The government-run news agency revealed on Tuesday that the
proposed new system will allow players to play normally for three
hours, but after that will start to reduce the abilities of the
character used by the time-clocked player.
After five hours, the character will be reduced to the lowest
skill level permitted in the game. The timer will not reset itself
until five hours of non-playing time have elapsed.
The move is in response to concerns that some players are
becoming so immersed in the online fantasy games that it is
affecting their day-to-day lives.
It follows game related incidents over recent months, including
the death from exhaustion of a South Korean gamer after 50
hours of almost non-stop play, and the murder of a gamer who had
allegedly stolen a virtual weapon from his attacker, and then sold
it.
"This timing mechanism can prevent young people from becoming
addicted to online games," Kou Xiaowei, Deputy Director of the
Audiovisual and Internet Publication Department of the General
Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), said, according to
Interfax.
The agency reports that the system should be ready for internal
testing by October, and will then operate on a trial basis on
several games, including “The Legend of Mir II” and “World of
Warcraft”. The system is expected to become compulsory for all
online role-playing games in China by early next year.
