China's 15-year ban on foreign video game consoles will come to an end after the country's Ministry of Culture posted a notice stating they'll ease the restrictions on Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo systems. The Wall Street Journal reports that the move opens the door for video game companies to enter a market that already spends over $22 billion a year on mobile games and domestic video game consoles.
In its absence, computer and mobile video games flooded the Chinese market, although foreign consoles such as Nintendo's Wii, Sony's Playstation and Microsoft's Xbox were available in limited quantities through the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone.