原声播报98：防未成年人沉迷网游再加码，周末节假日每天玩1小时

China Hammers Mobile Gaming Industry With Tough New Limits
防未成年人沉迷网游再加码，周末节假日每天玩1小时


【文中生词】
lenient 仁慈的；宽大的
real-name verification 实名认证
looming 正在逼近的
out of the blue 出乎意料
rattle 使慌乱


【词汇延展】
动作游戏 action game (ACT)
冒险游戏 adventure game (AVG)
动作冒险游戏 action-adventure game (A-AVG)
动作角色扮演游戏 action role-playing game (ARPG)
射击类游戏 shooting game (STG)


【单词详解】
desperate 
adj. 不顾一切的，拼命的
Feeling, showing, or involving a hopeless sense that a situation is so bad as to be impossible to deal with.

关联词汇
desperation n. 绝望
desperado n. 亡命之徒，暴徒
make a desperate attempt 孤注一掷

例句
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
非常时期需要非常办法。

The city is suffering a desperate shortage of water.
这个城市严重缺水。


blow
v. 吹
Be in motion or to move with speed or force

n. 吹；打击
A strong wind; an event that spoils your chances of success

关联词汇
blow up 爆发
blow out 吹熄
blow over 平息；被淡忘
hard blow 重拳；猛击
deal a blow on 打击

例句
Blow! I completely forgot it.   
哎呀！我给忘得一干二净了。

The blow knocked her out. 
这一击把她打昏了。


The gaming industry has been hit with some tough new regulations.

Okay, what’s going on?

So, this is all about China’s latest game plan – pun intended – for limiting how much time kids spend playing video games. As we’ve mentioned previously on the pod, the country has big concerns about video game addiction and how it may be affecting the physical and mental health of minors. The big news is that the Chinese government has now restricted the amount of time children can play online video games to three hours a week.

Okay Josh! So that was a pretty bold move. So why did they turn to such desperate measures?

Well, in recent years, the country has taken a number of actions to control children’s access to video games. For instance, back in 2019, the country issued rules which limited the amount of time under-18s could play video games to 1.5 hours on ordinary days and three hours on holidays. However, many parents complained that the limitation was too lenient. 

So how exactly will the new rules then be enforced?

According to new guidelines from the National Press and Publication Administration, online gaming platforms can allow users under the age of 18 to play only from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. And in case you were wondering, during the school week, it’s of course a big no no. Gaming companies are also required to ensure they have put real-name verification systems in place, and are barred from providing service to users without real-name registrations, including those logging in as guests.

But you said earlier, all of this isn’t exactly out of the blue. The authorities seemed to signal a looming crackdown on the gaming industry a few weeks ago when a state newspaper published an commentary criticizing the so-called  “spiritual opium” of gaming addiction. The article in the Economic Information Daily, a newspaper affiliated with the official Xinhua News Agency, said gaming addiction was harming children’s academic and personal development. 

OK and I also remember that particular article then really rattled stocks of Chinese gaming companies. So a lot of people must therefore also be wondering how these new rules are going to impact business for these enterprises.

Well, such tough restrictions on online gaming will definitely deal a dramatic blow to China’s gaming market, which is the largest one on the globe. Indeed, PWC, the consultancy, predicts that China’s gaming sector could generate just under 360 billion USD this year alone. Now although a lot of domestic gaming companies may say that minors account for only a small portion of their revenue, we’re still talking about a pretty large amount of money here. For instance, Chinese gaming giant Tencent said in a recent earnings report that users under the age of 16 contributed 2.6% of total domestic gaming revenue in the most recent quarter. That translates into 1 billion yuan or around $155 million of gaming revenue. Meanwhile, users under the age of 18 contributed 1% of Bilibili’s gaming sales, which equates to 12 million yuan. 

Now of course, all of this comes as Beijing has been on quite the regulatory campaign against China’s tech giants and the tutoring industry. And that campaign has of course been hammering Chinese shares traded at home and abroad.