The national console sales ban fails to extinguish a passion from childhood, report EricJou, Yang Yang and Yang Wanli in Beijing.
Song Lin runs a small video games stall on the sixth floor of the So-show shopping mall inBeijing.

However, the 30-year-old former game programmer doesn't sell regular run-of-the-mill videogames. Instead, he sells relics, games that became part of the childhoods of Chinese gameplayers, despite an official ban on the sale of consoles, which, unlike computers, are designedsolely for playing video games.

Song's tiny stall contains games and consoles spanning more than 30 years, many of which wereillegal or at least legally unobtainable in China.

In 2000, the State Council and the Ministry of Culture banned the sale of video game consoles.However, the ban didn't cover the manufacture of consoles, and the platforms made in Chinawere for the export market only.

The ban limited the availability ofconsole-specific game titles becausewithout the platform there was no realway to play the games. In addition,without passing through the properregulatory channels, the games didn'tconform to domestic rules.

Paradoxically, although it was illegal tosell consoles in China, it wasn'tactually illegal to own one, and gamerssuch as Song were able to buy videogames in regular stores.

Song has fond memories of playingvideo games during his childhood. Hisearliest memory of doing so dates back to when he was about 5 years old. "My father traveledoverseas a lot for work," he said. "When he returned after one trip, he brought back a Famicom."

'Red and white machines'

The Famicom, an abridged version of the full name, Nintendo Family Computer, known in theUnited States as the Nintendo Entertainment System, is one of the most iconic video-gameconsoles in the world. In China, it's known colloquially as "the red and white machine" because ofthe distinctive color scheme.

Like Song, many Chinese gamers were entranced from the moment they laid their then-tinyhands on the rectangular controller and peered at the unsophisticated, blocky 8-bit graphics.

Ma Tianyu, 27, also runs a video game shop in Soshow mall, but unlike Song, he sellscontemporary games and hardware, such as the Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, andNintendo Wii U.

"What we sell isn't exactly legal, but it's not exactly disallowed either," said Ma. "There are peoplewho sell legitimate hardware and software, but there are also some who sell pirated copies ofgames."

Despite the restrictions, game consoles are readily available nationwide via the "gray market"and a quick search on the e-commerce giant Taobao shows a wide range of consoles for saleonline.

The term "gray market" refers to goods bought overseas and then smuggled into the country withthe express purpose of resale. The most popular items include smartphones and tabletcomputers, plus a large number of electronic items that are not commercially available withinChina or, if they are, are too expensive for regular consumers.

Ma was introduced to video games when his grandfather brought back a Nintendo Famicomafter a trip to Japan. Ma's memories of the time he spent playing games with his schoolmatesare some of the happiest of his childhood.

"I'd share my console with my classmates," he recalled. "Think about it: four kids holdingcontrollers and playing the same games all day long - it's a happy memory."

Later, Ma studied art and animation with a view to creating his own game. That ambition maynow be attainable after an announcement in early January that the ban on the sale of consoles willprobably be lifted. However, therein lies the rub, as some experts say the announcement equatesnot so much to abandonment of the restriction, but an amendment. So far, though, there's beenno word as to whether any new regulations will come into effect.