3 games that the Chinese missed out on during a 15-year console ban

China has moved to end a ban on games consoles, ending the public's 15 years without PlayStation, XBox and more.

While restrictions were partially lifted in 2014, Chinese citizens have been without legal console gaming for more than a decade. PC gaming has flourished in the meantime, but it's not quite the same. As you can imagine, they have missed a lot during that period, and here are just a few things opened up to the country's population after all this time.

The Halo franchise

A world without Halo seems unimaginable to most gamers, but 2015 will be the first year that it becomes legally available in China. The first game in the iconic series might appear dated to us now, but we imagine things are different for those who are yet to encounter more recent offerings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-3c53C1npE

Call of Duty

There were plenty of war-themed first-person shooters to emerge in the late-90s, but CoD has redefined the genre since the first game in the series was released in 2003. With more than a dozen installments, including multiple story arcs, gamers will have a lot of catching up to do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRy_w-JQl0Y

Pro Evolution Soccer

Back in 2000 there was no outright challenger to FIFA, but the following years would see EA enter a back-and-forth battle with Konami's Pro Evo series. A whole generation of gamers won't have had the enjoyment of controlling misspelled players like 'Gigsi', 'R. Larcos' and 'Oranges005' - they're in for a treat now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u34YkbNLSSs