iPhone world dominance one step closer as China deal nears completion
Could Apple bring legal video gaming to the world's largest mobile market?
By all accounts it's not actually that hard to buy a video game console in China, despite all systems except the Nintendo DS having been banned since 2000. Picking up the games, however, is apparently a lot more difficult, making digital distribution China's favourite method of acquiring new software.
Therefore, the iPhone seems like a perfect companion for the Chinese gamer, and according to AppleInsider the country's second largest mobile service provider (China Unicom) is close to completing a deal with Apple to distribute the handheld device.
China Unicom boasts over 135 million mobile subscribers, making it 170 per cent larger than a Apple's US license holder, AT&T. This clearly demonstrates the massive gaming potential the iPhone promises in China, though it's not without its problems.
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology only allows mobile handsets to incorporate wi-fi with ts proprietary security and authentication system, which the iPhone doesn't have. Therefore, downloading games greater than 10MB could be a problem for Chinese users.
The Chinese gamer is notoriously resourceful, however, suggesting that official, local distribution of the iPhone will be met with massive support due solely to prolific gaming potential - regardless of any restrictions it might initially suffer from.
