A child plays an online game on his mobile phone in Jinhua, East China's Zhejiang Province. Photo: VCG

Losses of Chinese games stocks narrowed on Wednesday after top game companies and industry associations vow fresh measures to curb gaming addiction amongst China's youth. 

In morning trading on Wednesday, Tencent Holdings Ltd rose 3.41 percent to HK$ 461.20 ($59.31) per share after tumbling more than 10 percent in early trade on Tuesday and NetEase Inc was down 1.37 percent to HK$143.90.

In the A-share market, Perfect World Co Ltd rose 0.52 percent to 15.48 yuan ($2.39), Wuhu 37 Interactive Entertainment Network Technology Group Co gained 0.64 percent to 18.95 yuan and Yoozoo Games dipped 0.62 percent to 12.80 yuan.

Prices of US-listed Chinese game stocks fell on Tuesday trading with NetEase Inc fell 11.41 percent to $93.06, DouYu International Holdings fell 8.54 percent to $3.75, HUYA Inc down 8.35 percent to $11.86 and Bilibili Inc fell 7.06 percent to $84.00.

The China Game Publishers Association Publications Committee (GPC) said on Tuesday that it will accelerate the launch of age rating system on whole game products and urge gaming firms to develop the content appropriate for players of certain age. When the pilot work is mature, the age rating system will also be included as part of an audit system.

Tencent announced to further cut the time young people are spending playing popular title 'Honor of Kings' on Wednesday. Players under 12 will be prohibited from spending money in the game, and time restrictions for minors will also be tightened to 1 hour on non-holidays, and to 2 hours on holidays. Minors are also prohibited from playing the game between 10 pm to 8 am, according to an upgraded system announcement sent through the game.

The announcements come after a Chinese state media article that said online gaming is "spiritual opium"and the impact on teenagers' physical and mental should not be underestimated.

On Tuesday, the Economic Information Daily reported that addiction to online games has a double negative impact on teenagers' physiology and psychology development. It pointed out that more than half of the country's children and teenagers suffered from nearsightedness in 2020, while addiction to online games impacts their academic performance and has been linked to the development of personality disorders.

Global Times