03.26.08
China Angle: ‘China Games And The Troubles’
In Gamasutra’s latest China Angle column, Frank Yu says that with the booming of China’s online population, the games industry is growing increasingly nervous about government crackdowns following the shuttering of online video sites, and looks at recent controversy over the Beijing Olympics website’s co-option of some casual games. China has got the largest Internet population in the world with 228 million users vs. the 217 million in the U.S. More users also mean more gamers as expectations rise on the continued growth of the China game industry. All this goodness comes with a bit of trepidation as other events unfold that could rain on the parade. The China game industry is cautiously observing how the government has been dealing with video sharing sites and is asking itself “when is it my turn?” The government has shut down 25 “illegal” video sites and served warnings to the #1 domestic site Tudou and 32 others in the latest crackdown.
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