The new gaming rules in China will probably doom the over 150,000 - 200,000 internet and gaming cafes that were at one point essential to Chinese youth.
Remembering them with a🧵and some memories...
Internet cafes were the traditional 3rd place for chinese youth: found everywhere, open 24/7, cheap and without proper adult supervision.
Mostly smoky rooms in darkness. Loud. At the entrance, you pay in cash and get assigned a modded, cobbled together PC for your stay.
In 2010 20% of all internet users in China used one, since then the number is falling.
But among the youth this was the place to meet, away from the prying eyes of society, and play cracked games and watch videos with friends till the early hours of the morning.
Each cafe was different, but in spirit they were all the same: chaos ruled, rules were lax to non-existent.
Bring your own drink, bring your dog, dress up, watch what you want, game what you want, be as loud as you want.
They had drinks, of course incredibly sweet softdrinks, and food. Years later, I still try to recreate the spicy noodles of my favourite internet cafe.
The MSG and spice mixes, chillis and oils might have changed my sense of taste forever.
Let's not talk about the kitchen.
People stayed till they needed to head home, or they stayed a bit longer and fell asleep during their session.
In a world without Fortenite and mobile games this was the Third place Starbucks could only dream of.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane new chinese gaming laws, and thanks for the picture @WiredUK
wired.com/2017/05/inside…
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