China's largest newspaper has called for the creation of an age rating system for games for the local market
The mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China, People’s Daily, has prepared a document on the introduction of an age rating for the games in the country. Bloomberg claims that the “independent” initiative has already been supported by the country’s leading publishers — Tencent, NetEase and Perfect World.
The document is called uncomplicated — “Age rating proposals”. It suggests dividing all games allowed before publication into four groups: for children from 6 years old, for children from 12 years old, for teenagers from 16 years old and for those over 18.
It is assumed that Chinese censors, having received a game with the appropriate rating, will evaluate it, check whether it really corresponds to it. At the same time, not only its content will be considered, but also the genre, the game mechanics used and the presence of a limiter for the duration of the session.
According to the official position of People’s Daily, the document was created to help competent structures. It is designed to improve the monitoring and effectiveness of game checks for illegal content. In addition, the publication believes that the rating will help developers create games “more targeted”.
At the same time, it is stated that the main motive here is the protection of children. They say that such a tool is necessary for children to become more sane and healthy.
Earlier, Tencent and NetEase in their products for the local market have already taken drastic measures to work with underage users. In the games of these companies, children and teenagers are limited to a game session of one hour, and they can only log in with the help of their parents.
It is quite possible that if the rating system is adopted by the government, the leading titles of Chinese giants will finally lose their young audience. However, apparently, in order to preserve business, all the majors need not only to agree with the installations coming from above, but also to “run ahead of the locomotive” — to actively respond to any “popular initiatives”.
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