In January, the Chinese government lifted its 13-year ban on video game consoles -- pending the drafting of rules that companies will have to follow to sell them in the country. As of today, those rules have been released.
Kotaku's Eric Jou reports that consoles can now be sold in the country, citing a
detailed People's Daily story (Chinese language) on the new guidelines.
What's not quite clear yet is what will happen next, as none of the big three console manufacturers -- Sony, Nintendo, or Microsoft -- have announced plans to release products in China.
That hasn't stopped the news from
affecting Nintendo's stock price, however. Microsoft
has entered into an Xbox-related joint venture, however, though its plans are yet unannounced. Sony
has also formed a new "China Strategy Department" with an eye to selling products in the country.
Chinese companies are also planning to get in on the action, with two different consoles announced this year so far, by Chinese manufacturers
ZTE and
TCL.
Will the lifting of the ban have a big effect? Market researcher Lisa Hanson, who visited Microsoft's partner BesTV last year, isn't so sure,
as she writes in this blog post after her visit.
