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Tencent to check IDs to enforce game limits for minors
SHANGHAI, Sept 6, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Chinese tech giant Tencent said
Thursday it will launch a real-name identification system in its hit mobile
video game “Honour of Kings” to enforce playtime restrictions on underage
players.
The measure comes on the heels of new efforts by the government to regulate
China’s highly popular video game industry, including restrictions on the
number of new releases to address concerns over children’s eyesight.
Starting next week, new “Honour of Kings” users will have to provide their
identification details, which will be checked against a police database,
according to a statement on the game’s official WeChat social media account.
The company also plans to expand the system to all its other titles.
Tencent’s shares closed down 3.2 precent in Hong Kong following the
announcement.
The system will allow the company to check if the player is underage and
should be included in its “anti-obsession” system, which limits minors to one
or two hours of playtime in the online multiplayer battle game.
Tencent launched the anti-addiction system last year to “ensure children’s
healthy development” as concerns grow in China that long periods online are
posing a serious threat to the country’s youth.
The Shenzhen-based firm decided last year to limit “Honour of Kings” users
who are 12 years old and younger to one hour of play a day and block them
from signing into the game after 9 pm.
Those between 12 and 18 years old are limited to two hours per day.
The identification system will take effect around September 15 and
verification of all new users will be completed before the end of the month.
Earlier in August, Tencent was ordered to pull the hit game “Monster
Hunter: World” from sale just days after it debuted, as China had halted
approvals for new video game titles.
Amid the regulatory squeeze, the company’s profits fell two percent in the
second quarter from the previous year, the first such drop in over a decade,
according to Bloomberg.
Last week, eight government ministries said they would implement
regulations and controls on the number of games that can be played online,
limit new releases, explore an age-restriction system for games, and take
steps to reduce playing time for minors.
The education ministry justified the new curbs as a way to counter
worsening near-sightedness among minors, after President Xi Jinping earlier
this week called for greater national attention on optical health.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1606 hrs