- China's new rules forbidding under-18s from playing video games for more than three hours a week knocked shares in Tencent Holdings Ltd and other gaming companies, while young players took to social media to express their outrage.
It's "indisputable" that indulging in online games affects normal study life and the physical and mental health of teens, the article said. "Destroying a teenager will destroy a family.""This group of grandfathers and uncles who make these rules and regulations, have you ever played games? Do you understand that the best age for e-sports players is in their teens?" said one comment on China's Twitter-like Weibo.
The hit to gaming stocks was relatively measured with analysts saying children in general did not provide much revenue for gaming companies, although they noted that the implications for the long-term growth of the industry were much more severe. Shares in Tencent, the world's largest gaming firm by revenue, slid 3.6% in Tuesday trade. The stock has lost almost 5% since the state media article that described gaming as spiritual opium was published on Aug 3.