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\f0\fs24 \cf2 (Image source: {\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "http://www.techinasia.com/glorious-mission-chinas-militaryproduced-call-duty-clone/"}}{\fldrslt
\cf3 \ul \ulc3 Tech in Asia / \'93Glorious Mission\'94}})\
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\b \cf2 BY ZACH TOOMBS \b0 \
\ China could be considering dropping its longtime
ban on video game consoles like the Wii, XBox and Playstation.\'a0\
\ The government there implemented that ban
in 2000, voicing concerns that video games could corrupt Chinese children. But mobile
and computer gaming are now so widespread, critics call the ban on consoles arbitrary.
[Video: {\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN6vr9IwQ2I"}}{\fldrslt \cf3 \ul \ulc3 CBC}}]\
\ News that the ban might be lifted comes from
{\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2013-01/28/content_16178722.htm"}}{\fldrslt \cf3 \ul \ulc3 China Daily}}. An anonymous
Communist Party official tells the paper\'85 \'a0\
\
\b "We are reviewing the policy and have conducted some surveys and held discussions with other
ministries on the possibility of opening up the game console market\'85"
\b0 \ \
As the world\'92s second-largest economy, China holds enormous potential as a new market
for the likes of Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft. Since China Daily\'92s report, shares for
those companies have skyrocketed. Though {\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "http://www.cnbc.com/"}}{\fldrslt \cf3 \ul
\ulc3 CNBC\'92s}} Julia Boorstin says some factors could tamp down the effects of a new
far east console market.\ \
\b \'93We have to remember that mobile and social games are not banned. So, if you can
play those games for free or for next to nothing, are people really going to want to go out
and invest in a console? \'85 The ban is not very much enforced, so these have been smuggled
in in the past.\'94 \b0 \
\ Granted, a different Party official from China
told Reuters the government has not considered lifting its console ban. State resistance
in China toward Japanese and American products could be one factor keeping the policy in
place.\ \
Japan\'92s Sony and Nintendo could have an especially hard time breaking into China considering
a spat over the Diaoyu, or Senkaku, islands in the East China Sea has prompted violent
protests in China. Demonstrators even smashed windows at locations for Toyota and other
Japanese companies. [Video: {\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-19632042"}}{\fldrslt
\cf3 \ul \ulc3 BBC}}]\ \
And although the government justified the ban with moral concerns, China\'92s People\'92s
Liberation Army actually released their own computer game in October called
\f1 \'8c\'f5\uc0\u33635 \'8e\'67\'96\'bd \f0 or \'93Glorious Mission.\'94 {\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLY7GyxDmR4"}}{\fldrslt \cf3 \ul \ulc3 CCTV}} reports the PLA uses
it to train troops \'97\'a0but it\'92s also seen as a sort of Call of Duty counterpart
for Chinese gamers.\ \
Sony saw the largest boost in share prices after the China Daily report \'97\'a08 percent,
it\'92s largest uptick since last April.\ }