Vietnamese authorities have reversed a 4-year-old ban on the development of local online games after acknowledged that it has not only failed to limit their usage, but has allowed foreign firms to dominate the growing market, reports Thanh Nien.
Since the Ministry of Information and Communication stopped issuing licenses for local gaming companies in 2010 due to concerns over the influence of video games on young people, they have only been able to stay above water by distributing their software illegally while watching foreign developers increase their market share.
“We have eliminated our own businesses from the game in our own market, allowing foreign companies to control it,” lamented the ministry’s Chief Inspector, Nguyen Van Hung last June.
After recognizing that the ban wasn’t having an effect on public demand for online games, the Ministry of Information and Communications has instructed relevant agencies to license online games that have “healthy content,” whatever that means.
The real question is: how long will it take for a local companies to develop a game where one can ram ships into Chinese oil rigs?
