Just because consoles are banned (or were until very recently) doesn't mean that gaming has to be an entirely sociable experience, however. No, the stereotype of the gaming addict holed up in his dirty apartment, surrounded by empty crisp packets and with a headset strapped across his oversized cranium is still one that's alive and well in China. Because what they lack in consoles, they make up for in PCs. The internet is heavily censored in China, and the games that actually have an (official) release once getting past the government's strict screening process are few and far between, but none of that has stopped the country from amassing the largest PC gaming sector in the world, worth roughly $6 billion annually. That's no chump change. That's despite constant claims in the West that PC gaming is dying out, and that piracy has a fair amount to do with that. When you look at the figures in China, however coupled with the figures of how much piracy goes on in the country that just doesn't add up. Even more surprising? Most of that was from free-to-play games.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
