Now that China no longer considers consoles to be the spawn of Satan, it seems that Sony is stepping up its plans to release the PlayStation 4 in the potentially lucrative region. Previously, the nation put in place a ban on home systems, blocking their sale due to the perceived impact that they could have on youngsters. However, no doubt realising that its stance was ridiculous, the government abolished that rule in January, allowing manufacturers to produce and sell their products in the country.
And the Japanese giant has responded swiftly, creating a new Chinese strategy department under its Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Asia umbrella. According to Gamasutra, the division will be fronted by Takehito Soeda, who previously served as the platform holder’s corporate communications manager in the country. Coincidentally, Microsoft also announced plans to release the Xbox One in the titanic territory over the weekend. Who do you think will get there first? Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen.
[source scei.co.jp, via gamasutra.com, computerandvideogames.com]
Comments 8
They should release a special edition ps3 with a ton of games too. Vita? I can see Sony perhaps in the next few years opening studios in China too, Hong Kong, shanghai, Beijing...
Um, up until the ban was lifted the only consoles sold in China (besides black market consoles) were older ones, like the iQue Player (limited, locked version of N64). Quite a few have speculated that the poorer Chinese will not be able to afford 8th gen consoles, and that it would be wiser for the big 3 to release 6th or 7th gen consoles in the country first.
I was really expecting Sony to release the PSP and PS3 rather than the PS4, Nintendo to release the Wii and DS rather than the Wii U and 3DS, and I really wasn't expecting MS to release anything in China. Interested to see how this will all pan out.
Saying Chinese cannot afford generation 8 consoles is a poorly informed observation. I have been to China and know several Chinese and they are not considered middle or high income people in their countries. They do, however, seem to be able to afford luxuries like Apple products and other year or two year-old technology. While the majorities will not be able to afford a PS4, there, it doesn't take a majority of a 1.35 billion population to generate tons of sales. With limited ease and proper marketing, in key locations including China, the sales numbers for a console like the PS4 could potentially push Sony to unreachable total numbers, this generation. I do believe, however, the PS Vita suits the Chinese on-the-go lifestyle, more.
I think this is great. Obviously i hope Sony gets there first. The more playstations that are sold the better for the brand and all of us who own playstations.
Hmmm I don't know about Xbox but I do know that Japanese companies and products are very often boycotted by the Chinese. In fact, it was only a month ago that China had it's own anti-Japanese video game:
http://www.polygon.com/2014/2/27/5454928/chinese-game-shoot-japanese-war-criminals
To be fair, there are many issues that the Chinese seem to take with Japan but I suppose one the most poignant is the fact that during the war they kidnapped about 300,000 Chinese & Korean women and enslaved them so that the Japanese army could rape them. I believe they referred to them as "comfort slaves" which I suppose gives it more of a civilised ring to it. Interestingly the Japanese don't teach their schoolchildren of Japan's involvement in the wars so sadly they don't get to learn from the lessons of history although their military still remembers as it wasn't long ago that one of their top brass made the condescending statement that there must have been a good reason at the time for the army to keep all those women for raping - how quaint.
To be honest, there is a strong argument for moving on and letting the past be the past. However, I suppose Japan will always rile the Chinese dragon and the Koreans by demanding that the Americans & British stop commemorating the wars but at the same time having Shinzo Abe paying the first visit by a Japanese prime minister in seven years to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine war memorial last December.
Christian Bale fairly recently starred in a revealing fictional portrayal based on wartime fact called The Flowers of War but be warned you will need a strong stomach.
@Shaolin Oh God...don't remind me of that movie. It was gut-wrenching when the two call girls were cornered by that squad of soldiers - especially when they had the one they left alive bound to a chair, beaten, raped and then stabbed to death with a bayonet...Urgh...I will NEVER forget that sight.
@kensredemption @Shaolin While I can appreciate how the discussion ended up here, it's probably not something we want to get too deeply into.
@get2sammyb Yes agreed, these issues are always best merely mentioned and not explored deeply as it has a tendency to bring out the political and this is not the forum for that as you rightly pointed out. Still, awareness of them is unfortunately relevant to the topic at hand and might be worth bearing in mind for future articles as I've noticed from a couple of your posts over the past 6 months or so that you understandably seemed unaware of how certain companies and products are perceived in China. It's nice to see that you're actively moderating this site and pulling us commenters into line so keep up the good work.
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