Gaming

they dont hate video games, they hate multiplayer games and its effects on childrens/minors, china like japan and korea has had problems with minors getting very addicted to online games and living in online cafes https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/02/06/national/kyushu-gaming-addition-young-people/

now to you and me its looks kinda weird right, but you need to keep in mid that those regulations only target kids under 18, also it only affects online so a teen could play all Legend of zelda he wants but only 2 hours of games like league of legends or dota.

see it like how in the west they ban selling cigarettes to minors but people over 18 can buy as many as they can.

this article tries to explain why do they have a negative view over online games https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3156540/china-vs-video-games-why-beijing-stopped-short-gaming-ban-keeping

Just wanna suggest anyone reading this post that they should read "the govt of China" anytime they come across "China". We in the Anglophone world love being hysterically scared/detesting of "the Chinese", and our governments love it.

Are you complaining about a government reigning in the worst aspects of video game culture? This is exactly what a government should be doing, regulating an industry that can be extremely addictive if left unchecked.

Another article on the topic

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3156540/china-vs-video-games-why-beijing-stopped-short-gaming-ban-keeping

"The 2019 regulations also introduced spending limits for children, which have remained unchanged. Players between the ages of 8 and 16 can spend up to 200 yuan per month in a game and those between 16 and 18 years old can spend up to 400 yuan."

"Also, while the time restrictions apply to all types of video games, not all games are created equal in the eyes of authorities. Two super genres of games have emerged in China based in part on government preferences: danji and wangluo.

Danji means single device, but the term is used for any game that does not need an internet connection (these titles can still be played with other people online). Wangluo means internet games, or those that require a server to be played such as massively multiplayer online role-playing games like World of Warcraft.

The main difference where the government is concerned is that wangluo games are considered addictive while danji games are considered athletic, according to Szablewicz, a distinction that aligns with China’s esports ambitions but that does not appear as relevant in the mobile age. The Chinese government officially labelled dianzi jingji, or esports, as the country’s 99th professional competitive sport in 2003."

“I think this is the right policy,” she said. “It amounts to the state taking care of our kids for us.”

This phrase just screams “BAD PARENT” to me.
Why do you have to offload the responsibility of caring for your children to the government? You chose to bring them into the world, now you’re responsible for them.

ngl I kind of agree with them, why shouldn't the government help parents look after their children? The entire purpose of a government should be to support the people who live in the country.

While being illegal in theory, China still has 9-9-6 in most of the workforce. That means parents work from 9 am to 9pm 6 times a week. Biggest employer of China such as Foxconn make people sleep at factory floor from Monday to Saturday.

This creates an environment where children basically grow with playing games. Most people in China does not own gaming computers or consoles. People play P2W mobile games with real gambling and gacha mechanics. Gambling addiction is insanely big problem so Chinese government is trying to bud the problem out of it is roots. Henceforth children gets limited screen time.

“electronic drugs”

I guess they're doing a war on drugs then...

The first article directly justifies all the restrictions china put in place and calls for even stricter restrictions, let's hope the CPC takes more actions to prevent more of it's youth slipping into degeneracy

I think it's a "cultural wars" kind of thing, but the Chinese version of it. They envision a strong, proud, nationalist society, and kids laying around playing video games when they could be working towards becoming the ideal citizen of tomorrow.

I guess they primarily mean smartphone games, not Xbox, ps5 or whatever.

And I think this is more justified. While everyone needs a smartphone today you will always have it close and be tempted to play games.

Authoritarians really don't like when it they can't control communication, which definitely includes creative expression in media. Games fall under that umbrella so the government is going to do what it needs to in order to keep enough control over the media in question.

The "reasons" why aren't really important and will be figured out and thrown around as needed. But it really just comes down to control.