China unveiled a new crackdown on its fast-growing illegal Internet gaming industry, which has adversely affected online game providers and developers.
The crackdown is scheduled to begin on January 1, 2003. It is scheduled to last for three months. According to an estimate in the China Daily, the losses by legitimate gaming firms totaled around US$4.4 million per year.
Some Chinese media experts predict that Internet game revenues could exceed movie box office receipts within a few years.