Apple blames revenue loss on China censoring video games – The Verge

What happened: Apple said Chinas temporary ban on approving new video game titles last year was one of the reasons for the companys revenue decline over the fourth calendar quarter of 2018. Apple CFO Luca Maestri made that comment about the companys $4.8 billion revenue decline in Greater China during an earnings call on Tuesday. He said the issue around approval was clearly affecting Apple, as the App Store in China is a large business, with iOS mobile games affected in the ban.

Why its important: Although still relatively small compared to its hardware sales, Apples services business has been a steady source of revenue growth since 2016. However, the Chinese government stopped approving new games for nine months in March last year, which curbed Apple’s services revenue in China, the largest gaming market in the world. Apple has also witnessed declines in sales of all three major product lines in China, namely iPhones, Macs, and iPads.

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Jill Shen

Jill Shen is Shanghai-based technology reporter. She covers Chinese mobility, autonomous vehicles, and electric cars. Connect with her via e-mail: jill.shen@technode.com or Twitter: @yushan_shen

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