Shanghai game console plan draws mixed reviews
Mainland clearance for sales by foreign makers seen as opening of market but video-game fans fear loss of functions in Shanghai-made devices
Mixed reactions at home and abroad greeted the mainland's plan to lift a 13-year ban on the sale of video-game consoles, with some gaming fans worrying the made-in-Shanghai devices would have some of their functions crippled.
The aim is to first attract them to invest in Shanghai, and then they can sell. Things like Facebook and Twitter will remain banned
Apart from that requirement, the console manufacturers may also have to make technical changes to their devices to remove integrated connections to social media networks including Facebook and Twitter.
Both platforms, which played key roles in pro-democracy movements in the Middle East, have been banned on the mainland for years.
"The aim is to first attract them to invest in Shanghai, and then they can sell," said a person close to the government who declined to be named because of the sensitive nature of the matter.
"Things like Facebook and Twitter will remain banned," he said. "Just like Apple's iPhone, you must localise it to meet local regulations."
But he insisted the lifting of the ban on game consoles should be considered a positive gesture by Beijing in opening up its market - in its cultural as well as business aspects - to the rest of the world.