As reported by ChinaDaily.com, after 13 years China is reconsidering a ban nation-wide on the sale of video game consoles. The ban, which was put into effect due to concern for developmental issues that might arise in children playing games, would require the approval of all parties to remove. This is due to the widespread support for the initial ban and likely means the ban won't be lifted without a Herculean effort.

A Chinese Ministry of Culture source provided the following perspective on the efforts:

"We are reviewing the policy and have conducted some surveys and held discussions with other ministries on the possibility of opening up the game console market."

Ironically, China is currently the largest manufacturer of Xbox consoles in the world, Kinect's are widely used in various way such as medical treatment and education, and Sony has a branch in the country that performs training, research and development. Add in the fact that China has an extremely prosperous illegal game console market and the ban is mostly just so in name only.

Keep in mind video games in general are not banned in China, as evidenced by the immeasurable success titles like World of Warcraft and League of Legends have found. As the ban stands, the only parties being punished are Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. Meanwhile, everyone's playing games with or without the approval of the Chinese government.

Hopefully we'll have an update on the story soon, one that ends with the creation of a new, Chinese console developer who will put everyone else out to pasture. I, for one, welcome our new Chinese overlords.