Regulatory control on such “social games” such as Tencent’s “Honour of Kings” may be impending in mainland China. The official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, People’s Daily, singled out the game, for an unusually high-profile criticism, saying that it has an addictive nature. The day before the editorial was published, Tencent announced measures to make it more difficult for children to play its games.
The debate is spreading to Macau, where guests of TDM’s weekly talk show, Macau Forum, warned that many local teenagers are addicted to video-games.
Representative of the Sheng Kung Hui Macau Social Services Coordination Office, Natalie U Weng Ian, noted that many people in society have already trended towards playing video games online.
However, according to U, local parents in general are unfamiliar with the internet, and will misguidedly think that using the internet is solely used for playing video games.
U elaborated that parents don’t grasp the difference between using the internet and playing video games, making it difficult for children to communicate with them, which in turn leads youth to become addicted internet users.
Representatives of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ), Leong Yee On, said that it is impractical to ban young people from using internet.
Leong suggested that local parents guide their children in reaping the benefits of using the internet.
The president of the Macau E-Sports Industry Association, Leong Ka Fai said that e-Sports should be supported by the local government.
The vice-president of the New Macau Association, Sulu Sou, noted that the public should not think that only young people are addicted to playing video games. Sou pointed out that the fast-growing e-Sports are a world trend and that e-Sports will be included in the 2022 Asian Games.
Sou suggested Macau’s Sports Bureau be aware of this trend, and to further develop “electronic sports.” He also urged the education and social welfare sectors to catch up with the new reality.
“The world’s trend is telling us, […] there will be more than USD300 million in terms of economic output,” declared Sou.
However, another speaker, member of the Ilha Verde Community, Chan Fong, expressed doubts that playing video games could lead to a bright life. “I want to ask: what is a bright life? What can people do after retiring from e-sports?” asked the IIha Verde Community representative.
Fong noted that e-Sports and playing video games are two different areas, suggesting that it was important for parents to guide their children well.
The representative of the Sheng Kung Hui Macau Social Services Coordination Office responded to Fong by saying that there are many youngsters who can attain a good balance between playing video games and doing schoolwork.
Internet cafes seen as threat
Immersive role-playing games, popular among students at ubiquitous internet cafes, are seen as a particular threat by the Chinese government. Bloomberg reported that 16,000 internet cafes were shut in 2004. Four years later, the opening of new internet cafes was banned. According to Bloomberg, over the past decade, some 250 internet addiction “boot camps” have opened; one has treated at least 6,000 patients using electroshock therapy.
