Tencent’s new facial recognition program curbs gaming by children in China

Chinese tech giant Tencent has released a facial recognition system for certain games in China to stop children from playing video games after hours. In 2019, China passed an anti-addiction bill that focuses on curbing children and teenagers’ time spent playing video games, especially at night. Children and teenagers are only allowed to play 90 minutes of video games on the weekdays, and only three hours on weekends and holidays. This bill also introduced a curfew for children and teenagers playing video games. They also are not allowed to play videos between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. Tencent’s new system seemingly enforces those rules through tech. Dubbed the “Midnight Patrol,” this system scans a player’s face at the computer screen and runs it through a catalog of registered names and faces. If a child or teenager goes past the allotted time, they won’t be able to play the game until they get more time on their account. Tencent will implement this facial recognition system in about 60 of its games including Glory of the King and Peace Elite. League of Legends is currently not one of the games on this list, but it may be rolled in on a later update. Players who avoid the facial scan for these games will automatically be assumed as a minor and the game will shut down. That means a facial scan is required to play these games. According to Tencent’s press release, if adults are mistakenly kicked off, they just have to try the facial scan again and it will let them back on the game. We’re just over a year into this console cycle and it’s still nearly impossible for a normal person to get their hands on new hardware. The PlayStation 5 has been notoriously difficult to find since it launched, with the Xbox Series X also facing the same shortages. Even Nintendo is suffering now despite the Switch being on the market since 2017. We all hoped these shortages would start to resolve themselves by now, and yet reports are coming in saying these consoles are likely to be scarce through 2022. While this is an issue for consumers and the console makers in the immediate sense, this extended scarcity has created a ripple effect in the market. This entire culture of carefully watching retailers for updates just to have a chance to buy a console has burned gamers. We’re basically learning that if you don’t throw down your money as fast and as early as possible, then you may not get that new console for a year — or even two. As revealed during EA Play Live 2021, a Dead Space remake is in the works, and it’ll be launching on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. You’ve taken the plunge and picked up a fresh Nintendo Switch 2 console, ready to explore the latest and greatest games the system has to offer, but where do you start? There are more than the initial launch games to pick from now, but the library is still growing and most of the high-profile games like Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond aren’t out just yet. Whether it is just to help justify the purchase of a new console to yourself, or if you want to show off your fancy new hardware to friends and family, these are the most impressive games you can get right now on the Switch 2.