PUBG MOBILE: TO BAN or NOT TO BAN (UPDATED)

PUBG Mobile is on the verge of getting banned again in a state of India following many complaints filed by the various organisation as well as individuals. But is it really a solution? Continue reading to find out more.

 

PUBG MOBILE BAN

Playerunknown's Battlegrounds Mobile is by far the most played game EVER on any device in India. With millions of daily users and thousands of Hardcore fans, it's no surprise how even the smallest of changes in the game make it to the headlines. Released on February 2018, the mobile version of the game Playerunknown's Battlegrounds was a hit right off the bat completing 100 million downloads in a record-breaking 4 month on Google Play store. The game was praised by users for its stunning graphics, innovative gameplay and huge maps which are actually very similar to its PC counterpart. Not everyone praised it, though. As Uncle Ben said "with great power comes great responsibilities", PUBG is held responsible for poor grades of students by many parents nationwide.

PUBG Mobile is again and again accused by many for being "very addictive". According to them, it is a "distraction for students", which might affect their (students) career. Some others went even further saying, it (PUBG) is "More dangerous than Drugs", demanding a nationwide ban.

Close to completing one year on Google Play, stories started to appear on the internet about how people (mainly students) are crazy, literally crazy about PUBG. A terrifying incident occurred when an 18-year-old boy committed suicide when his parents refused to buy him a new phone to play PUBG. In another instance, a fitness trainer in Jammu lost his mind after getting addicted to PUBG Mobile and started hurting himself. The man ended up in a mental hospital where he is being treated. A month prior to this incidence, news floated around the internet about a legal notice issued by Maharashtra high court to ban PUBG. The news later turned out to be fake, but that didn't stop other states from doing the same.

List of  States in India that want to ban PUBG Mobile

Gujarat

Gujarat was the first state in India to ban PUBG Mobile. A circular issued by the state government prohibited playing the game in state primary schools. The state defended its stand by claiming that the ban was necessary as children were getting addicted to the game. "It was adversely affecting their studies" when the news got heated reactions on Twitter.
Update: On 9th March 2019 Rajkot police issued a notice which calls for a statewide ban of the popular battle Royale game PUBG Mobile. The notice states that any person found playing the game or found guilty of playing PUBG mobile will be considered an offender of the law. Strict actions will be taken against him/her on the grounds of IPC section 188. The ban of the popular game will be effective from March 9th to April 30th. So far 10 people have been arrested for playing the banned game. 6 of them are college students. The ban is in effect in Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Gir Somnath districts and Bhavnagar.
More states are likely to follow suit.

Photo of the PUBG Mobile ban notice issued by Rajkot police & shared by Kumar Manish on twitter.

Jammu & Kashmir

Jammu & Kashmir Students Association termed it "future spoiler" after students performed poorly in the board exams. The Doctors Association of Kashmir recommended parents to keep their students away from PUBG.

The map of India

Goa

Goa State IT minister labelled this game as "Daemonic", and the game is creating "Daemons in every house". Currently, the game is banned in the campus of some premium institutes.

Tamil Nadu

The Game is banned in the Vellore Institue of Technology (VIT) campus as well as Hostels. Though this is not issued by any state government or any officials, an image of the circular that imposed the ban went viral, bringing the issue to light. The move was heavily criticised by the students of the institute.

Circular issued by VIT

Maharashtra

Although the rumours about a ban in the state were discarded, political leaders are very eager to impose a ban on the game in "Public Interest."

Madhya Pradesh

The state government is in the talks to enforce a ban on the game before board exams to ensure there is no adverse effect on the students. The state might impose a ban as there are a considerable number of complaints regarding the PUBG issue. A political leader of the state also compared the game with the "addiction of opium."

On top of everything, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in a letter recommended all states to put a ban on the popular game, sources claim.

 

Official Statement Issued by the Game Developer

The PUBG mobile developed by Tencent was quick to react to the issue of the ban. In an official statement, the Company it is committed to the well being of the gamers while being a "responsible member of the gaming ecosystem" to address the various complaints lodged in the past few months.

We appreciate the support and trust given to us by our PUBG MOBILE players. While we strive to deliver the best possible gaming experience to our fans, we also believe that it is extremely important for us to be a responsible member of the gaming ecosystem. To this end, we constantly work and shall continue to work with different stakeholders, including parents, educators and government bodies, and listening to their feedback on what we can do to enhance the overall PUBG MOBILE experience.

Surely Tencent doesn't want a negative atmosphere surrounding their most popular game. Tencent later confirmed that it is ready to take all necessary steps to provide a more healthy gaming experience.

Update:

On March 15th PUBG mobile India issued another statement regarding the ban in some regions of the country. 

We were thus surprised to learn that local authorities in a few cities have decided to impose a ban on playing our game. We are working to understand the legal basis of such bans, and hope we can have a constructive dialogue with relevant authorities to explain our objectives and that they withdraw the prohibition. To PUBG MOBILE players, we want to assure you that we are on your side and we will try our best to find a reasonable solution.

They further added that no one can become a criminal just because of playing a game made solely for the purpose of entertainment and fun.

PUBG MOBILE is a game. It is meant merely for entertainment and should be enjoyed in a healthy and responsible manner. In consonance with our endeavor to continue promoting responsible gaming experience, we are working on the introduction of a healthy gameplay system in India to promote balanced, responsible gaming, including limiting play time for under-aged players.

PUBG Mobile is very popular in India and Tencent is clearly not happy with the ban issue(as well as the arresting of 10 people guilty of playing the game).

Update: 

21st March 2019 season 5 officially ended and with the new season, i.e. season 6 (read about PUBG Mobile season 6 here) PUBG implemented some restrictions. This bans underage users from Playing the game more than 2 hours at a stretch. 

A "health Reminder" pop up message 

Users will first receive a popup message after which they will get a 15 minutes temporary ban. A "hours per day" limit is also put into action. Players under 18 can't play the game more than 6 hours a day. PUBG is calling it a "health reminders", and they strongly believe that this "new feature" will promote "good gaming habits". Although it is better than any nothing, only time will tell what effects will it have on users. The 213MB season 6 in-app update being pushed to users.

Conclusion

Earlier last year World Health Organisation defined "gaming disorder." WHO describes it as "Impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities..." (ICD-11). The news went viral. Many were concerned for their kids throughout the world without adequately knowing about what WHO has stated. This incident does have an effect on present situations where people and governing bodies are blaming the game rather than the bad habit of playing a game extensively. This is not the first time PUBG was faced by a ban though. Last year China imposed a ban on 20 popular games which included PUBG and Fortnite for excessive violence as China has very strict measures in that aspect. The ban was removed after corrective measures were taken from the developer's end. Recently China government is in talks to impose an age limit on such games.
In India, however, the reasons for a ban are vague. Based on conclusions such as the unsatisfactory results of students.

A conference taking place in WHO

There are a ton of things that can affect students, blaming one game for all of it is not fair. It shows that parents these days don't have any control over their kids. Let's say PUBG gets banned in India, but there are many alternatives present in the market. Eventually, they will get popular, so will those games be banned too? Where is the end of it? Parents should be more concerned about their kids and keep track of their online activities rather than demanding a ban on a game. They shouldn't have given them phones when they are underaged in the first place.

A ban will also mean a significant number of players will try illegal ways such as downloading the game from an unsecured website as well as using VPN* and geo-hacks giving hackers a golden opportunity to steal the personal data of the users leading to far worse issues.

What Should We Do?

PUBG is not a bad game by any means. For people who say video games make you violent are totally wrong. Games like PUBG and Fortnite can help people be more attentive at tasks as well as enhancing their ability to filter valuable information from any situation. Here is an article from Business Insider on the same. The first and foremost thing to do is the same as in the case of any addiction, creating awareness. We have to remember too much of anything is never good.

Guy Playing PUBG Mobile

statewide

Awareness can be spread by asking YouTubers to talk about good gaming habits. The whole Indian gaming community got popular due to this game (PUBG Mobile). Some even have millions of loyal followers who praise them. If they want, they can launch a very effective campaign. A ban, on the other hand, will never get support from the YouTubers who earn their livelihood from playing the games. A ban is just pushing your responsibility on the government. If you are a gamer play responsibly, remember you have other things to do in life rather than just playing PUBG. If you are a parent, remember it is your responsibility to monitor your kids. And if you are someone who can't accept defeat, maybe you shouldn't play PUBG.

Thank you for reading our Post "PUBG MOBILE: TO BAN or NOT TO BAN." Do you think PUBG should be banned? What are your ideas about spreading awareness? Let me know in the comments below. Share this post as much as you can with your friends and family and let's all say NO to BAN and YES to Awareness.

Peace

*VPNs are actually safe if you pay for it. Most free VPNs come with lots of shortcomings. In fact, some VPN companies have been reported to sell users data to other companies. statewide