TOKYO, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Sony Corporation said Wednesday that it will take measures to tackle game addiction as the World Health Organization (WHO) is about to officially deem it as a disorder, local media reported.
"We need to take it seriously and adopt countermeasures," said Kenichiro Yoshida, chief executive officer (CEO) of Sony.
"We've already implemented a ratings system (to restrict players by age) and have been taking measures based on our own standards," Yoshida said.
According to the CEO, the company has provided guidance in terms of the suitable age for game software, depending on the degrees of violence and sexual themes.
The WHO will recognize gaming addiction as a disorder and add it to its International Classification of Diseases, which will be approved at its annual assembly through next Tuesday.
The move is expected to help prompt health professionals to report more of such addiction cases and develop preventive and treatment measures, the WHO said.
Gaming business of Sony, which also includes PlayStation consoles, constituted 27 percent of its overall sales and 35 percent of operating profit in fiscal 2018 which ended in March.
The net profit of the Japanese electronics and entertainment company amounted to 916.27 billion yen (8.30 billion U.S. dollars) in fiscal 2018 with rising demand for its game software and subscription-based gaming services, Sony said.
