Does China Need a Game Rating System?: a Content Analysis of Violence in Popular Chinese and American Electronic Games

Over the past decade, violence-related issues start to surface from China?s burgeoning electronic game market. The initiative of the nation?s first game rating system, however, was cold-shouldered due to insufficient support. Concerns over the initiative and the scarcity of research on Chinese game violence have prompted the need for this study. Comparing with the American games, a content analysis found similarities in the quantity of violence in popular Chinese games and significant differences in context between the two groups. The findings suggest that a rating system is needed to assess Chinese games and protect the players from the risk of violence. However, this system needs to be tailored toward its own context. The analysis should help shed some light on game violence and its contextual issues in the world's biggest game market, and should be useful for researchers, media professionals, policy makers, game developers, or anyone else who may be interested in this field.