China approves plans to lift long-standing video game console ban

The move is part of a broader plan that the State Council has approved for the free-trade zone located in the Chinese city of Shanghai.

China originally banned the consoles in 2000 mainly due to concerns over the effect of violent international games.

There is a condition of the newly approved plan, however, and that is that game developers must set up operations within the Shanghai free-trade zone.

Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft will now have a much bigger market to cater to with their next-gen consoles.