In China, the government intends to strengthen existing severe restrictions regarding the number of time youngsters spend gaming online, and it is quite certain that these rules will be mostly followed.
The government depends on the gaming sector, particularly its main participant Tencent, to enforce the laws using face recognition, according to Rui Ma, the host of the Tech Buzz China podcast.
“You must attach your account to your authentic ID. And if you play late in the night for over a certain amount of time, Tencent will identify your face. So, even if your ID indicates you’re an adult until you verify your face, they’ll assume you’re a kid if you’re gaming late at night.”
In many nations, such extensive legislation, particularly when it impacts both adults and children, would be intolerable. However, Lisa Cosmas Hanson, whose market research company Niko Associates studies the Asian games business, reminds out that China has had a restriction on game console imports for years.
“The Chinese government has always been on the top, stating that we are here to uphold and protect the kids from dangerous data and destructive behaviors,” she adds. Of course, China has a large and rapidly developing video game industry, even though there should really be a minimal obvious effect, Ms. Hanson sees a danger to the next generations of creators and skilled gamers.
“That is the challenging part; specifically in e-sports, it will be a noteworthy modification. You must prepare for your sport, and e-sports is a game, and what comes if they are unable to train?” However, in the West, the struggle to hire top players is heating up between game-streaming services.
The movement of Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus to Manchester United was huge news already for football fans, but the move of two of Twitch’s greatest stars, TimTheTatman and DrLupo, to broadcasting competition YouTube was a shocker for so many gamers.
Twitch, which is owned by Amazon, has been the dominating player, a network where millions of people are eager to express their support for celebrity players by giving them money, despite the fact that there is no barrier.
So, according to Louise Shorthouse, a lead games researcher at Ampere Analysis, YouTube is developing in a way that may appeal to certain Twitch stars. While this is a concern for Twitch, others have re-joined after unpleasant adventures elsewhere, such as Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, who joined up for Microsoft’s streaming site Mixer, only for it to shuttered after a year of operation. Both Twitch and YouTube, backed by Amazon and Google, appear to be willing to spend a lot of money to lure and maintain famous broadcasters.
When it comes to growing their income, these companies realize that the key is to keep users engaged with the service and exposed to advertising for as long as possible. That is why it is a relief to them knowing that just a few countries would follow China’s lead in limiting the amount of time new gamers normally spend.
