China on Wednesday temporarily lifted a 14-year-old ban on selling video game consoles. The move could pave the way for Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft to enter the world's third-largest video game market in terms of revenue.

In a country where a whole generation has grown up without a Wii, PlayStation or Xbox, video games are often free to play with gamers only paying for add-ons such as weapons. Now the Chinese consumers will have to pay in order to enjoy gaming on new hardware.

Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft will also have to deal with the piracy in the country, as illegal consoles are expected to appear. These have been modified to run pirated games.