.
These included laws banning under 18s from playing online games between 10 pm and 8 am, in addition to a 90 minute per-day restriction (or three hours per-day at weekends and public holidays). In addition, there are restrictions on what 16 to 18 year-olds can spend in online games, up to 400 yuan ($57) per month, with younger players restricted to 200 yuan ($29) per month.
Another law includes the expansion of real-name registration, where children must use not just their parent’s phone to register an account, but now a form of “valid identity information.” Both Tencent and NetEase reportedly begun using their own verification systems.
Now, South China Morning Post reports the real-name registration for video games is being expanded to nationwide, and with every video game. The authentication system aims to be rolled out in September.
Citing state-run media reports (and in the South China Morning Post’s words); Feng Shixin, an official of the Communist Party’s Central Publicity Department, spoke on the matter during the ChinaJoy gaming expo on August 31st. He stated developers will be asked to join up to the system in batches.
Chinese developers were further compounded by 15,000 unlicensed games being removed from the Chinese App Store since July 1st, in preparation of an August 1st deadline. This was due to those games lacking ISBNs from the Chinese National Press and Publication Administration (granting them permission to be sold in the nation).
Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad explained to Venture Beat that while 97 of the top 100 grossing games on the Chinese App Store are licenced, 50 of the top 100 downloaded games are unlicensed. Until now, this was a possible work-around to the strict censorship laws.
Speaking on Twitter, Ahmad explained the real-name registration was to “identify people under 18 and apply various anti addiction systems such as time / spending caps fo [sic] those accounts. Also to control the gaming market more closely.”
The earliest efforts by the Chinese government pre-date the World Health Organizations classification of “gaming disorder.” A study by Oxford University found no evidence to support the classification. Neuroscientist Nastasia Griffioen of Radbound University also warned against labeling gamers as addicts, due to “very little evidence“ of video games being addictive.
In case you missed it, you can find our Gaming Disorder editorial series here [1, 2, 3]. Part one also voices our doubts over the classification.
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https://www.scmp.com/abacus/games/article/3095509/chinas-real-name-verification-system-games-launch-nationwide-september
For years, the Chinese government has been trying to stop kids from playing too many video games. Now regulators are taking things a step further by ensuring anyone wanting to play a game must log in with their real names, thanks to a state-run authentication system set to be rolled out by September.
Once implemented, game makers will be asked to join the system in batches, said Feng Shixin, an official from the Communist Party's Central Publicity Department. Feng spoke on Friday during ChinaJoy, the county’s biggest gaming expo, state media reported.
The plan has been in the works for some time, with the government pushing for tighter controls based on the argument that it needs to protect minors. In 2019, the State Administration of Press and Publications (SAPP), the body in charge of regulating games, introduced new limits on how much time and money minors can spend on games. Anyone under 18 years old is limited to 90 minutes on weekdays and three hours on holidays.
To enforce these limits, players are required to to give out their real names which can be checked against ID numbers. Tencent and NetEase, the country’s two largest gaming companies, got a jump on these plans by introducing their own verification systems.
These systems have also given kids a look at what kinds of innovative workaround they might have to rely on to spend more time gaming in the future. Some kids have already gone as far as using fake IDs or going to smartphone arcades that help them get past verification. At least one kid even impersonated his grandfather by pinching his throat to sound older to customer service.
China’s kids are coming up with creative ways to keep playing games
29 Jun 2020
For now, not much is known about how the national verification system will work or whether it will resemble the independent systems already in place. In some cases, the private systems have introduced some stringent controls. In Honour of Kings, the immensely popular Tencent game known as Arena of Valor overseas, the verification system includes a facial recognition scan.
China also has other rules governing what games are even allowed in the country. One requirement is for game publishers to submit games for content and monetisation review before they can be legally distributed in China.
This has created problems for developers and publishers trying to crack the China market. They have to contend with complex and sometimes mind-boggling rules about what is allowed to go into a game.
At the expo, Feng said regulators have begun inspecting games and that more inspections are coming. In the first half of this year, nearly 100 games were punished for operating without authorisation. This month, Apple also removed thousands of unapproved mobile games from its App Store in China, closing a loophole that game makers have relied on for years.
So far it seems that China’s gaming industry hasn’t suffered much from these changes, largely thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic that has kept people indoors. The resulting gaming boom has led to sales of Chinese games jumping more than 22 per cent to 139.4 billion yuan (US$19.9 billion) in the first six months of this year, according to the China Game Industry Report released by the ChinaJoy-associated China Digital Entertainment Congress (CDEC) on Thursday.
The Chinese government has begun rolling out its real-name authentication system for video games nationwide, while also removing over 15,000 unlicensed games from the Chinese App store.
As previously reported, the Chinese government have been implementing numerous methods to prevent children becoming addicted to video games, or developing myopia.
These included laws banning under 18s from playing online games between 10 pm and 8 am, in addition to a 90 minute per-day restriction (or three hours per-day at weekends and public holidays). In addition, there are restrictions on what 16 to 18 year-olds can spend in online games, up to 400 yuan ($57) per month, with younger players restricted to 200 yuan ($29) per month.
Another law includes the expansion of real-name registration, where children must use not just their parent’s phone to register an account, but now a form of “valid identity information.” Both Tencent and NetEase reportedly begun using their own verification systems.
Now, South China Morning Post reports the real-name registration for video games is being expanded to nationwide, and with every video game. The authentication system aims to be rolled out in September.
Citing state-run media reports (and in the South China Morning Post’s words); Feng Shixin, an official of the Communist Party’s Central Publicity Department, spoke on the matter during the ChinaJoy gaming expo on August 31st. He stated developers will be asked to join up to the system in batches.
Chinese developers were further compounded by 15,000 unlicensed games being removed from the Chinese App Store since July 1st, in preparation of an August 1st deadline. This was due to those games lacking ISBNs from the Chinese National Press and Publication Administration (granting them permission to be sold in the nation).
Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad explained to Venture Beat that while 97 of the top 100 grossing games on the Chinese App Store are licenced, 50 of the top 100 downloaded games are unlicensed. Until now, this was a possible work-around to the strict censorship laws.
Speaking on Twitter, Ahmad explained the real-name registration was to “identify people under 18 and apply various anti addiction systems such as time / spending caps fo [sic] those accounts. Also to control the gaming market more closely.”
The earliest efforts by the Chinese government pre-date the World Health Organizations classification of “gaming disorder.” A study by Oxford University found no evidence to support the classification. Neuroscientist Nastasia Griffioen of Radbound University also warned against labeling gamers as addicts, due to “very little evidence“ of video games being addictive.
In case you missed it, you can find our Gaming Disorder editorial series here [1, 2, 3]. Part one also voices our doubts over the classification.
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
https://www.scmp.com/abacus/games/article/3095509/chinas-real-name-verification-system-games-launch-nationwide-september
For years, the Chinese government has been trying to stop kids from playing too many video games. Now regulators are taking things a step further by ensuring anyone wanting to play a game must log in with their real names, thanks to a state-run authentication system set to be rolled out by September.
Once implemented, game makers will be asked to join the system in batches, said Feng Shixin, an official from the Communist Party's Central Publicity Department. Feng spoke on Friday during ChinaJoy, the county’s biggest gaming expo, state media reported.
The plan has been in the works for some time, with the government pushing for tighter controls based on the argument that it needs to protect minors. In 2019, the State Administration of Press and Publications (SAPP), the body in charge of regulating games, introduced new limits on how much time and money minors can spend on games. Anyone under 18 years old is limited to 90 minutes on weekdays and three hours on holidays.
To enforce these limits, players are required to to give out their real names which can be checked against ID numbers. Tencent and NetEase, the country’s two largest gaming companies, got a jump on these plans by introducing their own verification systems.
These systems have also given kids a look at what kinds of innovative workaround they might have to rely on to spend more time gaming in the future. Some kids have already gone as far as using fake IDs or going to smartphone arcades that help them get past verification. At least one kid even impersonated his grandfather by pinching his throat to sound older to customer service.
China’s kids are coming up with creative ways to keep playing games
29 Jun 2020
For now, not much is known about how the national verification system will work or whether it will resemble the independent systems already in place. In some cases, the private systems have introduced some stringent controls. In Honour of Kings, the immensely popular Tencent game known as Arena of Valor overseas, the verification system includes a facial recognition scan.
China also has other rules governing what games are even allowed in the country. One requirement is for game publishers to submit games for content and monetisation review before they can be legally distributed in China.
This has created problems for developers and publishers trying to crack the China market. They have to contend with complex and sometimes mind-boggling rules about what is allowed to go into a game.
At the expo, Feng said regulators have begun inspecting games and that more inspections are coming. In the first half of this year, nearly 100 games were punished for operating without authorisation. This month, Apple also removed thousands of unapproved mobile games from its App Store in China, closing a loophole that game makers have relied on for years.
So far it seems that China’s gaming industry hasn’t suffered much from these changes, largely thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic that has kept people indoors. The resulting gaming boom has led to sales of Chinese games jumping more than 22 per cent to 139.4 billion yuan (US$19.9 billion) in the first six months of this year, according to the China Game Industry Report released by the ChinaJoy-associated China Digital Entertainment Congress (CDEC) on Thursday.
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