Chinese Government To Fund 'Healthy' Videogames

According to the Government-owned Xinhua news agency and the Associated Press, the Chinese government has announced plans to invest 1 to 2 billion yuan (US$120.5 to US$241 million) to help create up to 100 Chinese-developed online games, from 2004 to 2008. With the Chinese online gaming market expected to grow at twice the East Asian regional rate, to $823 million in 2008, according to research firm International Data Corp. (IDC), the Chinese government is clearly keen to see domestically developed games become popular, since South Korean and other Asian online games currently dominate the Chinese market. It's also been indicated that classical Chinese literary works, including Canonization of the Gods and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, are expected to be inspirations for the game titles. Some reports suggest that the Chinese government is hoping to see 'healthier', more 'refined' game content from its investment - the Ministry Of Culture has a Game Products Censorship Committee which is now rating many of the titles entering China, and recently banned PC strategy game Hearts Of Iron for distorting historical facts in describing Manchuria, West Xinjiang, and Tibet as independent sovereign countries within the game.