Getting non-Chinese games into the Chinese market is a lengthy and challenging ordeal as it is, but the latest set of Chinese restrictions for South Korean companies makes it a much simpler process. Specifically? You can’t. No new games can be imported, full stop. Which is definitely simpler, but is already having a major impact on Nexon. The developer saw its stock stumble seven percent following the announcement, even though existing licensed games and all games already announced and approved are still allowed to continue operating.
If this seems like a bit of an overreaction, it’s important to note that China is one of the largest mobile gaming markets in the world, and roughly 40% of Nexon’s profits come from Chinese customers specifically. The long-term impacts on Nexon’s licensing and revenue will take a while to be seen, but any loss of access to China is going to have a large-scale impact on the company.
Good sign for the West getting more Japanese and Korean games?
Man this shit sounds crazy but the comment section seems to know their shit. It kinda makes sense I guess from an economical standpoint but it’s video games wtf lol.
Maybe now they could not take 10 years to publish stuff in NA/EU? =S
It makes sense for China to do that. Why have your citizens continuously fork over a fuckton of cash to a bunch of foreign video game companies? When instead you can have your citizens fork the cash over to YOUR own patriotic video game companies? Not only that, by propping up your own country’s video game companies, you can also have FOREIGNERS fork over THEIR cash to YOU instead.
In any normal country, this would be a very stupid thing to do. But then again, China is the exception since it’s a fucking huge market that would make foreigners bend over backwards to get into.
This is all about the THADD drama unfolding. Let’s be honest though, majority of games that come in and out from China (and arguably everywhere else) are crap. Local publishers being more greedy than their native counterparts and purportedly ruin games with insane moneytisation, etc, are still a problem. But since I don’t live in China and have to put up by its government’s ridiculous instigation of xenophobic boycotting, I’d hope if there’s any positive effects, then maybe it’ll make the Korean games have higher chance/fast speed of getting English versions. And maybe, just maybe, out of all the crap imports, some good ones can come through.
You guys need to cut China some slack, if it wasn’t for them and Matt Damon tirelessly fighting dragons on their wall we would all be extinct.?
Presumably NCsoft, Blizz and others are affected too. So.. no new games can be imported at all? No loophole?
Should we get Trump on this? Maybe a travel ban will help.
Honestly, I’m a little surprised it took China this long to crack down on foreign developed games to protect their own industry.
It’s going to be a major hit for Korean MMO publishers who were expecting continued access to the Chinese market, I can definitely see it causing some shake-ups for the companies business strategies.
Wonder what would happen if the rest of the world just up and said, nope… We won’t take any imports from China, at all. Full Stop.
China would finally get the eye for an eye treatment on international bullying, and would try to retaliate by claiming any and all debts… at which the world would laugh and claim all debts for copyright infringements due. It would turn into a long and turgid shouting match by China’s government while everyone else sat there with a finger up their nose saying ‘And how about?’ over and over again until China finally collapsed under the weight of their abusive economic setup of exports.
Won’t happen though. Our leaders haven’t got the guts to do it.
China will collapse on it’s own, it doesn’t need our help. Just a matter of time….
I just hope the US can manage to collapse slower than they do, but even if we can pull that off; the US has lost most of its pool of skilled production workers due to atrophy & it takes years (if not decades) to reach the experience levels workes need to keep production economical.
Well we’d have nothing.
Most countries don’t have the industry left to pick up the slack.
As long as China can still look at,clone and then steal the hard work of more talented developers it’s people should be okay.
China was so much better when it was just about paying them ultralow wages while overworking them.
Hey if the current admin has their way the US of A will be back to a textile based economy and making plastic dolls for wealthy Chinese kids.
Pretty much this. China has produced little software they can call original. S. Korea is just the beginning. Most of the development is based off of another countries (developer outside of China) ideas. They are the king of counterfeits, clones and bad driving. Doesn’t surprise me that they would ban software imports when it can be copied without international repercussions and sold as authentic to their own people without competition from a better quality product. They only tolerate authentic products from other countries that THEY manufacture.
Like others have said in the comments, this could bode well for the west in getting Asian imports faster.