Raising the Golden Goose: a Retrospective Analysis of the State's Role in China's Online Game Industry

• 1、School of Economics and Management, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031

Abstract：Through a retrospective account of the evolution of China's online game industry, this paper examines the political, economic and cultural factors, with an emphasis on formal policy making, that have shaped the industry. Drawing on the theory of fragmented authoritarianism, this study finds that Chinese online games are deeply shaped by the political environment of the autocratic Chinese system, which features inter-ministerial competition and intertwined state control and commercial interests. The current Chinese online market is combined with a strong private sector presence and a considerable government role. The Chinese government seems to have achieved its policy goal of helping Chinese companies to dominate the domestic market. However, the extensive and ambiguous government policy and regulations, have, to some extent, restrains innovation. To that end, whether China can accomplish its three-stepped importation-substitution-creation strategy in this highly creative industry remains to be seen and warrants future investigation.

keywords： Online Game; Regulation; Industrial Policy本文未被正式发表或被收录到有正式刊号或书号的论文集中 特此说明。

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