It's now illegal for underage gamers in China to play more than 3 hours a week

**This story about mass control, boiled down, in 1:31 minutes.**

What's the fuss?

China is cracking down on young gamers by heavily restricting their play time to a few hours per week. This is an aggressive, perhaps understandable measure.

The situation

China likes to think it has a video game problem.

Throughout the years, the country has adopted nationwide measures in an attempt to curb perceived video game addiction in Chinese minors.
In turn, Chinese video game companies have had to comply with these measures through adding features in their games to prevent prolonged play - or else face severe consequences.

China's latest attempt may be the most severe of all to the country's young gamer populous.

Gamers under 18 will only be allowed to play video games for 1 hour a day on weekends and legal holidays.
The regulation is said to safeguard the physical and mental health of Chinese youth, as well as to improve social ability and academic performance.

Boiling it down

The imposed rule sure has its criticisms, but it also has some merits.

With more than 110 million underage gamers in the country who spend more time playing games than any other activity, the rule may be a catalyst for young people to be exposed to incremental interests.
On the other hand, it could be said that China is exerting undue control on youth culture, effectively preventing a millions-strong community to do what they are passionate about.

Although publicly-traded Chinese gaming companies experienced a slight sell off on the news, it doesn't present a long-term issue.

The bottom line impact will likely be minimal given long standing spending restrictions on underage gamers, coupled by the fact that a very small amount of gaming revenue derives from them.

Thank you so much for reading! Please consider subscribing if you enjoy stories like this delivered directly to you every Tuesday and Friday morning!

Any and all feedback is valid and welcome.