Chinese gamers have new options, but will they want them?

China is lifting a 15-year old ban on the sale of foreign video game consoles.

In 2000, China banned the manufacture and sale of all foreign consoles amidst fears that video games, particularly violent ones, would have negative effects on Chinese youth. That meant no Xbox, Playstation, Wii or Gamecube, has been legally sold in China since 2000. 

This ban prevented the world's three largest console makers, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony, from entering a massive and growing video game market — estimated to be worth $22.2 billion this year alone, up 23 percent from last year.  

In January 2014, China's Ministry of culture loosened the ban slightly as a trial run for the rest of the country. Companies were able to manufacture and sell consoles in the 11-square-mile Shanghai Free Trade Zone, as long as the products had been properly inspected and approved by the Chinese government. 

Now companies will be able to sell consoles and games all over the country. 

And though the market is estimated at billions of dollars, it is unclear yet how Chinese consumers will react to the games the rest of the world enjoys. 

Fifteen years without consoles has caused consumers to move largely to computer or mobile games. According to games market research firm Newzoo, 86.7 percent of Chinese gamers use their mobile phone, more than anywhere else in the world. Only 52.4 percent will use a television or console device. By comparison, 67.2 percent of US gamers use a console.

Another market research firm, Niko Partners, predicts only half a million Xbox One and Playstation 4 consoles will sell in China this year. There are 173.4 million Chinese gamers between the ages of 10 and 50.

Meanwhile, foreign consoles and related knock-offs have been available through the black market for years. Chinese gamers still prefer online games — 73 percent play massively multiplayer online games, such as World of Warcraft or Runescape. Some companies, such as Activison, the makers of Call of Duty, have tapped this market by creating exclusive Chinese online versions of console games.

Online games are so popular that there is even an industry for Internet-addiction, as Chinese parents worry their children are spending too much time in a virtual world, or in the Internet cafes that are incredibly popular with gamers. 

Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony have high hopes for the new and massive market. "The future is bright for gaming in China," said Microsoft in a statement to Mashable. "We created the path in launching Xbox One last year because we saw a huge opportunity to bring the world of console gaming to China — and China’s game industry to the world."