Meanwhile in China: Government Limits Online Video Games to Just 3 Hours a Week (But Porn’s Still Safe, Right?)

China has been trying to get serious for quite some time. First, they banned sexy newlywed games at wedding receptions. Then they canceled birthday parties. Now it looks like it’s game over for video games.

The country that’s already poised to dominate the second half of the 21st century is turning into the ultimate tiger parent by scrubbing as much irreverent joy from daily life as possible. And just like the least fun house on the block, they’ve imposed a three-hour-a-week limit for online video games, making it impossible to really dig into a marathon slaughter-fest on Titanfall 2 or finish your legacy mansion on Minecraft.

For anyone following the trend of social austerity measures in China, this move comes as no surprise. Back in 2019, the government introduced its first gaming restriction on minors of ten hours per week. Now they’ve gone a step farther by limiting gameplay to just one hour on Friday, one apiece on Saturday and Sunday, and two hours on holidays.

Chinese authorities hope their tougher limits curb the gaming addiction that has risen around the country thanks to non-stop gaming communities, kickass development, and 24/7 access. But if we can learn one thing from porn (man’s greatest teacher), it’s that banning something people crave will only encourage creative workarounds.

Perhaps banning video games is actually a clever way to develop a country full of talented hackers from an early age. After all, you try telling a kid not to do something and see what happens.

Whatever the reason behind China’s quest to freeze fun, we have two predictions for the future of gaming in China. Either the classic console is going to make a comeback in a very huge way or underage anarchy awaits just around the corner.

Cover Photo: RyanKing999 (Getty Images)

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