Sony Corp's shares have hit their highest value since April 2012, and Nintendo has also experienced a similar lift, driven by speculation of the Chinese government reportedly reconsidering the ill-conceived ban of videogame consoles in Earth's most populous nation (via Bloomberg, thanks VG247).

China banned the consoles in 2000 because of concerns about the potential harm to the physical and mental development of young people. The Ministry of Culture is now holding discussions with other departments about potentially ending the ban, the state-run China Daily newspaper reported today, citing a person it didn’t identify.

“Investors are welcoming the report,” said Mitsuo Shimizu, a Tokyo-based analyst at Iwai Cosmo Holdings Inc. (8707) “It would open up a new and huge market for the video-game makers.”

While consoles like the Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 can only be sourced via black market retailers, PCs, smart phones and tablets have no such restrictions. The console ban has been attributed to the wider success of PC gaming in China, specifically in the free-to-play space.