A most useful article laying out the online games scene in China has been written by Matthew Murphy of the MMLC Group. It sets the scene by giving the ten top online games in China which are: 1. DNF; 2. kaixin online; 3. asktao; 4. moyu; 5. World of Warcraft; 6. Westward Journey Online II; 7. Jade Dynasty; 8. tialongbabu; 9. ZhengTu; 10. CrossFire.
Only two foreign games make it into this top ten list.
The article gives a brief introduction to the relevant, or would-be relevant, government departments, and laws and regulations pertaining to the examination and approval of online games accessible in China.
The article goes on to say that recently confusion has erupted within China as to the overlapping jurisdiction of a number of government departments. It seems that China continues to struggle with convergence issues as it has done since the initial encryption regulations 9 years ago.
For anyone interested commercially in the online games market in China this article is compulsory reading.
You can access it through Mondaq (although you may have to sign on there is no fee).
The article comes to some conclusions: Many people complain that the online games industry in China suffers from too many unnecessary regulations. Many Chinese blogs and chatrooms seem to be dedicated to this cause.
After reviewing the regulations applying to this space, as well as the number of government departments that are seeking to control this space, it is easy to sympathise with this group.
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