Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Addictive Technologies? The Moral and Normative Dynamics Shaping the Chinese Gaming Culture

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Creative Industries and Digital Transformation in China

  • 640 Accesses

Abstract

The rise of the gaming industry and the concerns related to its harms serve to reveal elements of the Chinese moral model of the entertainment and cultural market. This model includes an effort to channel creation in a morally virtuous sense: promotion of eSport, censorship on game contents, prevention of addiction by controlling children’s uses, and the medicalization of overconsumption. The patterns of the Chinese digital culture are thus shaped by a complex interplay of actors defining market norms. In this context, the issue of player protection takes on great importance, all the more so when the players are young and the gaming devices take on more and more immersive forms. However, the “gamblification” of gaming, including the monetization of games through gambling-like features (loot boxes, skins, etc.) and illegal betting on eSport matches, contributes to a high prevalence of gambling disorders. Paradoxically, China’s policy framework for gaming has contributed to the emergence of commercial practices and profit-driven game designs that are more harmful. Youth gaming is caught up in contradictions linked to government and business objectives that are difficult to reconcile with mental health concerns for young users.

This chapter has been presented and benefitted from comments at the 13th Congress of the European Sociological Association.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. 1.

    A scientific journal such as Games and Cultures illustrates such a perspective.

References

  • Amadieu, T. (2021). La fabrique de l’addiction aux jeux d’argent [The making of gambling addiction]. Le Bord de L’eau.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balsiger, P., & Schiller-Merkens, S. (Eds.). (2019). Moral struggles in and around markets. In The contested moralities of markets. Emerald Publishing Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barr, M., & Copeland-Stewart, A. (2021). Playing video games during the COVID-19 pandemic and effects on players’ well-being. Games and Culture, 17. https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120211017036

  • Bax, T. (2014). Internet addiction in China: The battle for the hearts and minds of youth. Deviant Behavior, 35(9), 687–702.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bax, T. (2016). “Internet gaming disorder” in China: Biomedical sickness or sociological badness? Games and Culture, 11(3), 233–255.

    Google Scholar 

  • Besombes, N., & Maillot, P. (2020). Body involvement in video gaming as a support for physical and cognitive learning. Games and Culture, 15(5), 565–584.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhargava, V. R., & Velasquez, M. (2021). Ethics of the attention economy: The problem of social media addiction. Business Ethics Quarterly, 31(3), 321–359.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brock, T., & Johnson, M. (2021). The gamblification of digital games. Journal of Consumer Culture, 21(1), 3–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cao, Y., & Downing, J. D. H. (2008). The realities of virtual play: Video games and their industry in China. Media, Culture & Society, 30(4), 515–529.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chew, M. M. (2019). A critical cultural history of online games in China, 1995–2015. Games and Culture, 14(3), 195–215.

    Google Scholar 

  • China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). (2021). The 47th Statistical Report on China’s Internet Development. https://www.cnnic.com.cn/IDR/ReportDownloads/202104/P020210420557302172744.pdf

  • Choi, J., Cho, H., Lee, S., Kim, J., & Park, E. C. (2018). Effect of the online game shutdown policy on internet use, internet addiction, and sleeping hours in Korean adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 62(5), 548–555.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chong, K. P. (2021). Tencent sinks after China denounces online gaming. The Wall Street Journal.https://www.wsj.com/articles/tencent-plummets-as-china-takes-aim-at-online-videogames-11627962018

  • Chung, P., & Fung, A. (2013). Internet development and the commercialization of online gaming in China. In N. B. Huntemann & B. Aslinger (Eds.), Gaming globally: Critical media studies (pp. 233–250). Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drummond, A., Sauer, J. D., Hall, L. C., Zendle, D., & Loudon, M. R. (2020). Why loot boxes could be regulated as gambling. Nature Human Behaviour, 4(10), 986–988.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dyer-Witheford, N., & De Peuter, G. (2009). Games of empire: Global capitalism and video games. University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ernkvist, M., & Ström, P. (2008). Enmeshed in games with the government: Governmental policies and the development of the Chinese online game industry. Journal of Games and Culture, 3(1), 98–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • ESA. (2019). Video Game Industry Commitments to Further Inform Consumer Purchases. https://www.theesa.com/news/video-game-industry-commitments-to-further-inform-consumer-purchases/

  • Goh, B. (2021). Three hours a week: Play time’s over for China’s young video gamers. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-rolls-out-new-rules-minors-online-gaming-xinhua-2021-08-30/

  • Golub, A., & Lingley, K. (2008). “Just like the Qing Empire”: Internet addiction, MMOGs, and moral crisis in contemporary China. Games and Culture, 3(1), 59–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heeks, R. (2008). Current analysis and future research agenda on ‘gold farming’: Real-world production in developing countries for the virtual economies of online games (Development Informatics Working Paper No. 32).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollister, S. (2021). How Tencent’s sweeping new facial scans will catch Chinese kids playing past curfew. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/9/22567029/tencent-china-facial-recognition-honor-of-kings-game-for-peace

  • Keane, M. (2013). Creative industries in China: Art, design, and media. Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, D. L., & Delfabbro, P. H. (2019). Video game monetization (eg, ‘loot boxes’): A blueprint for practical social responsibility measures. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 17(1), 166–179.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, H. (2021). Stricter limits on minors’ online gaming. China Daily. https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202108/30/WS612cc4a0a310efa1bd66c215.html

  • Liao, Z., Huang, Q ., Huang, S., Tan, L., Shao, T., Fang, T., Chen, X., Lin, S., Qi, J., Cai, Y., & Shen, H. (2020). Prevalence of Internet Gaming Disorder and its association with personality traits and gaming characteristics among Chinese adolescent gamers. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 1266.

    Google Scholar 

  • Limelight Networks. (2021). Market research the state of online gaming.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, C. (2013). Raising the golden Lin, Z., & Zhao, Y. (2020). Self-enterprising eSports: Meritocracy, precarity, and disposability of eSports players in China. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 23(4), 582–599.

    Google Scholar 

  • Long, J., Liu, T., Liu, Y., Hao, W., Maurage, P., & Billieux, J. (2018). Prevalence and correlates of problematic online gaming: A systematic review of the evidence published in Chinese. Current Addiction Reports, 5(3), 359–371.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macey, J., & Hamari, J. (2019). eSports, skins and loot boxes: Participants, practices and problematic behaviour associated with emergent forms of gambling. New Media & Society, 21(1), 20–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manjikian, M. (2016). Threat talk: The comparative politics of Internet addiction. Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muriel, D., & Crawford, G. (2020). Video games and agency in contemporary society. Games and Culture, 15(2), 138–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newall, P., Walasek, L., Ludvig, E., & Rockloff, M. (2020). Nudge versus sludge in gambling warning labels, PsyArXiv Preprints.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rockloff, M., Russell, A. M., Greer, N. M., Lolé, L., Hing, N., & Browne, M. (2020). Loot boxes: Are they grooming youth for gambling. NSW Responsible Gambling Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • State Council of P. R. China [国务院] (2011): 出版管理条例 [The Regulations on Publication Administration]. Visited on 30 June 2022, http://english.www.gov.cn/archive/laws_regulations/.

  • Stevens, M. W., Dorstyn, D., Delfabbro, P. H., & King, D. L. (2020). Global prevalence of gaming disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 55(6). https://doi.org/10.1177/0004867420962851.

  • Styhre, A., Szczepanska, A. M., & Remneland-Wikhamn, B. (2018). Consecrating video games as cultural artifacts: Intellectual legitimation as a source of industry renewal. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 34(1), 22–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Szablewicz, M. (2010). The ill effects of “opium for the spirit”: A critical cultural analysis of China’s Internet addiction moral panic. Chinese Journal of Communication, 3(4), 453–470.

    Google Scholar 

  • Szablewicz, M. (2020). Mapping digital game culture in China: From Internet addicts to eSports athletes. Springer Nature.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tavinor, G. (2009). The art of videogames. Wiley.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tencent. (2021). 哪个小朋友还没下线? https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Cr17TKWQ3XcuNzDw085OLw

  • Wu, C. (2021). GAME OVER: China imposes world's strictest limits on video games. People’s Daily Online. http://en.people.cn/n3/2021/0913/c90000-9895444.html

  • Xiang, Y. T., Jin, Y., Zhang, L., Li, L., Ungvari, G. S., Ng, C. H., Zhao, M., & Hao, W. (2020). An overview of the expert consensus on the prevention and treatment of gaming disorder in China (2019 Edition). Neuroscience Bulletin, 36(7), 825–828.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiao, L. Y. (2020b). Conceptualising the loot box transaction as a gamble between the purchasing player and the video game company. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 1–3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiao, L. Y., & Henderson, L. L. (2019). Towards an ethical game design solution to loot boxes: a commentary on King and Delfabbro. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 19(1), 177–192.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiao, L. Y., Henderson, L. L., Yang, Y., & Newall, P. W. (2021). Gaming the system: suboptimal compliance with loot box probability disclosure regulations in China. Behavioural Public Policy, 1–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xinhua. (2021). Chinese authorities summon online game platforms for talks. http://www.news.cn/english/2021-09/09/c_1310176131.htm

  • Ye, J. (2021a). Chinese Communist Party aims to turn Beijing into an e-sports hub, backed by subsidy schemes. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3097701/chinese-communist-party-aims-turn-beijing-e-sports-hub-backed-subsidy?module=inline&pgtype=article

  • Ye, J. (2021b). New video game approvals dry up in China as internal memo shows that developers now have many red lines to avoid. South China Morning Post.https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3150622/new-game-approvals-dry-china-internal-memo-shows-developers-now-have

  • Ye, J. (2021c). Shanghai summons video gaming companies for a lecture as city follows up on government drive to protect minors. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3148723/shanghai-summons-video-gaming-companies-lecture-city-follows

  • Yin, K., Zi, Y., Zhuang, W., Gao, Y., Tong, Y., Song, L., & Liu, Y. (2020). Linking Esports to health risks and benefits: Current knowledge and future research needs. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 9(6), 485.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yu, H. (2018). Game on: The rise of the esports middle Kingdom. Media Industries Journal, 5(1), 89–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zendle, D., & Cairns, P. (2018). Video game loot boxes are linked to problem gambling: Results of a large-scale survey. PLoS ONE, 13(11), e0206767.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zendle, D., Petrovskaya, E., & Wardle, H. (2020). How do loot boxes make money? An analysis of a very large dataset of real Chinese CSGO loot box openings. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/5k2sy

  • Zhang, X. (2012). Censorship and digital games localisation in China. Meta, 57(2), 338–350.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, M. (2021). As with all things, moderation is key in gaming: To the point, China Daily. https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202108/31/WS612d9e18a310efa1bd66c531.html

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ESSCA School of Management, Paris, France

    Thomas Amadieu

Authors
  1. Thomas Amadieu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Amadieu .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Essca School of Management, Shanghai, China

    Sabine Chrétien-Ichikawa

  2. USC-SJTU Inst. of Cultural and Creative Ind., Shanghai, China

    Karolina Pawlik

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Amadieu, T. (2022). Addictive Technologies? The Moral and Normative Dynamics Shaping the Chinese Gaming Culture. In: Chrétien-Ichikawa, S., Pawlik, K. (eds) Creative Industries and Digital Transformation in China. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3049-2_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3049-2_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-19-3048-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-19-3049-2

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics