Little Overlord Learning Machine Discussion Forum

5. When China Fell for Online Games, Why Were Consoles “Banned” for 15 Years?

In June 2000, China issued a ban: no selling game consoles. The reasoning: arcades had gotten too chaotic — fights, gambling, plus parents wanted kids to focus on college entrance exams. A blanket cutoff, simple and blunt. That ban lasted fifteen years. Buying a console meant going through grey-market imports. Some people ran host rooms out of their homes — secret bases for that generation of players.

But here’s the twist: consoles were kicked out, but online games exploded. Legend of Mir, Fantasy Westward Journey, World of Warcraft — all appeared. Chinese online gaming even ran ahead of the rest of the world. Not letting people play games? Then how did internet cafes outnumber those elsewhere?

In 2002, the Blue Extreme Speed Internet Cafe in Beijing was set on fire. Several minors were refused entry, bought gasoline, and came back. 25 people died. After that, a nationwide crackdown on internet cafes began. Minors were banned. The media began calling games “electronic heroin.” Parents were terrified.

Right at that moment, a psychiatrist named Yang Yongxin in Linyi, Shandong, rose to fame. He “treated internet addiction” at his hospital — electroshocks to the temples, confinement, medication. Disobey? Shock until you obey. Parents tearfully sent their children in. Some children, after coming out, would tremble at the sight of a white lab coat. The medical community had long rejected electroshock for addiction treatment. But public panic and media frenzy kept Yang Yongxin in the spotlight for years.

So you see: consoles banned, online games rising. The government wanted to block gaming, but couldn’t stop internet cafes or mobile games. Parents feared addiction, so some sent their children to have their temples shocked. Every decision was made “for the good.” But each one cut deep into the players. The ban was fully lifted in 2015. Online games never stopped. But for that generation, some parts of youth could never be brought back.

A Final Note

2. Arcades: A Youth Paid in Tokens I was born in 1999. After the Little Tyrant, I fell in love with arcades. The graphics were so much better than the Famicom — especially the beat-’em-ups.

One day, a friend said he’d take me somewhere magical. I was shy at first, afraid to play too long. But the games there blew my mind — they destroyed the Famicom’s graphics.

I used to be the only kid in class with a game console. The arcade changed that. Fewer and fewer friends came over to play at my place.

Where I lived, 1 RMB (about 0.14 USD) bought five tokens. The hottest game was King of Fighters. Domestically, the ’97 version was the most popular, despite all its bugs.

There was also a Chinese-made game: Knights of Valour: Vortex of Fire. A side-scrolling beat-’em-up that could stand alongside Tenchi o Kurau II.

Another arcade practice: 10 RMB (about 1.40 USD) for “unlimited continues until the game is beaten.” Two players max. You paid once and kept playing until you finished.

Shen Jian Fu Mo Lu (a wuxia game adapted from Jin Yong’s The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber) I consider the most regrettably overlooked. Short, difficult, and released too late. It never caught fire.

And then there were the “house rules.” Not set by the owner — invented by the players themselves. In Tenchi o Kurau II, there was a steamed bun eating bonus game. Nobody taught us. Everyone just assumed the faster you shook the joystick, the faster you ate. So everyone spun the stick like crazy, the cabinet rattling so hard the owner feared it would fall apart. Eventually, the owner put up a sign: “No shaking the joystick during the bun-eating game.” The game itself never had such a rule. It was pure player invention. But years later, when people recall that game, the first thing they remember isn’t fighting the boss — it’s that bun minigame you nearly tore the machine apart playing.

At the arcade I used to frequent, there was one “treasure cabinet” loaded with classic games. But the owner had a rule: if you turned it on without permission, you’d be fined 10 RMB (about 1.40 USD). Once, I skipped breakfast and begged him to let me play. He joked: “First, watch me clear Metal Slug without losing a life. Then go find me five customers.” I actually did it. Then I got up to play myself — and died in less than five minutes. But the owner brought me a bowl of freshly made noodles with shredded pork, and slipped me a few tokens. To this day, I don’t know why that cabinet had that rule. I’ll never have a chance to ask. But don’t get me wrong — the owner was good to me. He was just having fun.

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6. Steam Arrives, and Chinese Players Begin Buying Legitimate Copies

After the ban lifted, the PS4 got an official China release. The first time I saw a PS4 in a shop, I was stunned. It didn’t look like a game anymore — it looked like art. That game was Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. Even now, it doesn’t look dated. The shop owner was patient — taught me how to turn it on, save games, check regional versions. I regret not staying in touch with him.

The PS4 wasn’t cheap. Then I discovered Steam. With China’s lower pricing region and frequent deep discounts, every major sale became a festival for Chinese players. Buy, buy, buy — may not always play, but definitely buy. We know this habit is a bit odd. We’re price-sensitive, we complain about publishers all the time. But when we truly love a game, we still buy a brand new PS4 or PS5 physical copy and put it on the shelf. That’s probably the Chinese way of supporting legitimate games. Not elegant, but genuine.

I’m optimistic about console gaming in China. The numbers are still far behind Steam players, but from CS to PUBG to Black Myth: Wukong, good games never lack buyers. We didn’t play easily. But we played happily. On that, gamers everywhere are the same.

Thank you for taking the time to write this. As a millenial from the Balkans I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the similarities of our experiences. If you ever start a blog, I would be very much interested in a retro gaming perspective from China - we don’t get enough non-western human perspectives like this in Europe, and love how similar gamers are throughout the world, which could be a wonderful unifying factor in this uncertain world.

That was pretty interesting. Its nice to see how things were in a different part of the world.

That was interesting to hear, thank you. I don’t have anything to reply as of now but a suggestion to make your posts a chain of replies. One comment - reply to it - reply to that: in that manner it would keep them in order next time you’d be open to write something.

Are you posting these on a blog? Would love to read then in sequence.

You should go to ML ;) they will care.