Online game players in China win reprieve
Protests from players of Chinese internet role-playing games have forced Beijing to rethink plans to introduce an anti-addiction system that would limit the time the players spend in online fantasy worlds.
Seven months after the announcement of the anti-addiction system, it is still only being tested on a small number of servers operated by big games companies, according to officials.
China's press administration, which regulates "massively multi-player online role-playing games", has already conceded that the system should only applyto players under the age of 18. But it has yet to decide how to implement it.
The difficulties surrounding the system, drawn up amid widespread concern about the social effect of online games, highlight the challenges Beijing faces in imposing its will on a rapidly expanding internet sector. It also suggests the effort could have less impact than expected on leading US-listed Chinese online games companies.
"People objected to implementation in a way that would impose limitations on adults playing these games. . . there is some justification to their objections," said an official of the General Administration of Press and Publication. We are currently modifying and perfecting the system."
The press administration and leading games companies announced the anti-addiction policy in August last year after youth groups and newspapers blamed the multi-player games for encouraging laziness, truancy and even murder.
Under the system, up to three hours of play is considered "healthy time" - and more than five to be "unhealthy". Players in a game for more than three hours win fewer "experience points" for their fantasy characters and the value of virtual goods they acquire is reduced.
Zhou Donglei, director of business development and investor relations at Shanda Interactive Entertainment, a Nasdaq-listed games company, said the government had "backed off" after fierce complaints from players.
"[Players] say, 'It's my right - I can decide what I want to do with my free time, whether I want to watch TV or play mahjong or drink or play games'," Ms Zhou said. "There is really not much that the government can do."
Company executives said it would be difficult to limit the anti-addiction system to underage players, since few people signed up to play the games using their real names and ages.
Beijing is seeking to find a way to force players to use accurate registration information as part of a wider campaign to tighten control over the internet.
中国重审“网游防沉迷系统”
来自中国互联网角色扮演游戏玩家们的抗议，已迫使中国政府重新考虑引入网络游戏防沉迷系统的计划。这一系统旨在限制玩家花在网上虚幻世界的时间。
官员们称，在宣布引入防沉迷系统7个月之后，该系统仍只是在一些大型游戏公司的少数服务器上进行试运行。
负责监管“大型多人网络角色扮演游戏”(MMORPG)的中国新闻出版总署(GAPP)已经作出让步，承认该系统应该只适用于18岁以下的玩家。但该机构尚未决定如何实行这一系统。
该系统制定之际，网络游戏的社会影响引起了各界广泛担忧。然而，在推行防沉迷系统方面遇到的重重困难，突显出中国政府在将其意志强加给迅速壮大的互联网领域所面临的挑战。同时也表明，中国政府的这一措施，对于那些在美国上市的中国网络游戏公司的影响低于预期。
中国新闻出版总署一位官员表示：人们反对实施一种可能限制成年人玩游戏的措施……他们的反对意见有一定的合理性。该官员还表示，有关部门正在修改和完善这个系统。
在青少年组织和报纸媒体纷纷谴责此类网络游戏滋生懒惰、逃学旷课甚至引发谋杀案之后，新闻出版总署和一些大型游戏公司于去年8月份宣布了这项防沉迷政策。
根据这项政策，3小时以内的游戏时间被视为“健康时间”，而超过5小时则为“不健康时间”。玩家的游戏时间如果超过3个小时，他们所扮演的虚拟人物赢得的“经验值”将下降，而他们所获虚拟物品的价值也会减少。
盛大互动娱乐有限公司(Shanda Interactive Entertainment)业务拓展及投资者关系总监周东蕾表示，在游戏玩家的强烈抗议下，政府已“做出让步”。盛大互动娱乐是一家在纳斯达克上市的游戏公司。
“（游戏玩家们）说，‘这是我的权利――我有权决定自己在空闲时间想做的事，无论我想看电视、打麻将、喝酒还是玩游戏。’” 周东蕾表示，在这些方面，政府真的也做不了什么。
