China is stepping up its scrutiny of online and mobile games, as the leading government-owned newspaper blasted Tencent Holdings Ltd.\u2019s Honour of Kings for harming children in the pursuit of profit.<\/p>\n
The People\u2019s Daily blasted Tencent\u2019s most profitable smartphone title in an editorial, citing it as an example of how addictive games spread \u201cnegative energy\u201d and have even led to deaths.<\/p>\n
The harshly worded opinion piece came after China\u2019s biggest messaging and games company declared it was limiting playing time for minors to an hour or two a day, and banning them outright after 9 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether they entertain the masses or hurt lives, when it comes to earning money versus the potential for harm, we have to be even more wary,\u201d the newspaper, considered the mouthpiece of the Communist Party, wrote.<\/p>\n
Shares in the company, the biggest component of Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng, slid as much as 5.1% Tuesday, its biggest intraday fall in over a year. The benchmark index fell 1.6%.<\/p>\n
The company is working on a system to prevent juveniles from online game addiction, Li Min, producer for Honour of Kings, said in an interview posted on Tencent\u2019s official Wechat account.<\/p>\n
The People\u2019s Daily also carried a commentary on curbing game addiction from Legal Evening News, which said Tencent\u2019s measures are not enough.<\/p>\n
-Bloomberg<\/em><\/p>\n South African media and internet giant Naspers was trading lower on Tuesday, down almost 3% having lost R74.60 of its share value.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Naspers owes a large chunk of its valuation to its 33% stake in Tencent, which is worth about $114 billion, or 20% more than Naspers itself.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n